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The German diaspora consists of
German people , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from central Europe to different countries around the world. This definition describes the "German" term as a sociolinguistic group as opposed to the national one since the emigrant groups came from different regions with diverse cultural practices and different varieties of German. For instance, the Alsatians and Hessians were simply called Germans once they set foot in their new homelands.


Terminology

''
Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...
'' ("ethnic Germans") is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century and was used by the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s to describe
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
Germans, without German citizenship, living outside of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, although many had been in other areas for centuries. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
forbade the use of the term because it was being used in a derogatory way against the many ethnic Germans in the SS. It is used by many historians who either deliberately or innocently are unaware of its
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
history. ''
Auslandsdeutsche The German diaspora consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from central Europe to different countries around the world. ...
'' (adj. ''auslandsdeutsch'') is a concept that connotes German citizens, regardless of which ethnicity, living abroad, or alternatively ethnic Germans entering Germany from abroad. Today, this means a
citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
of Germany living more or less permanently in another country (including
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s such as long-term academic exchange lecturers and the like), who are allowed to vote in the Republic's elections, but who usually do not pay taxes to Germany but in their resident states. In a looser but still valid sense, and in general discourse, the word is frequently used in lieu of the ideologically tainted term ''
Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...
'', denoting persons living abroad without German citizenship but defining themselves as Germans (culturally or
ethnically An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
speaking).


Distribution

Ethnic Germans are a minority group in many countries. (See
Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, German language, and
German as a minority language This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German language, German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprac ...
for more extensive numbers and a better sense of where Germans maintain German culture and have official recognition.) The following sections briefly detail the historical and present distribution of ethnic Germans by region, but generally exclude modern
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s, who have a presence in the United States,
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and major urban areas worldwide. ''See ''Groups'' at bottom for a list of all ethnic German groups, or continue for a summary by region.'' In the United States census of 1990, 57 million people identified as being fully or partly of German ancestry, forming the largest single ethnic group in the countryIn 1980, Americans self-identifying as being of German ancestry formed the second-largest group on the US Census. With the introduction of the "American" ethnic category in 1990, millions of Americans ceased identifying as being of English ancestry, instead opting to identify only as "American" (or ignoring the ancestry question altogether); Americans of English descent were historically always the plurality. English ancestry is the most widespread in the United States, though no longer the most popular choice for self-identification. as well as the largest population of Germans outside of Germany. According to the United States Ancestry Census of 2009, there were 50,764,352 people of German descent in the U.S. People of German ancestry form an important minority group in several countries, including
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(roughly 10% of the population), Argentina (roughly 8% of the population), Brazil (roughly 3% of the population),
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(roughly 4.5% of the population),
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
(roughly 3% of the population),
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, and in
central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and eastern Europe—(
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
). Distribution of German citizens and people claiming German ancestry (figures are only estimates and actual population could be higher, because of wrongly formulated questions in censuses in various countries (for example in Poland) and other different factors, f.e. related to participant in a census):


Europe


Alpine nations

Austria, Switzerland, and
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
each have a German-speaking majority, though the vast majority of the population do not identify themselves as German anymore.
Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...
historically were identified as and considered themselves Germans until after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Post-1945 a broader Austrian national identity began to emerge, and over 90% of the Austrians now see themselves as an independent nation.


East-Central Europe

Aside from the Germans who migrated to other parts of Europe, the German diaspora also covered the Eastern and Central European states such as Croatia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, along with several
post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
. There has been a continued historical presence of Germans in these regions due to the interrelated processes of conquest and colonization as well as migration and border changes. During the periods of colonization, for instance, there was an influx of Germans who came to
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and parts of Romania as colonizers. Settlements due to border changes were largely 20th century developments caused by the new political order after the two world wars.


Baltic states


Belgium

: In Belgium, there is an ethnic German minority. It is the majority in its region of 71,000 inhabitants.
Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
puts the national total of German speakers at 150,000, not including
Limburgish Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg (Netherlands), L ...
and
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
.


Bulgaria


Czech Republic and Slovakia

Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, some 30% of the population in
Czechia The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
(historically known as Bohemia) were ethnic Germans, and in the border regions and certain other areas they were in the majority. There are about 40,000 Germans in the Czech Republic (number of
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...
who have at least partly German ancestry probably runs into the hundreds of thousands). Their number has been consistently decreasing since World War II. According to the 2001 census, there remain 13 municipalities and settlements in Czech Republic with more than 10% Germans. The situation in
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
was different from that in Czech Republic, in that the number of Germans was considerably lower and that the Germans from Slovakia were almost completely evacuated to German states as the Soviet army was moving west through Slovakia, and only a fraction of those who returned to Slovakia after the end of the war were deported with the Germans from the Czech lands. Many representatives of expellee organizations support the erection of bilingual signs in all formerly German-speaking territory as a visible sign of the bilingual linguistic and cultural heritage of the region. The erection of bilingual signs is permitted if a minority constitutes 10% of the population.


