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Germany

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Western Europe

Germany is home to 6 documented ethnic groups in Western Europe — led by German (~73%), German Other Immigrant (~13%), German Southeast European (~6%), German Turkish (~4%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
GermanGerman73.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024 estimates; Germans of native German descent (~73%, ~61M+ of ~84M total). Predominantly Roman Catholic (~26%) and Lutheran Protestant (~23%) plus substantial irreligious / unaffiliated (~45%) sub-populations
German Other ImmigrantGerman Other Immigrant13.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024; other immigrant-descended Germans (~13%); predominantly Italian, Vietnamese, Iranian, Iraqi, Afghan, Eritrean, Nigerian, Ghanaian, plus other source populations from the broader post-1960s German immigration history
German Southeast EuropeanGerman Southeast European6.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024; German-Southeast-European (~6%, ~5M+); predominantly Polish (~2.2M+), Romanian (~1M+), Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek, plus other source populations
German TurkishGerman Turkish4.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024; Turkish-Germans (~4%, ~3M+); descendants of post-1961 Gastarbeiter labor-migration plus subsequent family-reunification immigration. The largest single immigrant-descended community in Germany
Russian German AussiedlerRussian German Aussiedler3.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024; Russian-German Aussiedler / Spätaussiedler (~3%, ~2.4M+); descendants of historic Russian-German populations (Volga Germans, Black Sea Germans, plus other Eastern European German communities) who emigrated to Germany under the post-1991 Spätaussiedler / late-resettler citizenship pathway
German SyrianGerman Syrian1.0%Statistisches Bundesamt 2024; Syrian-Germans (~1%, ~970,000+); the substantial post-2015 Syrian refugee resettlement community plus subsequent immigration. Germany received the largest Syrian refugee population in any single Western country

Germany Phenotype Profile

Germany is among the most demographically diverse Western European national populations — substantial post-1961 immigration including Turkish (~4%), Russian-German Aussiedler (~3%), Southeast European (~6%), other immigrants (~13%), Syrian (~1%), totaling approximately 27% non-native-German-descended population per official Migrationshintergrund (migration background) statistics. Native Germans (~73%). Skin tone Fitzpatrick I-VI with II the modal value for native Germans. Adult German male mean stature approximately 180-182 cm.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Germany population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are estimated based on Statistisches Bundesamt 2024 estimates. The German Migrationshintergrund framework distinguishes 'people with migration background' (including German citizens born in Germany to immigrant parents) from native Germans. Caveats: (1) the substantial post-2015 Syrian, Afghan, and broader Middle Eastern refugee inflow has substantially shifted demographics; (2) the historic German Jewish community was substantially destroyed in the Holocaust (the post-1933 Jewish German population of ~600,000+ was reduced to ~30,000+ by 1945); (3) the substantial East-and-West-German Vietnamese community emerged from the post-1956 East German socialist labor-cooperation plus the post-1975 West German Vietnamese refugee resettlement.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis). Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund 2024. Wiesbaden: Destatis; 2024.
  2. 2.Fulbrook M. A History of Germany 1918-2020 (5th ed). Wiley-Blackwell; 2020.
  3. 3.Bade KJ. Migration in European History (translated). Wiley-Blackwell; 2003.
  4. 4.Schiller D, Frueh F. Russlanddeutsche: Geschichte einer Minderheit. C.H.Beck; 2011.
  5. 5.Goeke P. Transnationale Migrationen: Post-jugoslawische Biografien in der Weltgesellschaft. transcript; 2007.

Other countries in Western Europe

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Western Europe nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all Western Europeethnic groups & countries →