Ongoing: Diversity Worldwide (Countries, Metros or Cities)

[Capsicum]

Interesting stats for some countries you gave that we don't typically think of as "nations of immigrants" (eg. Jordan).

I'm also wondering if in some cases, the "immigrants" (eg. the Brazilians to Italy or some of the cases of immigrants for Jordan) are "diaspora returnees" -- either return migrants or descendants of emigrants?

[Capsicum]

It's also very notable that in the British and French cases, colonial ties are strong or language ties (eg. South Asia as source of immigrants for Britain, Francophone Africa for France), but in some of the other countries (eg. Italy), the immigration list does not appear to be driven by either colonial ties or language (eg. Italy has lots of groups like Chinese, Nigerians with little or no history with Italy as a country the way France has with Algeria) as strongly.

[Urbanguy]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Interesting stats for some countries you gave that we don't typically think of as "nations of immigrants" (eg. Jordan).

I'm also wondering if in some cases, the "immigrants" (eg. the Brazilians to Italy or some of the cases of immigrants for Jordan) are "diaspora returnees" -- either return migrants or descendants of emigrants?

This is part of the reason why i've been sharing these statistics. Many countries are now attracting immigrants from all over the world & it's starting to break the stereotypes that many people in the "New World" have often perceived other countries of lacking in regards to the variety of source countries & regions of origin. In the case of Jordan it has been a huge place of refuge for people from Palestine but also an attractive place for people to seek economic opportunities like other countries in the Middle East have like Saudi Arabia, UAE & Qatar.

As for immigrants from Brazil to places like Italy -- part of it could be ethnic Italians as well as ethnic Japanese from Brazil to Japan. However, Brazilians are moving everywhere now, communities can be found in Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Germany, South Africa and so on. Latin Americans in general have become more wide spread -- moving further away from traditional places in the Americas to far flung places in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. You can find Chileans in Sweden to Colombians in the UK, Peruvians in Italy to Mexicans in Japan.

[Urbanguy]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

It's also very notable that in the British and French cases, colonial ties are strong or language ties (eg. South Asia as source of immigrants for Britain, Francophone Africa for France), but in some of the other countries (eg. Italy), the immigration list does not appear to be driven by either colonial ties or language (eg. Italy has lots of groups like Chinese, Nigerians with little or no history with Italy as a country the way France has with Algeria) as strongly.

^Now places like France are starting to attract immigrants from places with no traditional or historical ties like Sudan & Afghanistan. In the case of Italy it has been a mixed bag as there have been many from places like Ghana and other parts of Africa that came over by both/ship & settled in the country & to a lesser extent due to past historical ties like Eritrea/Ethiopia & Somalia. Evidence of it still remains even in Somalia as they have their own version of spaghetti/pasta but instead of a typical spaghetti sauce they'll serve a traditional stew meat over it.

[SIGSEGV]

Italian is the closest commonly-spoken language to Romanian, and the cultures are relatively similar, so it's probably not too surprising that a lot of Romanians go to Italy.

[Urbanguy]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Italian is the closest commonly-spoken language to Romanian, and the cultures are relatively similar, so it's probably not too surprising that a lot of Romanians go to Italy.

^It also helped when the EU opened the doors to countries in Eastern Europe like Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania & Latvia. Large populations of Romanians are now found through out the EU like Spain, the UK (growing very fast) to Germany. The UK is also becoming a very popular destination for immigrants from Lithuania, Poland and Latvia.

[Urbanguy]

...and for tonight we are traveling back to the Southern Hemisphere to the island nation of New Zealand or Aotearoa.

...but first...A brief history as brought to you by: newzealandnow.govt.nz

"New Zealand is a young country, in both geological and human terms.

In fact, New Zealand was the last habitable place in the world to be discovered.

Māori settlement

First to arrive were ancestors of Māori. These first settlers probably arrived from Polynesia between 1200 and 1300 AD. They discovered New Zealand as they explored the Pacific, navigating by ocean currents and the winds and stars. In some traditions, the navigator credited with discovering New Zealand is Kupe.


Image Source: cedarwood.co.nz

In 2013 the population of people of Māori or part-Māori Descent was 668,724 & those that could speak fluent or some New Zealand Māori was 148,395. Source: NZ Census 2013

The first Europeans

The first European to arrive in New Zealand was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. That’s how we got the Dutch-sounding name - from a Dutch mapmaker who first called us Nieuw Zeeland.