Denmark

In Denmark, the part of
Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
that is now
South Jutland County South Jutland County (Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Aaben ...
(or
Northern Schleswig South Jutland County ( Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of A ...
) is inhabited by about 12,000–20,000 ethnic Germans They speak mainly Standard German and
South Jutlandic South Jutlandic or South Jutish (South Jutish: ; da, Sønderjysk; german: Südjütisch or Plattdänisch) is a dialect of the Danish language. South Jutlandic is spoken in Southern Jutland (''Sønderjylland''; also called Schleswig or Slesvig) o ...
. A few speak Schleswigsch, a
Northern Low Saxon Northern Low Saxon (in High German: ', in Standard Dutch: ') is a subgroup of Low Saxon dialects of Low German. As such, it covers a great part of the West Low German-speaking areas of northern Germany, with the exception of the border region ...
dialect.


Hungary

Prior to World War II, approximately 1.5 million Danube Swabians lived in Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. Today the German minority in Hungary have minority rights, organisations, schools and local councils, but spontaneous assimilation is well under way. Many of the deportees visited their old homes after the fall of the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
in 1990. Around 178,000 Germans live in Hungary.


Italy

There are smaller, unique populations of Germans who arrived so long ago that their dialect retains many archaic features heard nowhere else: the
Cimbrians Cimbrian ( cim, zimbar, links=no, ; german: Zimbrisch; it, cimbro) refers to any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in northeastern Italy. The speakers of the language are known as ''Zimbern'' in German. Cimbrian is a Germanic l ...
are concentrated in various communities in the
Carnic Alps The Carnic Alps ( it, Alpi Carniche; german: Karnische Alpen; sl, Karnijske Alpe; fur, Alps Cjargnelis) are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italia ...
, north of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, and especially in the
Sugana Valley The Valsugana ( it, Valsugana, german: Suganertal) or Sugana Valley is one of the most important valleys in the autonomous province of Trentino in Northern Italy. Leading into the Alps' foothills, an important main north-south Roman road, the Vi ...
on the high plateau northwest of
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...
in the
Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
region; the
Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named af ...
s, who originated in the Swiss Wallis, live in the provinces of Aostatal,
Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
, and
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian: ''Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola'' ) is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the Pr ...
; the Mòchenos live in the
Fersina Valley The Bersntol (german: Fersental, it, Valle del Fersina) is a valley in the Autonomous Province of Trento, in north-eastern Italy. The Fersina river runs through it. It is also known as the ''Valle del Mòcheni'' after its inhabitants, who spea ...
. Smaller German-speaking communities also exist in the
Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...
region: the Carinthians in the
Canale Valley Canale may refer to: Places ;Italy * Canale, Piedmont, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cuneo * Canale, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, a ''frazione'' in the Province of Trento * Canale d'Agordo, a ''comune'' in the Province of Belluno, Veneto * Can ...
(municipalities of
Tarvisio Tarvisio (German and fur, Tarvis, sl, Trbiž) is a comune in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli Venezia Giulia region in Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Karawanks range ...
,
Malborghetto Valbruna Malborghetto Valbruna ( fur, Malborghet-Valbrune, sl, Naborjet-Ovčja ves; german: Malborgeth-Wolfsbach) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Geography Malborghetto-Valbruna is located about northw ...
and
Pontebba Pontebba ( fur, Ponteibe, german: Pontafel, sl, Tablja) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Geography Pontebba, named after it, ponte meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluenc ...
) and the Zahren and Timau Germans in
Carnia Carnia ( fur, Cjargne or ''Cjargna''/''Cjargno'' in local variants, vec, Ciargna, german: Karnien, sl, Karnija) is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area of Friuli. Its 27 municipalities all belong to the Province of Ud ...
. Contrarily to the before-mentioned minorities, the German-speaking population of the province of
South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...
cannot be categorized as "ethnic German" according to the definition of this article, but as Austrian minority. However, as Austrian saw themselves as ethnic Germans until the end of World War II they can technically also be called Germans. The province was part of the Austrian County of Tyrol before the 1919 dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. South Tyrolians were part of the over 3 million German speaking Austrians who in 1918 found themselves living outside of the newborn Austrian Republic as minorities in the newly formed or enlarged respective states of Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Italy. Their dialect is Austro-Bavarian German. Both standard German and dialect are used in schooling and media. German enjoys co-official status with the national language of Italian throughout this region. Germans have been present in the Iglesiente mining region in the south west of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
since the 13th century. Successively since 1850 groups of specialised workers from
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
, Austria, followed by German miners from
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
settled in the same area. Some Germans influenced building and toponym is still visible in this area.


Norway

In Norway, there are 27,770 Germans making Germans the ninth largest ethnic minority in the country, making up 0.52% of Norway's total population, and 2.94% of all foreign residents in Norway. Immigration from Germany to Norway has been going on since the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. There was many Germans that migrated to
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
during the Middle Ages and during Norway's union with Denmark. During the Union with Denmark, a lot of German miners migrated to the town of
Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...
. As of 2020 there is 1,446 Germans in the city of Bergen making up 0.51% of the total population, and in the town of Kongsberg there are 114 Germans making up 0.41% of the total population. The city with the biggest population of Germans is
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. 3,743 Germans lives in the city making up 0.55% of the total population. Germany is also the country that sends the most foreign exchange students to Norway, in 2016, 1,570 exchange students came to Norway from Germany.


