New forecasts on the shrinking of the population in Germany

Following the publication of new dramatic figures on the shrinking of the number of inhabitants in Germany and the aging of the German population the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) sets the question to the 16 ministers of the interior and the senators of the provinces why they constantly display the wish to chase out well integrated German-speaking children from foreign families who have had temporary residence permits for many years.

"These inhuman deportation policies do not solve the existential problems of our country, for they affect children and young people whom we need. Beyond that they cause day by day human dramas of unspeakable dimensions for those affected", criticised the GfbV General Secretary, Tilman Zülch, on Wednesday.

Some 200,000 people coming from various countries - such as members of Christian minorities, who managed to escape to us from countries of the Middle East, or other refugees suffering for example from political persecution - have had to live in Germany for many years with just a temporary residence permit and constantly under threat of deportation. Their children, who were born or have grown up here, have long since become ethnically and culturally Germans. These 200,000 people with temporary residence permits must at last be given permanent residence permits", said Zülch.

Many media have been quoting today the most recent figures from the Federal Statistical Office on the projection of the population development.. These show that in the year 2050 instead of 82 million today there will only be 69 to 74 million living in Germany. The average age will rise considerably. The number of 60-year olds will at a million be as high as that of the newly-born and the number of people who are 80 and above will triple from at present just four million to ten million.