Naturalisations in German Cities: The Official Figures
How many people were naturalised in 15 of Germany's largest cities, and how that compares with the number of foreign residents. All figures come from the regional database of the statistical offices.
Which German city naturalises the most people?
Berlin, with 21,811 naturalisations in 2024, followed by Hamburg with 9,598 and Munich with 6,747. Measured against the foreign population, Dortmund had the highest rate of the 15 cities at 3.3%, and Dresden the lowest at 1.0%. These are the 2024 figures, the latest year for which the statistical offices have published complete city totals. For 2025 only the state results are complete: Berlin naturalised 39,041 people and Hamburg 11,504.
Naturalisations in 15 Large Cities, 2024
Berlin and Hamburg are far ahead. Among the other cities, Munich, Düsseldorf and Dortmund naturalised the most.
- Berlin21,811
- Hamburg9,598
- Munich6,747
- Düsseldorf4,381
- Dortmund4,065
- Bremen3,855
- Nuremberg3,837
- Frankfurt am Main3,795
- Cologne2,869
- Duisburg2,649
- Essen2,553
- Stuttgart2,492
- Hanover1,940
- Leipzig1,582
- Dresden629
Source: Regional database of the statistical offices: naturalisations by district, table 12511-04-01-4 · Data year 2024, the latest year with complete city figures
The Figures for Each City
The naturalisation rate relates naturalisations to the foreign population at the end of the previous year. The second rate uses only foreign residents who had lived in Germany for at least ten years. Both count naturalisations by place of residence.
| City | Naturalisations 2024 | Naturalisation rate | Rate for residents of 10+ years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 21,811 | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Hamburg | 9,598 | 2.7% | 5.7% |
| Munich | 6,747 | 1.6% | 2.7% |
| Düsseldorf | 4,381 | 3.0% | 4.8% |
| Dortmund | 4,065 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
| Bremen | 3,855 | 2.9% | 7.6% |
| Nuremberg | 3,837 | 2.8% | 5.6% |
| Frankfurt am Main | 3,795 | 1.7% | 3.0% |
| Cologne | 2,869 | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Duisburg | 2,649 | 2.2% | 4.1% |
| Essen | 2,553 | 2.4% | 4.8% |
| Stuttgart | 2,492 | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| Hanover | 1,940 | 1.8% | 3.1% |
| Leipzig | 1,582 | 1.9% | 7.7% |
| Dresden | 629 | 1.0% | 4.1% |
Source: Regional database of the statistical offices: naturalisations by district, table 12511-04-01-4 · Data year 2024, the latest year with complete city figures
2025: What Is Already Published
Complete 2025 totals for cities are not yet in the regional database. These 2025 figures are official: Berlin and Hamburg are also federal states, and the statistics office of North Rhine-Westphalia published the figure for Cologne.
| City | Naturalisations 2025 | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 39,041 | Federal Statistical Office (state result) |
| Hamburg | 11,504 | Federal Statistical Office (state result) |
| Cologne | 6,302 | IT.NRW |
Source: Destatis: naturalisations by federal state 2025 · Data year 2025
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Frequently Asked Questions
The regional database of the statistical offices has complete city totals up to 2024. For 2025 it so far holds only a split by EU and non-EU nationality, without the official totals and rates. We will update this page when the 2025 totals are published.
Among these 15 cities, Dortmund at 3.3% in 2024, followed by Düsseldorf at 3.0%. Dresden had the lowest at 1.0%. For residents who had lived in Germany for at least ten years, Leipzig had the highest rate at 7.7%.
No. The figures count completed naturalisations. They depend on how many people live in a city and apply, and they say nothing about how long an application takes there.
6,302, according to the statistics office of North Rhine-Westphalia, an increase of 3,433 on 2024.
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