Poland

The remaining German minority in Poland (109,000 people were registered in the 2011 census) enjoys minority rights according to Polish minority law. There are German speakers throughout Poland, and most of the Germans live in the
Opole Voivodship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper Si ...
in
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. Bilingual signs are posted in some towns of the region. In addition, there are bilingual schools and German can be used instead of Polish in dealings with officials in several towns.


Romania

About 40,000 people of German descent currently live in Romania. Since the High Middle Ages, the territory of present-day Romania has been continuously inhabited by German-speaking groups, firstly by Transylvanian Saxons then, gradually, by other immigrant groups of ethnic German origin. They are all politically represented by the
Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania The Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania (german: Demokratisches Forum der Deutschen in Rumänien, DFDR; ro, Forumul Democrat al Germanilor din România, FDGR; in short or ) is a political party (legally recognized as an association of public ...
.


Sweden

During the 11th century, Sweden was visited by missionaries from Germany. During the Middle Ages, Hanseatic merchants had a great influence on Swedish trade and also the Swedish language. According to a survey, the proportion of German loanwords in Swedish is 24–30 percent (slightly depending on how you calculate). During the period of great power, a number of German congregations were formed in Sweden. Including Karlskrona German parish, which then became part of Karlskrona Admiralty parish. Today, there are two more active German congregations in Sweden. They are part of the parishes of the Church of Sweden, the German Christinae parish and the German St. Gertrude's parish consists of German citizens or Swedes of German origin. In connection with the two world wars, several German children of war came to Sweden. Between the late 1940s and early 1990s, many East German refugees also came to Sweden. On 31 December 2014, there were 49,359 people in Sweden who were born in Germany, of whom 23,195 were men (47.0%) and 26,164 women (53.0%). The corresponding figure for 31 December 2000 was 38,155, of which 16,965 men (44.5%) and 21,190 women (55.5%).There were 28,172 people in Sweden with German citizenship. In 2019, according to Statistics Sweden, German immigrants together with the Chinese were the most highly educated who migrate to Sweden, with a proportion of 70 per cent who are highly educated, which is well above the average for Sweden's population which is 30 per cent. Around 29,505 German Citizens living i
Sweden in 2020


France

In France over 100,000 German nationals residing in the French country (the exact number is not known, some statistics indicate more than 300,000 Germans in France but are not officially sanctioned.) There, the Germans live mainly in the northeastern area of France, i.e., in regions close to the Franco-German border (i.e.
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
), and the island of
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
.


United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a German-Briton ethnic group of around 300,000 exists. Some are descended from nineteenth-century immigrants. Others are 20th-century immigrants and their descendants, and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
held in Great Britain who decided to stay there. Others arrived as spouses of English soldiers from post-war marriages in Germany, when the British were occupying forces. Many of the more recent immigrants have settled in the
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and southeast part of England, in particular,
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
(South West London). The British Royal Family are partially descended from German monarchs. Due to Brexit, the number of Germans in the UK has declined significantly, in 2021 there were only 135,000 Germans in the UK.


Africa

During the long decline of the Roman Empire and the ensuing great migrations Germanic tribes such as the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
(who sacked Rome) migrated into
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and settled mainly in the lands corresponding to modern
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
and northeastern
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. While it is likely that some of the people living there at present are descended from these Germanic peoples, they did not leave visible cultural traces.


Cameroon

The first German trading post in the Duala area on the Kamerun River delta was established in 1868 by the Hamburg trading company C. Woermann. The firm's agent in Gabon, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun River delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in Liberia, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company, Jantzen & Thormählen there. At the outbreak of World War I, French, Belgian and British troops invaded the German colony in 1914 and fully occupied it during the Kamerun campaign. The last German fort to surrender was the one at Mora in the north of the colony in 1916. Following Germany's defeat, the Treaty of Versailles divided the territory into two League of Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of Great Britain and France. French Cameroun and part of British Cameroons reunified in 1961 as Cameroon, though some Germans still remain in Cameroon.


Namibia

Germany was not as involved in colonizing Africa as other major European powers of the 20th century, and lost its overseas colonies, including
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
and
German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
, after World War I. Similarly to those in Latin America, the Germans in Africa tended to isolate themselves and were more self-sufficient than other Europeans. In
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
there are 30,000 ethnic Germans, though it is estimated that only a third of those retain the language. Most German-speakers live in the capital,
Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...
, and in smaller towns such as
Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
and
Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...
, where German architecture is highly visible.