A surprisingly long time - 127 years - passed before New Zealand was visited by another European, Captain James Cook. He came in 1769 on the first of three voyages.

European whalers and sealers started visiting regularly and then came traders. By the 1830s the British government was being pressured to curb lawlessness in the country and also to pre-empt the French who were considering New Zealand as a potential colony.

Eventually, at Waitangi on 6 February 1840, William Hobson, New Zealand’s first Governor, invited assembled Māori chiefs to sign a treaty with the British Crown. The treaty was taken all round the country, as far south as Foveaux Strait, for signing by local chiefs, and eventually more than 500 signed.

Conflict and growth

Māori came under increasing pressure to sell their land for settlement.

This led to conflict and in the 1860s, war broke out in the North Island. Much Māori land was confiscated or bought during or after 20 years of war.

Meanwhile, the South Island settlements prospered. Sheep farming was established on extensive grasslands, and Canterbury became the country’s wealthiest province. Gold was discovered in Otago in 1861, and then on the West Coast, and helped make Dunedin New Zealand’s largest town.

In the 1870s, the government helped thousands of British people start a new life in New Zealand. Railways were built and towns sprang up or expanded.

In 1882, the first shipment of frozen meat made it successfully to England. Exporting meat and butter and cheese (chilled) became possible and New Zealand became a key supplier for Britain.

With an economy based on agriculture, much of the forest that originally covered New Zealand was cleared for farmland.

Social change and war

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the vote. State pensions and state housing for workers were also offered first in New Zealand."


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-New Zealand countries or places of birth

New Zealand (Aotearoa) 2013

1 United Kingdom 255,054
2 China, People's Republic of 89,121
3 India (Bhārat) 67,176
4 Australia 62,619
5 South Africa, Republic of 54,279
6 Fiji Islands 52,755
7 Samoa, Independent State of 50,658
8 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 37,299
9 Korea, Republic of (South) 26,604
10 Tonga 22,413

11 United States of America 21,462
12 Netherlands (Nederland) 19,815
13 Malaysia 16,350
14 Cook Islands (Kūki 'Āirani) 12,954
15 Germany (Deutschland) 12,945
16 Japan 10,269
17 Sri Lanka 9,582
18 Canada 9,576
19 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 9,042
20 Taiwan 8,988

21 Zimbabwe 8,100
22 Thailand 7,722
23 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 7,059
24 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 6,570
25 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 6,153
26 Iraq 5,481
27 Russian Federation (Russia) 5,469
28 Singapore 5,370
29 Indonesia 4,911
30 Niue 4,197

31 France 3,762
32 Brasil 3,588
33 Iran, Islamic Republic of 3,084
34 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 3,066
35 Pakistan 2,853
36 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 2,445
37 Chile 2,409
38 Romania (România) 2,235
39 Myanmar (Burma) 2,118
40 Italy (Italia) 1,968

41 Poland (Polska) 1,944
42 Saudi Arabia 1,881
43 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,728
44 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 1,701
45 Kenya 1,650
46 Kiribati 1,476
47 Bangladesh 1,473
48 Tuvalu 1,419
49 Zambia 1,416
50 Denmark (Danmark) 1,410

Total Foreign-born: 963,042
Total Population: 4,242,048
Source: StatsNZ

*New Zealand has the largest population of people born in Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Kiribati & Tokelau than any other country in the World. In some cases New Zealand has a larger or nearly as large of a population of people that were born elsewhere than there are people living in the country of origin like Niue, Tokelau & the Cook Islands.

Top 40 New Permanent Residents to New Zealand from Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2018

New Zealand Jan. 2017-Jan.2018
1 India 7,062 17.36%
2 China 5,799 14.26%
3 United Kingdom 3,848 9.46%
4 Philippines 3,534 8.69%
5 South Africa 2,604 6.40%
6 Western Samoa 2,599 6.39%
7 Fiji 1,410 3.47%
8 United States of America 1,234 3.03%
9 Korea 806 1.98%
10 Tonga 662 1.63%

11 Sri Lanka 626 1.54%
12 Pakistan 529 1.30%
13 Germany 509 1.25%
14 Malaysia 486 1.19%
15 Ireland 463 1.14%
16 Brazil 459 1.13%
17 Myanmar 456 1.12%
18 Viet Nam 429 1.05%
19 Canada 428 1.05%
20 France 413 1.02%

