The demography of Germany is monitored by the Statistisches Bundesamt. According to the most recent data, Germany's population is 83,577,140 making it the most populous country in the European Union and the nineteenth-most populous country in the world. The total fertility rate was rated at 1.38 in 2023, significantly below the replacement rate of 2.1. For a long time Germany had one of the world's lowest fertility rates of around 1.3 to 1.4. Due to the low birth rate Germany has recorded more deaths than births every year since 1972, which means 2024 was the 53rd consecutive year the German population would have decreased without immigration. However, due to immigration the population has actually increased during the last half-century. In 2023 the number of people with a foreign background was 29.7%; this category includes foreigners, naturalized citizens, ethnic German repatriates from Eastern Europe and the children of all of the above.