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East Germany POPULATION
In 1986 the estimated population was 16.7 million, or between
one-fourth and one-third that of West Germany. In the years since
the war, population has declined steadily, posing a serious
problem for East German planners interested in balanced economic
growth and social development. The population reached a peak of
19.1 million in 1948. This postwar increase resulted largely from
the influx of Germans expelled from Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union. After 1950, however, the population began to decline and,
except for a small increase in the early 1960s (after the
construction of the Berlin Wall), the country continued to
register a negative growth rate. In 1950 the official census
recorded a resident population of 18.3 million; by 1960 the
number had dropped to 17.2 million; and by 1970 it had decreased
to 17.1 million. Population levelled off in the late 1970s at
around 16.7 million, reflecting a zero rate of growth.
Data as of July 1987
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