Berlin

People

The population of Berlin in 1999 amounted to more than 4.3 million, but this figure has been declining since the 1970s, in part because the birthrate is one of the lowest in the world. Only ten-and-a-half births occur per 1,000 inhabitants during a given year. However, an increasing number of foreigners have been settling in Berlin due to recently loosened immigration laws and easier citizenship requirements. Nearly 500,000 foreigners live in what has been called the most international city in Germany, including Turks, Russians, Poles, and others. Despite the mixture of cultures the official language of the people is High German, which came into common usage after Martin Luther's translation of the bible in the sixteenth century. There is also a residual split between East Germans, or "Ossis," and West Germans, who are called "Wessis."