21 Japan 386 0.95%
22 Syrian Arab Republic 353 0.87%
23 Thailand 281 0.69%
24 Russia Federation 263 0.65%
25 Indonesia 218 0.54%
26 Colombia 210 0.52%
27 Nepal 186 0.46%
28 Afghanistan 178 0.44%
29 Italy 175 0.43%
30 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 175 0.43%

31 Argentina 168 0.41%
32 Singapore 165 0.41%
33 Netherlands 164 0.40%
34 Cambodia 154 0.38%
35 Hong Kong 152 0.37%
35 Chile 152 0.37%
37 Kiribati 150 0.37%
38 Taiwan 141 0.35%
39 Tuvalu 137 0.34%
40 Bangladesh 135 0.33%

Total Permanent Residents: 40,694
Source: Immigration New Zealand/Statistics New Zealand

...and now to the largest metropolitan area in NZ...


Image Source: geoffbilling.co.nz

Top 50 Non-New Zealand countries or places of birth

Auckland, New Zealand (Aotearoa) 2013

1 United Kingdom 87,408
2 China, People's Republic of 65,385
3 India (Bhārat) 43,410
4 Fiji Islands 39,087
5 Samoa, Independent State of 35,586
6 South Africa, Republic of 30,612
7 Australia 19,590
8 Korea, Republic of (South) 19,470
9 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 18,621
10 Tonga 18,117

11 Malaysia 9,459
12 Cook Islands (Kūki 'Āirani) 9,183
13 United States of America 7,272
14 Taiwan 6,378
15 Sri Lanka 5,841
16 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 5,109
17 Netherlands (Nederland) 5,100
18 Japan 4,959
19 Germany (Deutschland) 4,161
20 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 3,981

21 Iraq 3,903
22 Thailand 3,840
23 Zimbabwe 3,744
24 Niue 3,657
25 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 3,588
26 Russian Federation (Russia) 3,408
27 Canada 3,363
28 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 3,018
29 Indonesia 2,910
30 Singapore 2,751

31 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2,271
32 Pakistan 1,956
33 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 1,677
34 Brasil 1,584
35 France 1,572
36 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,368
37 Saudi Arabia 1,086
38 Myanmar (Burma) 1,074
39 Tuvalu 1,044
40 Bangladesh 1,020

41 Romania (România) 996
42 Chile 993
43 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 867
44 Poland (Polska) 810
45 Italy (Italia) 807
46 Serbia (Srbija) 726
47 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 696
48 Ukraine 675
49 Kiribati 666
50 Kenya 663

Total Foreign-born: 517,182
Urban Area Population: 1,415,550

As always, stay tuned for more as the journey will continue! Coming up will be Germany, Japan, Austria & Switzerland!

[Acajack]

I haven't posted much on here but I am reading often. Very cool stuff!

[proghousehead]

NYC - just for the heck of it:

Geography NYC Met
Estimate; Total: 5,928,468

Dominican Republic 676,491
China 576,177
India 378,126
Mexico 293,647
Jamaica 262,765
Ecuador 256,252
Colombia 192,676
Guyana 171,110
Haiti 161,548
El Salvador 159,023

Philippines 145,844
South Korea 143,251
Bangladesh 118,166
Italy 111,758
Peru 111,642
Trinidad 107,355
Poland 97,556
Guatemala 86,339
Russia 85,734
Ukraine 83,521

Honduras 81,864
Pakistan 79,750
United Kingdom 69,994
Cuba 63,056
Nigeria 55,541
Brazil 48,099
Egypt 46,782
Canada 43,509
Germany 43,071
Portugal 39,370

Ghana 37,774
Greece 37,031
Japan 33,321
Israel 32,328
Ireland 32,201
Barbados 31,329
Albania 29,129
France 28,661
Uzbekistan 28,506
Argentina 26,782

Vietnam 26,664
Turkey 25,362
Spain 22,068
Venezuela 21,992
Grenada 21,546
Romania 21,177
Panama 20,499
Iran 19,629
Chile 17,968
Belarus 17,803

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by proghousehead

NYC - just for the heck of it:

Geography NYC Met
Estimate; Total: 5,928,468

Dominican Republic 676,491
China 576,177
India 378,126
Mexico 293,647
Jamaica 262,765
Ecuador 256,252
Colombia 192,676
Guyana 171,110
Haiti 161,548
El Salvador 159,023

Philippines 145,844
South Korea 143,251
Bangladesh 118,166
Italy 111,758
Peru 111,642
Trinidad 107,355
Poland 97,556
Guatemala 86,339
Russia 85,734
Ukraine 83,521

