The preliminary figure was roughly the same as the number given in the previous two years.

“In 2021, the stagnating population was due to the increased number of deaths, which clearly exceeded the number of births,” the agency said.

“The gap between births and deaths, however, was filled by higher net immigration,” it added, noting that net migration had decreased in 2020.

The halt in population growth has been partially attributed to the pandemic, which has slowed migration to Germany. Prior to 2019, Germany had seen a general trend of population growth over decades.