Statistics from the German government have revealed a considerable uptick in the number of foreigners who became naturalized German citizens last year.
On Wednesday, the Federal Statistical Office announced that 129,000 foreigners were granted German citizenship in 2019, 16,600 (15 percent) more than the previous year, marking the highest level of naturalization since 2003, Frankfurter Rundschau reports.
Those who were granted German citizenship came from 183 countries. Most individuals, around 16,200 who were granted citizenship, were Turkish nationals.
“Overall, however, only 1.2 percent of the Turks who were potentially eligible for naturalization actually received German citizenship,” the Federal Statistical Office noted.
Naturalization potential refers to the proportion of people who meet most of the criteria required to become a German citizen.
The number of Britons granted German citizenship also increased considerably from previous years to 14,600, mostly likely due to the Brexit situation. Naturalizations of people from Poland stood at 6,000, Romania (5,800), Iraq (4,600), Ukraine (1,800), and Syria (1,000).
