Since 2000, this indicator has been steadily declining. The exception was 2006, when growth amounted to 6.5%. The largest group consisted of immigrants from Turkey. They are followed by representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, and Poland.
Recall that earlier during the discussion of the migration report for 2006, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble called on foreigners living in Germany for a long time to take up German citizenship. Currently, the share of foreigners living in Germany is 8.8% of the population. This year, €155 million is allocated in the federal budget for special integration courses for foreigners.
As Deutsche Welle notes, many foreigners who are formally eligible to apply for German citizenship do not do so because they are reluctant to give up their home country's citizenship, and dual citizenship is only allowed by German authorities as an exception.