Honduras 81,864
Pakistan 79,750
United Kingdom 69,994
Cuba 63,056
Nigeria 55,541
Brazil 48,099
Egypt 46,782
Canada 43,509
Germany 43,071
Portugal 39,370

Ghana 37,774
Greece 37,031
Japan 33,321
Israel 32,328
Ireland 32,201
Barbados 31,329
Albania 29,129
France 28,661
Uzbekistan 28,506
Argentina 26,782

Vietnam 26,664
Turkey 25,362
Spain 22,068
Venezuela 21,992
Grenada 21,546
Romania 21,177
Panama 20,499
Iran 19,629
Chile 17,968
Belarus 17,803

If Puerto Rico were a "country" would it top the list ahead of the DR?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Acajack

If Puerto Rico were a "country" would it top the list ahead of the DR?

By ethnic background yes, but by "foreign" born status, no. PRs are still the largest Hispanic group in NYC metro but generally came in the period from 1950's through 1970's. Most were born here.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Urbanguy

...and for tonight we are traveling back to the Southern Hemisphere to the island nation of New Zealand or Aotearoa.

...but first...A brief history as brought to you by: newzealandnow.govt.nz

"New Zealand is a young country, in both geological and human terms.

In fact, New Zealand was the last habitable place in the world to be discovered.

Māori settlement

First to arrive were ancestors of Māori. These first settlers probably arrived from Polynesia between 1200 and 1300 AD. They discovered New Zealand as they explored the Pacific, navigating by ocean currents and the winds and stars. In some traditions, the navigator credited with discovering New Zealand is Kupe.

The first Europeans

The first European to arrive in New Zealand was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. That’s how we got the Dutch-sounding name - from a Dutch mapmaker who first called us Nieuw Zeeland.

A surprisingly long time - 127 years - passed before New Zealand was visited by another European, Captain James Cook. He came in 1769 on the first of three voyages.

European whalers and sealers started visiting regularly and then came traders. By the 1830s the British government was being pressured to curb lawlessness in the country and also to pre-empt the French who were considering New Zealand as a potential colony.

Eventually, at Waitangi on 6 February 1840, William Hobson, New Zealand’s first Governor, invited assembled Māori chiefs to sign a treaty with the British Crown. The treaty was taken all round the country, as far south as Foveaux Strait, for signing by local chiefs, and eventually more than 500 signed.

Conflict and growth

Māori came under increasing pressure to sell their land for settlement.

This led to conflict and in the 1860s, war broke out in the North Island. Much Māori land was confiscated or bought during or after 20 years of war.

Meanwhile, the South Island settlements prospered. Sheep farming was established on extensive grasslands, and Canterbury became the country’s wealthiest province. Gold was discovered in Otago in 1861, and then on the West Coast, and helped make Dunedin New Zealand’s largest town.

In the 1870s, the government helped thousands of British people start a new life in New Zealand. Railways were built and towns sprang up or expanded.

In 1882, the first shipment of frozen meat made it successfully to England. Exporting meat and butter and cheese (chilled) became possible and New Zealand became a key supplier for Britain.

With an economy based on agriculture, much of the forest that originally covered New Zealand was cleared for farmland.

Social change and war

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the vote. State pensions and state housing for workers were also offered first in New Zealand."


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-New Zealand countries or places of birth

New Zealand (Aotearoa) 2013

1 United Kingdom 255,054
2 China, People's Republic of 89,121
3 India (Bhārat) 67,176
4 Australia 62,619
5 South Africa, Republic of 54,279
6 Fiji Islands 52,755
7 Samoa, Independent State of 50,658
8 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 37,299
9 Korea, Republic of (South) 26,604
10 Tonga 22,413

11 United States of America 21,462
12 Netherlands (Nederland) 19,815
13 Malaysia 16,350
14 Cook Islands (Kūki 'Āirani) 12,954
15 Germany (Deutschland) 12,945
16 Japan 10,269
17 Sri Lanka 9,582
18 Canada 9,576
19 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 9,042
20 Taiwan 8,988

21 Zimbabwe 8,100
22 Thailand 7,722
23 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 7,059
24 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 6,570
25 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 6,153
26 Iraq 5,481
27 Russian Federation (Russia) 5,469
28 Singapore 5,370
29 Indonesia 4,911
30 Niue 4,197

