people of non german origin in freiburg

Immigration to Germany 

Germany is known for welcoming large numbers of immigrants, especially following the refugee crisis in 2015 during which Germany accepted more than 2 million asylum seekers. As of September 2019, there were more than 11 million people of non-German origin residing in Germany, comprising around ⅛ of its 83 million inhabitants. The majority of these originate from Turkey (2.8 million), Syria (600,000) and Poland (2.2 million). 

Demographics of Freiburg

Freiburg im Breisgau (more commonly known as simply Freiburg) is the southernmost metropolitan centre in Germany with a population of 230,000 inhabitants as of 2017. Freiburg sits on the ‘three nation border triangle’ where France, Germany and Switzerland meet. This therefore makes it a very cosmopolitan city where three cultures converge. 

People of Non-German Origin Living in Freiburg

As a multicultural hub, there are almost 40,000 people of non-German origin living in Freiburg which constitutes 17% of the total population. The majority of these people come from Europe; around 16,000 from within the European Union and another 11,500 from other non-EU member countries. Thus the city has a certain international flair. 

Home to one of Germany’s most prestigious universities (Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg), Freiburg is a very popular destination for students wishing to study abroad. In fact, 17% of the city’s 30,000 students are of non-German origin. 

The international personality of Freiburg is only emphasised by the wide range of languages that can be heard spoken around the city. For example, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese and Russian are languages commonly spoken there.  

Here is a list of the top ten countries of origin for people of non-German origin living in Freiburg (as of 2018): 

  1. Italy: 3,165
  2. Romania: 2,598
  3. Turkey: 2,031
  4. Serbia: 1,756
  5. Syria: 1,586
  6. France: 1,558
  7. Croatia: 1,383
  8. Poland: 1,149
  9. Kosovo: 1,066
  10. Iraq: 1,042
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