Germany's Muslim population now as high as 4.7 million

BERLIN (AP) — The German government says that the number of Muslims living in Germany has risen to between 4.4 and 4.7 million, about 1.2 million more than five years ago.

The Interior Ministry said Wednesday that Muslims accounted for between 5.4 and 5.7 percent of the country's overall population of 81.4 million at the end of last year. The figures were drawn up by the country's office for migration and refugees.

Last year saw an influx of around 890,000 migrants to Germany, many from Muslim-majority countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. People with Turkish roots have long been the dominant group of Muslims in Germany, but the Interior Ministry said that they accounted for 51 percent of the country's Muslims at the end of 2015, down from 68 percent in 2008.