31 France 3,762
32 Brasil 3,588
33 Iran, Islamic Republic of 3,084
34 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 3,066
35 Pakistan 2,853
36 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 2,445
37 Chile 2,409
38 Romania (România) 2,235
39 Myanmar (Burma) 2,118
40 Italy (Italia) 1,968

41 Poland (Polska) 1,944
42 Saudi Arabia 1,881
43 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,728
44 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 1,701
45 Kenya 1,650
46 Kiribati 1,476
47 Bangladesh 1,473
48 Tuvalu 1,419
49 Zambia 1,416
50 Denmark (Danmark) 1,410

Total Foreign-born: 963,042
Total Population: 4,242,048
Source: StatsNZ

*New Zealand has the largest population of people born in Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Kiribati & Tokelau than any other country in the World. In some cases New Zealand has a larger or nearly as large of a population of people that were born elsewhere than there are people living in the country of origin like Niue, Tokelau & the Cook Islands.

Top 40 New Permanent Residents to New Zealand from Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2018

New Zealand Jan. 2017-Jan.2018
1 India 7,062 17.36%
2 China 5,799 14.26%
3 United Kingdom 3,848 9.46%
4 Philippines 3,534 8.69%
5 South Africa 2,604 6.40%
6 Western Samoa 2,599 6.39%
7 Fiji 1,410 3.47%
8 United States of America 1,234 3.03%
9 Korea 806 1.98%
10 Tonga 662 1.63%

11 Sri Lanka 626 1.54%
12 Pakistan 529 1.30%
13 Germany 509 1.25%
14 Malaysia 486 1.19%
15 Ireland 463 1.14%
16 Brazil 459 1.13%
17 Myanmar 456 1.12%
18 Viet Nam 429 1.05%
19 Canada 428 1.05%
20 France 413 1.02%

21 Japan 386 0.95%
22 Syrian Arab Republic 353 0.87%
23 Thailand 281 0.69%
24 Russia Federation 263 0.65%
25 Indonesia 218 0.54%
26 Colombia 210 0.52%
27 Nepal 186 0.46%
28 Afghanistan 178 0.44%
29 Italy 175 0.43%
30 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 175 0.43%

31 Argentina 168 0.41%
32 Singapore 165 0.41%
33 Netherlands 164 0.40%
34 Cambodia 154 0.38%
35 Hong Kong 152 0.37%
35 Chile 152 0.37%
37 Kiribati 150 0.37%
38 Taiwan 141 0.35%
39 Tuvalu 137 0.34%
40 Bangladesh 135 0.33%

Total Permanent Residents: 40,694
Source: Immigration New Zealand/Statistics New Zealand

...and now to the largest metropolitan area in NZ...


Image Source: geoffbilling.co.nz

Top 50 Non-New Zealand countries or places of birth

Auckland, New Zealand (Aotearoa) 2013

1 United Kingdom 87,408
2 China, People's Republic of 65,385
3 India (Bhārat) 43,410
4 Fiji Islands 39,087
5 Samoa, Independent State of 35,586
6 South Africa, Republic of 30,612
7 Australia 19,590
8 Korea, Republic of (South) 19,470
9 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 18,621
10 Tonga 18,117

11 Malaysia 9,459
12 Cook Islands (Kūki 'Āirani) 9,183
13 United States of America 7,272
14 Taiwan 6,378
15 Sri Lanka 5,841
16 China, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region) 5,109
17 Netherlands (Nederland) 5,100
18 Japan 4,959
19 Germany (Deutschland) 4,161
20 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 3,981

21 Iraq 3,903
22 Thailand 3,840
23 Zimbabwe 3,744
24 Niue 3,657
25 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 3,588
26 Russian Federation (Russia) 3,408
27 Canada 3,363
28 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 3,018
29 Indonesia 2,910
30 Singapore 2,751

31 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2,271
32 Pakistan 1,956
33 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 1,677
34 Brasil 1,584
35 France 1,572
36 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,368
37 Saudi Arabia 1,086
38 Myanmar (Burma) 1,074
39 Tuvalu 1,044
40 Bangladesh 1,020

41 Romania (România) 996
42 Chile 993
43 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 867
44 Poland (Polska) 810
45 Italy (Italia) 807
46 Serbia (Srbija) 726
47 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 696
48 Ukraine 675
49 Kiribati 666
50 Kenya 663

Total Foreign-born: 517,182
Urban Area Population: 1,415,550

As always, stay tuned for more as the journey will continue! Coming up will be Germany, Japan, Austria & Switzerland!