South Africa

In South Africa, a number of
Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
and
Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...
are of partial German ancestry, being the descendants of German immigrants who intermarried with Dutch settlers and adopted
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
as their mother tongue. Professor JA Heese in his book ''Die Herkoms van die Afrikaner'' (''The Origins of Afrikaners'') claims the modern Afrikaners (who total around 3.5 million) have 34.4% German ancestry. Germans also emigrated to South Africa during the 1850s and 1860s, and settled in the
Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
area around
Stutterheim Stutterheim is a town with a population of 46,730 in South Africa, situated in the Border region of the Eastern Cape province. It is named after Richard Von Stutterheim. History The area's earliest human population were Bushmen. Khoikhoi groups r ...
, and in
Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
in the
Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...
area, where there is still a large German-speaking community. Mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries, an estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. German L1 speakers outside Europe Germans settled quite extensively in South Africa, with many
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
s immigrating from Northern Europe. Later on, more Germans settled in the
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
and elsewhere. Here, one of the largest communities are the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of
Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...
, who are concentrated in and around
Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...
. German is slowly disappearing elsewhere, but a number of communities still have a large number of speakers and some even have German language schools. In South Africa Live in 2020 around 17,000 German Nationals.


Tanzania

When mainland
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, and Burundi were under German control they were named
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
and received some migration from German communities. After Tanganyika (territory), Tanganyika and Ruanda-Urundi became British and Belgian League of Nations mandate, mandates following Germany's defeat in World War I, some of these communities remained.


North America

In the United States are ca. 160,000 German Citizens Registered. * Belize: 5,763 Mennonite Low-German speakers. * Canada (3.3 million, 9,6% of the population), see also German Canadians. * Mexico: See German immigration to Mexico, 100,000 Mennonites; 22% of Mennonites also speaks Low German which is not Standard German but derived from Old Saxon, 30% speaks Spanish, 5% speaks English and 5% speaks Russian as second language. Different sources estimates that there are between 15 000 and 40 000 German citizens and Mexicans of German-citizen origin account for over 1,500,000 people today.Horst Kop
Area Studies, Business and Culture: Results of the Bavarian Research Network Forarea
(2003)
Also of note, the 'Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt', or Alexander von Humboldt school in Mexico City is the largest German school outside Germany. * In the United States, German American, "German" has been the largest self-identified ancestry group since 1990. There are around 50 million German American, Americans of at least partial German ancestry in the United States, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group. including various groups such as the Pennsylvania Dutch. Of these, 23 million are of German ancestry alone ("single ancestry"), and another 27 million are of partial German ancestry, making them the largest group in the United States, followed by the Irish. Of those who claim partial ancestry, 22 million identify their primary ancestry ("first ancestry") as German. The 22 million Americans of primarily German ancestry are by far the largest part of the German diaspora, a figure equal to over a quarter of the population of Germany itself. Germans form just under half the population in the Upper Midwest. * Central America: In 1940, there were 16,000 Germans living in Central America; half of them in Guatemala, and most of the remainder were established in Costa Rica.


