Reuters, Berlin :
The number of people seeking refuge in Germany has more than doubled in the last two years to 1.6 million, with most fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.
Asylum figures are a hot issue in Germany due to a migrant crisis which peaked in 2015. Voters punished Chancellor Angela Merkel for her open-door policy in a September election, with her conservatives suffering heavy losses to the far-right.
Agreeing on migrant policy is one of the biggest hurdles facing conservative Merkel in her attempt to form an awkward three-way coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens.
The Statistics Office said on Thursday the 1.6 million people seeking protection by the end of last year was a 113 percent increase from the end of 2014 and was equivalent to 16 percent of the foreign population in Germany.
Included in the figures are people from abroad staying in Germany for humanitarian reasons, people still going through the asylum process, those granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status and failed asylum seekers who stay.
The number of people seeking refuge in Germany has more than doubled in the last two years to 1.6 million, with most fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.
Asylum figures are a hot issue in Germany due to a migrant crisis which peaked in 2015. Voters punished Chancellor Angela Merkel for her open-door policy in a September election, with her conservatives suffering heavy losses to the far-right.
Agreeing on migrant policy is one of the biggest hurdles facing conservative Merkel in her attempt to form an awkward three-way coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens.
The Statistics Office said on Thursday the 1.6 million people seeking protection by the end of last year was a 113 percent increase from the end of 2014 and was equivalent to 16 percent of the foreign population in Germany.
Included in the figures are people from abroad staying in Germany for humanitarian reasons, people still going through the asylum process, those granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status and failed asylum seekers who stay.