Thank you for the NZ data, I was actually waiting for it the mix is quite fascinating.

[JManc]

Disappointed that Orcs, Dwarfs, Hobbits and Elves were not included in NZ's stats.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by JManc

Disappointed that Orcs, Dwarfs, Hobbits and Elves were not included in NZ's stats.

Census workers have a hard time in Middle Earth.

[Urbanguy]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I haven't posted much on here but I am reading often. Very cool stuff!

Thank you & I'm glad because I've got quite a few more to go.

@ dimondpark, you're welcome! It is an interesting mix, just like Australia there has been a shift from mainly the UK and other European countries to an increasing amount from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and even Latin America.

@ proghousehead, thanks i'll be getting to major US cities at some point. The stats are ready to go -- it's just that it will take long to present because there are so many cities. I figured it would better to give other places the spotlight first that don't have as large of a population, country-wise.

[Urbanguy]

....and now we are going to start our journey into Germany or Deutschland...

but first a short history of Germany brought to you by about-germany.org

"Germany's struggle for a unified identity has a long history marked by numerous politically and religiously motivated wars. Only in 1871, did the loose confederation of separate states and territories with an ever-changing set of allies and enemies become unified by Prussia's military power rather than a sense of belonging. The new nation was consumed by a thirst for power and expansion which directly lead to the outbreak of World War I, defeat for both Germany and Austria and a disastrous peace agreement. The result was a Germany ruled by civil unrest and a desire for revenge. An easy target for Adolph Hitler to prey on. He was able to turn general social disaffection into the focused lunacy of the Third Reich and World War II.

At a loss as to what to do and with the intention of preventing Germany from being in command of comparable economic and military power, the allied forces divided the country in two hostile states; the parts held by the Western powers were developed into the Federal Republic of Germany, while the eastern zone occupied by the Soviets became the German Democratic Republic. Berlin, the capital and an obvious bone of contention, was divided by along the same lines.

The contest between the two states was fierce albeit unequal: The German Democratic Republic was forced to adopt the Communist system at odds with the national character and was never able to break free from being a satellite state of the Soviet Union. The Federal Republic considered itself to be the natural successor to the old Reich and was able to build and sustain a democratic society. Its economy boomed if only with considerable financial help from the USA.

Eventually the German Democratic Republic fell so far behind that emigration became a severe issue between the two countries. In 1961 the GDR authorities came up with the smart idea of walling in their population and built an electrified barbed-wire frontier ironically dubbed the 'iron curtain'. The Berlin Wall cemented the partition of Germany's capital. The strict separation of the two German states symbolized the differences and tensions between the USA and the USSR - the Cold War.

In 1989 the tensions became too much and the unstoppable momentum of events in the wake of the 'Wende' (change) took its course. A peaceful revolution toppled the German Democratic Republic's Communist regime leading to the downfall of the Berlin Wall celebrated in the most exciting party the city had ever seen: East Germans were welcomed with flowers and 'begruessungsgeld', a welcome gift of money to introduce them to capitalist joys like shopping, dining out and so on. The Wall was brought down by a singing and dancing crowd. It was eventually taken down by both official staff and the human 'woodpeckers' alike.

In less than a year Germany was reunified on paper if not yet in the minds of its population. The unification process lead to a myriad of economic, political and social problems and tensions which are to this day far from solved.

The German Reichstag, almost destroyed by a fire deliberately set by Nazi troops in 1933, has been recently renovated. Its renovation beagn after Germany's reunion and the building is topped by a marvellous dome of glass. This dome has become an international symbol for a unified Germany."

...and a little more by germany.travel

"Germany has been a democratic parliamentary federal republic since 1949. Following reunification in 1990 it now consists of 16 federal states. The Federal President is the head of state and the government is led by the Federal Chancellor.

The capital Berlin is also Germany's largest city, with a population of 3.4 million. Other cities with more than one million residents are Hamburg (1.8 million) and Munich (1.3 million). Cologne is just below the one-million mark. Frankfurt am Main (pop. 662,000) is a centre of international finance.

Germany is a country rich in natural beauty. Between the North Sea and Baltic coasts in the north and the peaks of the Alps in the south lie extremely diverse landscapes, with everything from wide expanses of river and lakeland scenery, hilly uplands and densely wooded regions to agricultural plains and industrial conurbations. The Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany at 2,963 metres. Germany's longest river is the Rhine, which flows through the country for a total of 865 kilometres. Germany has 16 national parks, 104 nature reserves and 15 biosphere reserves.