South America

* Argentina: Those of German ancestry constitute about 8% of the Argentine population — over 3 million — most of them Volga Germans alone — about 2 million. There are more than 400,000 of other German ancestries including Mennonites and German-speaking Switzerland, German Swiss. These two groups are more common in Southern Argentina, and also in Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Cordoba provinces. A notable example is the town of Villa General Belgrano, founded by Germans in the 1930s. In the 1960s it became the site of the Fiesta Nacional de la Cerveza, or Oktoberfest, which has become a major attraction in Argentina. By 1940, there were 250,000 people of German descent living in the country. The German embassy in Argentina estimates that 660,000 Argentines, or 1.5% of the total population, are descendants of Germans who emigrated directly from Germany (It means that it doesn't includes other ethnic Germans who emigrated from Austria, Switzerland, Russia/USSR, etc.). 50,000 German citizens live in Argentina. :Nazi Minister Walther Darré was born in Argentina. After the Second World War, almost a thousand prominent Nazi leaders and politicians fled to Argentina. Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele were among them. Kurt Tank, who developed some of the greatest World War II aircraft fighters, also entered Argentina in the late 1940s. : There are about 500,000 German-speakers in Argentina,Handwörterbuch des politischen Systems der Bundesrepublik
(in German). Source lists "German expatriate citizens" only for Namibia and South Africa!
slightly over 1% of population. * Colombia: Most German Colombians live in Bogotá, Santander Department, Atlantico Department, Magdalena Department and Antioquia Department. Germans have been immigrating to Colombia since at least the 17th century. During World War II, thousands of Germans fled to Colombia. The term "German"in Colombia generally refers ethnic Germans who emigrated from countries they inhabited such as Germany, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Switzerland and the former Czechoslovakia (Sudeten Germans). Furthermore, a wave of Ashkenazi immigrants came after the rise of Nazism in 1933, followed by as many as 19,000 German Jews. From 1939 until the end of World War II, immigration was put to a halt by anti-immigrant feelings in the country and restrictions on immigration from Germany. In the 1980s, thousands of German Colombians emigrated back to West Germany due to the Colombian armed conflict. However, this trend began to decline in the late 2000s (decade) as living standards rose sharply after the Colombian economic boom. * Bolivia: There are 2 different German groups, the descendants of those who emigrated from Germany and Brazil (estimated in about a quarter of million, 2.0% of Bolivian population), and the descendants of Mennonites that emigrated from Canada and Mexico (at least 85,000 of them live in agrarian communities). Germans are 237,000 or 2,5% of Bolivian population.German in Bolivia
Joshua Project. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
:There are over 20,000 Standard German-speakers, plus 85,000 Plautdietsch language, Mennonite Low German-speakers.Bolivian Reforms Raise Anxiety on Mennonite Frontier
New York Times
* Brazil: Mostly living in Southern Brazil. Brazil received 250,000 Germans between the 19th and 20th centuries. According to Born and Dickgiesser (1989, p. 55) the number of Brazilians of German descent in 1986 was 3.6 million. According to a 1999 survey by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE researcher Simon Schwartzman, in a representative sample of the Brazilian population 3,6% said they had German ancestry, a percentage that in a population of about 200 million amount to 7.2 million descendants.Many authors. Os Alemães no Sul do Brasil, Editora Ulbra, 2004 (2004). In 2004, Deutsche Welle cited the number of 5 million Brazilians of German descent. Hunsrückisch and East Pomeranian dialect, East Pomeranian are some of the most prominent groups. :By 1940, the German diaspora in Brazil amounted about a million. Around 14,000 German Citizens Registered in Brazil. :There are 3 million German-speakers in Brazil, slightly over 1.5% of population. *
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
: The German-Chilean Chamber of Commerce estimated at 500,000 the descendants of Germans, about 3% of the total population of Chile estimated at 16 million (in the same source). There are 40,000 Standard German-speakers.Handwörterbuch des politischen Systems der Bundesrepublik
(in German).
* Ecuador: Ecuador has only few people of German descent. Notable is a small German population on the Island of Floreana (Galapagos): Between 1929 and circa 1950 roughly half a dozen Simple living, ''Aussteiger''s were living on the Island. In 1934 three of them died under unclear circumstances, these events caused international media attention called ''Galapagos-affair''. Today, the descendants of the Floreana-Germans have been assimilated into the local Ecuadorian population or re-immigrated to Germany. * Paraguay : 166,000 Standard German-speakers (including 18,000 Mennonites, who don't speak ''Plattdeutsch'' or ''Mennonite Low German''), most Germans in Paraguay are of Brazilian descent and Portuguese speakers; plus 20,000 Plautdietsch language, Mennonite Low German, spoken by Mennonites who live in Chaco Department, Chaco and Eastern Paraguay The Mennonites in Paraguay, Mennonites emigrated to Paraguay from Chihuahua State (in Mexico), the Soviet Union, Canada, and Bolivia. Non-Mennonites German emigrated to Paraguay mainly from Brazil, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the German Empire. :Those of German ancestry are 290,000 or 4.4% of Paraguayan population. * Peru: The communities of Oxapampa, Pozuzo District, Pozuzo, and Villa Rica District, Villa Rica in the high jungles of the Peruvian Amazon basin were settled in the middle of the 19th century by Austrian and Prussian immigrants. Many of its present-day inhabitants speak German In the 18th century, German immigrants settled the areas of Tingo Maria, Tarapoto, Moyobamba, and the Amazonas Region, Amazonas Department. German immigrants largely settled in Lima, and to a lesser extent Arequipa. * Uruguay: By 1940, there were 50,000 Germans living in the country. * Venezuela:


Asia

In Japan, during the Meiji period (1868–1912), many Germans came to work in Japan as advisors to the new government. Despite Japan's isolationism and geographic distance, there have been a few :German expatriates in Japan, Germans in Japan, since Germany's and Japan's fairly parallel modernization made Germans ideal ''Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, O-yatoi gaikokujin''. (See also Germany–Japan relations) In China, the German trading colony of Jiaozhou Bay in what is now Qingdao existed until 1914, and did not leave much more than breweries, including Tsingtao Brewery. In Indonesia, some of them became well-known figures in history, such as C.G.C. Reinwardt (founder and first director of Bogor Botanical Garden), Walter Spies (German of Russian origin, who became the artist that made Bali known to the world), and Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn (owner of a big plantation in the south of Bandung and dubbed "the Alexander von Humboldt, Humboldt of the East" because of his ethno-geographical notes). Members of the German religious group known as Templers (religious believers), Templers settled in Palestine (region), Palestine in the late 19th century and lived there for several generations, but were expelled by the British from Mandatory Palestine during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, due to pro-Nazi sympathies expressed by many of them. Communist East Germany had relations with Vietnam and Uganda in Africa, but in these cases population movement went mostly to, not from, Germany. After the German reunification, a large percentage of "guest workers" from Communist nations sent to East Germany returned to their home countries. See also: German colonial empire and List of former German colonies


Oceania

* Australia has received a significant number of ethnic-German immigrants from Germany and elsewhere. Numbers vary depending on who is counted, but moderate criteria give an estimate of 750,000 (4% of the population). The first wave of German immigration to Australia began in 1838, with the arrival of Prussian Lutheranism, Lutheran settlers in South Australia (see ''German settlement in Australia''). After the Second World War, Australia received a large influx of displaced ethnic Germans. In the 1950s and 1960s, German immigration continued as part of a large post-war wave of European immigration to Australia. There have been ethnic Germans in Australia since the founding of the New South Wales colony in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip (the first Governor of New South Wales) had a German father. But, the first significant wave of German immigration was in 1838. These Germans, mostly Prussian immigrants (but also winegrowers from the Hesse-Nassau state and the Rheingau). From there after, thousands of Germans emigrated to Australia until World War I. Also, German Australian was the most identified ethnicity behind English and Irish in Australia until World War I. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, large numbers of Germans emigrated to Australia to escape war-torn Europe. * New Zealand has received modest, but steady, ethnic German immigration from the mid-19th century. Today the number of New Zealanders with German ancestry is estimated to be approximately 200,000 (5% of the population). Many German New Zealanders anglicized their names during the 20th century due to the negative perception of Germans fostered by World War I and World War II. New Zealanders of German descent include the late former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister David Lange. The vast majority of Germans in New Zealand settled in the North Island, with a couple settling in the Christchurch area. Cities such as Tauranga, Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson and, to a lesser extent, Auckland have been somewhat influenced by German culture and values.


History

From Celts, Celtic times the early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes settled from the Baltic Sea, Baltic all the way to the Black Sea until the great migrations of the 4-6th century AD. Medieval Germans migrated eastwards during the medieval period Ostsiedlung until the expulsion of Germans after World War II, flight, evacuation and expulsion of Germans after World War II; many areas in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe had an ethnic German population. In the Middle Age, Germans were invited to migrate to Poland and the central and eastern regions of the German Holy Roman Empire and also the Kingdom of Hungary following the Mongol invasions of the 12th century, and then once again during the late 17th century after the Austrian-Ottoman wars to set up farms and repopulate the eastern regions of the Austrian Empire and Balkans. The Nazi government termed such ethnic Germans ''
Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...
'', regardless of how long they had been residents of other countries. (Now they would be considered ''
Auslandsdeutsche The German diaspora consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from central Europe to different countries around the world. ...
''). During World War II, Nazi Germany classified ethnic Germans as Übermensch#The Übermensch and the Nazis, Übermenschen, while Jews, Romani people, Gypsies, Slavic peoples, mainly Poles, ethnic Poles and Serbs, along with black people, Black and Multiracial, mixed-race people were called Untermenschen. After the war, central European nations such as Poland, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, Hungary, as well as the Soviet Union in eastern Europe, and Yugoslavia in the Balkan region of southern Europe, expelled most of the ethnic Germans living in their territories. There were significant ethnic German populations in such areas as Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine at one time. As recently as 1990, there were one million standard German speakers and 100,000 Plautdietsch speakers in Kazakhstan alone, and 38,000, 40,000 and 101,057 standard German speakers in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, respectively. There were reportedly 500,000 ethnic Germans in Poland in 1998. Recent official figures show 147,000 (as of 2002). Of the 745,421 Germans in Romania in 1930, only about 60,000 remain. In Hungary the situation is quite similar, with only about 220,000. There are up to one million Germans in the Commonwealth of Independent States, former Soviet Union, mostly in a band from southwestern Russia and the Volga valley, through Omsk and Altai Krai (597,212 History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, Germans in Russia, Demographics of Russia, 2002 Russian census) to Kazakhstan (353,441 Germans of Kazakhstan, Germans in Kazakhstan, Demographics of Kazakhstan, 1999 Kazakhstan census). Germany admitted approximately 1.63 million ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union between 1990 and 1999. These ''
Auslandsdeutsche The German diaspora consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from central Europe to different countries around the world. ...
'', as they are now generally known, have been streaming out of the former Eastern Bloc since the early 1990s. For example, many ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union have taken advantage of the German ''Aussiedler, Law of Return'', a policy which grants citizenship to all those who can prove to be a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or the spouse or descendant of such a person. This exodus has occurred despite the fact that many of the ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union were highly assimilated and spoke little or no German.


Historical countries


Former Soviet Union


Former Yugoslavia

According to the 1921 census, the German community was the largest minority group in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (505,790 inhabitants or 4.22%).