Today, life in Germany is subject to a great diversity of cultural influences. It can generally be described as modern and cosmopolitan. The people of Germany love nothing more than getting together and celebrating, in traditional style during carnival season, at wine festivals, at the Oktoberfest and other beer festivals, or during music festivals from classical to rock – all helped along by great food and fine wines from the 13 vineyard regions."


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship *Please keep in mind that citizenship figures are not equal to foreign-born -- it just means that they haven't become German citizens yet.*

Germany (Deutschland) 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 1,483,515
2 Poland (Polska) 866,855
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 698,950
4 Italy (Italia) 643,065
5 Romania (România) 622,780
6 Croatia (Hrvatska) 367,900
7 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 362,245
8 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 310,415
9 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 251,640
10 Russian Federation (Russia) 249,205

11 Iraq 237,365
12 Serbia (Srbija) 209,370
13 Kosovo (Kosova) 208,505
14 Hungary (Magyarország) 207,025
15 Austria (Österreich) 191,305
16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 180,950
17 Spain (España) 178,010
18 Netherlands (Nederland) 154,630
19 France 149,025
20 Portugal 146,810

21 Ukraine 138,045
22 China, People's Republic of 136,460
23 United States of America 117,730
24 United Kingdom 116,465
25 India (Bhārat) 108,965
26 Iran, Islamic Republic of 102,760
27 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 99,435
28 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 92,485
29 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 75,620
30 Pakistan 73,000

31 Eritrea (Ertra) 66,665
32 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 59,975
33 Thailand 58,820
34 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 57,225
35 Nigeria 56,420
36 Lithuania (Lietuva) 53,155
37 Albania (Shqiperia) 48,705
38 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 46,650
39 Brasil 42,580
40 Serbia and Montenegro, former 42,545

41 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 41,375
42 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 40,765
43 Somalia 38,675
44 Latvia (Latvija) 38,290
45 Japan 36,600
46 Korea, Republic of (South) 34,420
47 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 34,140
48 Ghana 33,900
49 Yugoslavia, former 30,480
50 Belgium, Kingdom of 29,825

Total foreign-born: 9,284,400
Foreigners born in Germany: 1,339,540
Total Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 10,623,940
Total Population: 82,740,888
Source: Ausländerzentralregister/Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)

*Germany has one of the largest foreign-born & foreign citizenship populations in the World (possibly 3rd or 4th). Germany has the largest population of Turkish people than any other country outside of Turkey by far, largest population from Greece outside of Greece, largest population from Italy, has one of the largest populations from Poland outside of Poland (if not the most currently), largest Syrian & Afghan population in all of Europe and outside of the Middle East/West Asia for that matter, the largest population of people from the former Yugoslavia (e.g., Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina) outside of those former Yugoslav countries, and one of the largest populations from Bulgaria outside of Bulgaria to name a few.

Net Arrivals of Foreigners by Country of Origin (non-German)

Germany (Deutschland) 2017

1 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 153,083 24.10%
2 Afghanistan, Republic of 67,395 10.61%
3 Iraq 60,949 9.59%
4 Romania 56,518 8.90%
5 Croatia 31,875 5.02%
6 Poland 27,630 4.35%
7 Bulgaria 26,393 4.15%
8 Italy 24,182 3.81%
9 Iran, Islamic Republic of 18,403 2.90%
10 Greece 12,385 1.95%

11 Turkey 12,140 1.91%
12 Russian Federation 11,002 1.73%
13 China, People's Republic of 9,829 1.55%
14 India 9,684 1.52%
15 Hungary 9,067 1.43%
16 Pakistan 8,748 1.38%
17 Spain 8,372 1.32%
18 Nigeria 7,694 1.21%
19 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7,678 1.21%
20 Somalia 6,872 1.08%

21 Ukraine 6,331 1.00%
22 France 4,205 0.66%
23 Austria 4,184 0.66%
24 Egypt 3,922 0.62%
25 Lebanon 3,695 0.58%
26 United Kingdom 3,597 0.57%
27 Viet Nam 3,169 0.50%
28 Armenia 3,012 0.47%
29 Lithuania 2,869 0.45%
30 Czech Republic 2,815 0.44%