Groupings

Note that many of these groups have since migrated elsewhere. This list simply gives the region with which they are associated, and does not include people from countries with German as an official national language, which are: *Austria, Belgium, Germany,
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In general, it also omits some collective terms in common use defined by political border changes where this is antithetical to the current structure. Such terms include: *''Ungarndeutsche'' / Germans of Hungary (of the Austria-Hungary empire, 1867–1918). *''Serbiendeutsche'' / Germans of Serbia (former Yugoslavia). *''Rumäniendeutsche'' / Germans of Romania (one of Many Eastern European German settlements extending from Belarus to
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
to Ukraine). Roughly grouped: *Sudeten Germans, Germans of Bohemia and Moravia, often known as Sudetenland, Sudeten Germans (now the Czech Republic). *Silesians, Germans of Silesia (now Poland). *Germans of East Prussia (the largest group), including **Germans of Poland; see also: ***the Polonization, Polonized Bambrzy (notice that Bambrzy are not part of German minority). **those from Lithuania: Prussian-Lithuanians and Baltic Germans. **Baltic Germans of Latvia and Estonia, Prussian-Polonians, Prussian Latvians, and ethnic Germans in Belarus. *The German-Briton group of the United Kingdom (sometimes called British Germans), and German Poles living in the UK since the end of World War II. * Schleswigsch Germans in
South Jutland County South Jutland County (Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Aaben ...
, Denmark, see North Schleswig Germans. *German-speaking citizens of the Netherlands (386,200 - 2.37% of the population), including Limburg (Netherlands), Limburger Germans. *German-speaking Demographics of Belgium, Belgians, mostly in the German-speaking Community of Belgium (''DGB'' - ''Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens''), and about 1 to 3 percent of Belgians speak German. *
South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...
, a majority in this province of Italy. *
Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser people are named af ...
originally from Wallis in Switzerland, now in Italy. *Cimbrians in Italy. *Móchenos in Italy. *Germans in Slovenia: in the Gottschee, Gottschee County, in the Lower Styrian towns of Maribor, Celje and Ptuj, and in the Apače area. *the original Hutterites. * Russian Mennonites in Ukraine, including the Mennonite Brethren. *Transylvanian Saxons in Romania. *Transylvanian Landler Protestants in Romania. *Bukovina Germans from Bukovina, Romania. *Carpathian Germans in Romania, as well as nearby Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine. **Zipser, from Spiš (Carpathian German heartland) to northern Romania. *Regat Germans in southern and eastern Romania. *Danube Swabians, including: ** those in the Bačka. ** Banat Swabians in the Serbian and Romanian Banat, as well as Germans in Bulgaria, a handful in Bulgaria. ** Satu Mare Swabians in Romania, a much smaller colony as a result of the two world wars and the Communist era. ** most Germans of Hungary (especially Swabian Turkey). ** in Croatia (where it is a recognized minority language). ** and Bosnia and Herzegovina, though are now minuscule in number since World War II. *Black Sea Germans in southern Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Germans in Bulgaria, Bulgaria including: **Germans of the Crimea. **Dobrujan Germans of Romania and Bulgaria. **Bessarabia Germans roughly from what is now Moldova. *Germans of Volhynia (German Volhynians). *Galiziendeutsche in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia. *Caucasus Germans, German Russians, estimated at 5 million throughout Russia, and German Ukrainians, included in Ukraine. *Caucasus Germans (also Swabians) in the northern Caucasus, Georgia (country), Georgia, and Azerbaijan. *the rest of the German minority in Russia and Soviet Union, Germans in the former USSR, including: **Volga Germans. **Russian Mennonites. **Germans of Kazakhstan. *Bosporus Germans, originally craftsmen in and around Istanbul, Turkey. *Cyprus has a German expatriate community. In the Americas, one can divide the groups by current nation of residence: *German Canadians and German-Americans, the largest ethno-ancestral group in the USA documented by the 2000 United States Census. **Texas Germans (see also the List of German Texans). **Hutterites who speak Hutterite German. *German Mexicans, including Mennonites in Mexico as well as many notable figures, see German-, Austrian-, Hungarian-, and Polish- subcategories of European Mexicans, esp. in the Northern states. *Deutschbrasilianer in Brazil, whose various languages comprise Brazilian German. *German Argentines with prominent personalities and a notable German impact on Argentine culture. **Uruguay, known for a German community. *Germans of Paraguay. *Germans, mostly from outside the borders of Germany, in the rest of Latin America, especially: **German immigration to Puerto Rico, German-Puerto Ricans (and a similar community in the Virgin Islands). Heavy concentration of German, Austrian and Swiss descendants in Southern Chile. (German Chileans). **Peru, not many are German speakers, see German Peruvian. **German Venezuelans, for example Colonia Tovar where settlers came from Baden, and Colonia Agrícola de Turén where settlers were Germans of the Bukovina Region and some Germans of Poland, in Colonia Tovar the dialect Colonia Tovar dialect, Alemán Coloniero is dramatically disappearing and losing popularity being replaced mainly by Spanish, meanwhile in Colonia Agrícola de Turén some German is still spoken. **Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. **Central America. ...or by ethnic or religious criteria: * Pennsylvania Dutch - in the Northeastern US. * Amish found in the US, notably Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and New York (state), New York. *Volga Germans and Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites. **in Canada, (e.g. Chortitzer Mennonite Conference). **in the United States, for instance in Kansas, New York, and Chicago, Illinois where millions of residents self-claim to be German (American). **throughout Latin America, most notably in Mexico. *Hutterites who speak Hutterite German. *"Germania" - from the mid 19th century to after World Wars I or II, a large ethnic and cultural German presence in many towns in the Midwestern US. In Africa, Oceania, and East/Southeast Asia *Germans of Namibia, Togo, Cameroon,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and South Africa, which was never a pre-WWI German colony. *German Australians and German New Zealanders. *Germans in the colony of Jiaozhou Bay, China, who founded (among others) the Tsingtao Brewery in today's Qingdao. *Small numbers of German expatriates in East Asia and Southeast Asia (Burma, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam). *German cultural traits remain in Papua New Guinea.


German-language media worldwide

A visible sign of the geographical extension of the German language is the German-language media outside the German-speaking countries. German is the second most commonly used scientific language as well as the third most widely used language on websites after English and Russian. Deutsche Welle (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈvɛlə]; "''German Wave''" in German), or DW, is Germany's public international broadcaster. The service is available in 30 languages. DW's satellite television service consists of channels in German, English, Spanish, and Arabic. German-speaking people living abroad (and people wanting to learn German) can visit the websites of German-language newspapers and TV- and radio stations. The free software MediathekView allows the downloading of videos from the websites of some public German, Austrian, and Swiss TV stations and of the public Franco-German TV network Arte, ARTE. With the webpage "''onlinetvrecorder.com,''" it is possible to record programs of many German and some international TV stations. Note that some material is region-restricted due to legal reasons and cannot be accessed from everywhere in the world. Some websites have a paywall or limit the access for free/unregistered users. See also: * List of newspapers in Germany and List of German-language newspapers published in the United States * List of magazines in Germany * List of television stations in Germany and List of German-language television channels * List of radio stations in Germany and List of German-language radio stations * Goethe-Institut [ˈɡøːtə ʔɪnstiˌtuːt] (a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations.)


Germany's policy on dual citizenship

German nationality law allows dual citizenship with other EU countries and Switzerland; with other countries, it is possible in some cases: # With special permission ("''Beibehaltungsgenehmigung''"), for which German citizens must apply ''before'' taking the other citizenship (otherwise, German citizenship is ''automatically lost''). Non-EU and non-Swiss citizens wanting to be naturalized in Germany must usually renounce their old citizenship, but may keep it if their country does not allow the renunciation of citizenship, or if the renunciation process is too difficult/humiliating/expensive, or, rarely, in individual cases if the renunciation of the old citizenship means enormous disadvantages for the concerned person. # If dual citizenship was obtained at birth. Some countries do not accept the "dual-citizenship-by-birth principle," so the concerned person must later choose one citizenship and renounce the other. # Under Article 116 par. 2 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), former German citizens who between 30 January 1933, and 8 May 1945, were deprived of their German citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds may re-invoke their citizenship and the same applies to their descendants, and are permitted to hold dual (or multiple) citizenship. A law adopted in June 2019 allows the revocation of the German citizenship of dual citizens who have joined or supported a terror militia such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Islamic State and are at least 18 years old. Naturalized Germans can lose their German citizenship if it is found out that they got it by willful deceit / bribery / menacing / giving intentionally false or incomplete information that had been important for the naturalization process. In June 2019, it was decided to prolong the deadline from 5 to 10 years after naturalization.


Visa requirements

As of April 2021, German citizens can visit 191 countries without a visa or with visa on arrival. The Henley Passport Index ranks the German passport third in the world in terms of travel freedom.


Freedom of movement within other EU countries and the EFTA countries

As European Union, EU citizens, Germans can live and work indefinitely in other EU countries and the EFTA countries; however, the right to vote and work in certain sensitive fields (such as government, police, military) might in some cases be restricted to the local citizens only. The EU/EFTA countries can exclude immigrants from getting welfare for a certain time period to avoid "welfare tourism," and they can refuse welfare completely if the immigrants do not have a job after a certain period of time and do not try to get one. Immigrants convicted of welfare fraud can be deported and be refused the re-entry of the country.


Right to consular protection in non-EU countries

When in a non-EU country where there is no German embassy, Germans as EU citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. See List of diplomatic missions of Germany and List of diplomatic missions in Germany. German citizens can be extradited only to other EU countries or to international courts of justice, and only if a law allows this (German Basic Law, Art. 16). Before the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, the extradition of German citizens was generally prohibited by the German Basic Law. Germany regularly publishes travel warnings on the website of the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) to its citizens. The Office allows German citizens to register online in a special list, the Krisenvorsorgeliste ("Crisis-Prevention List") before they travel abroad (''Elektronische Erfassung von Deutschen im Ausland [ELEFAND]'' Electronic Registration of Germans Being Abroad). With a password, the registered persons can change or update their data. The registration is voluntary and free of charge. It can be used for longer stays (longer than 6 months), but also for a vacation of only two weeks. The earliest date of registration is 10 days before the planned trip.


Footnotes


See also

* Geographical distribution of German speakers *German dialects *German language in Europe *German question *Germanic peoples *Imperial Germans *Pan-Germanism *Unification of Germany *Völkisch movement


Notes

Most numbers are from the www.ethnologue.com, apart from a few from German language and
Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, as well as the following:


External links


A global map of the German digital DiasporaStandard GermanPlautdietschGerman-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, DCReassessing what we collect website – German LondonSitio Internacional de Villa General Belgrano - Colonia Alemana Argentina
{{German people German diaspora,