31 Azerbaijan 2,570 0.40%
32 Ethiopia 2,500 0.39%
33 Brazil 2,308 0.36%
34 Netherlands 2,260 0.36%
35 Jordan 2,191 0.34%
36 Tunisia 2,190 0.34%
37 Korea, Republic of 2,081 0.33%
38 Slovakia 1,956 0.31%
39 United States 1,871 0.29%
40 Slovenia 1,748 0.28%

41 Portugal 1,581 0.25%
42 Kazakhstan 1,527 0.24%
43 Latvia 1,503 0.24%
44 Luxembourg 1,420 0.22%
45 Cameroon 1,388 0.22%
46 United Arab Emirates 1,352 0.21%
47 Mexico 1,304 0.21%<<<very interesting to see a fairly significant one year amount migrating way out to Germany from Mexico.
48 Thailand 1,269 0.20%
49 Philippines 1,246 0.20%
50 Colombia 1,238 0.19%

Net Arrivals of Foreigners by Country of Origin (non-German): 635,308
Total arrivals of Foreign-born by Country of Origin: 1,719,075

*Disclaimer* the following statistics are not necessarily the entire metropolitan areas of each but a large share at the very least as compiling these are quite difficult due to how Germany separates places into cities, counties, regions, etc. & it's not clear as to what places combined make up complete metros.

That being said, we are kicking things off with...


Image Source: musement.com

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Frankfurt Rhine-Main (Hessen) Metropolitan Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 156,395
2 Poland (Polska) 80,905
3 Italy (Italia) 73,170
4 Romania (România) 60,540
5 Croatia (Hrvatska) 50,785
6 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 47,475
7 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 39,925
8 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 35,900
9 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 35,305
10 Serbia (Srbija) 26,285

11 Spain (España) 25,585
12 Bosnia and Herzegovina 20,490
13 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 18,315
14 Pakistan 18,215
15 Russian Federation (Russia) 17,460
16 Portugal 15,435
17 United States of America 15,180
18 Eritrea (Ertra) 14,750
19 India (Bhārat) 13,750
20 Austria (Österreich) 13,550

21 Hungary (Magyarország) 13,445
22 China, People's Republic of 13,260
23 France 12,930
24 Iran, Islamic Republic of 11,985
25 Iraq 11,185
26 United Kingdom 10,510
27 Kosovo (Kosova) 10,460
28 Ukraine 10,045
29 Somalia 8,925
30 Korea, Republic of (South) 8,685

31 Netherlands (Nederland) 7,940
32 Lithuania (Lietuva) 7,420
33 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 7,390
34 Thailand 6,505
35 Ethiopia 6,310
36 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 5,350
37 Japan 5,285
38 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 4,260
39 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 3,955
40 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 3,730

41 Brasil 3,635
42 Albania (Shqiperia) 3,440
43 Serbia and Montenegro, former 3,155
44 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 3,115
45 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 3,060
46 Latvia (Latvija) 2,990
47 Ghana 2,920
48 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,670
49 Belgium, Kingdom of 2,525
50 Colombia 2,400

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 1,050,005
Total Population: 6,238,960

...and now we travel to the capital of Germany...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, Germany 2017

1 Poland (Polska) 118,805
2 Turkey (Türkiye) 110,725
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 49,890
4 Italy (Italia) 44,675
5 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 38,260
6 Romania (România) 34,180
7 France 34,100
8 Russian Federation (Russia) 32,765
9 United Kingdom 27,740
10 Spain (España) 23,325

11 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 22,965
12 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 22,505
13 United States of America 20,940
14 Austria (Österreich) 19,965
15 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 19,370
16 Croatia (Hrvatska) 17,725
17 Portugal 15,260
18 Ukraine 14,925
19 Bosnia and Herzegovina 12,600
20 Serbia (Srbija) 12,535

21 Netherlands (Nederland) 12,130
22 Hungary (Magyarország) 11,140
23 Iraq 10,800
24 China, People's Republic of 10,530
25 Iran, Islamic Republic of 9,700
26 Yugoslavia, former 9,440
27 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 8,605
28 Sweden 7,595
29 India (Bhārat) 7,520
30 Denmark (Danmark) 6,845

31 Latvia (Latvija) 6,615
32 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 5,800
33 Brasil 5,695
34 Lithuania (Lietuva) 5,695
35 Thailand 5,600
36 Pakistan 5,535
37 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 5,395
38 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 5,270
39 Kosovo (Kosova) 5,155
40 Israel (Yisra'el) 5,005

41 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 4,830
42 Korea, Republic of (South) 4,795
43 Finland (Suomi) 4,770
44 Egypt, Arab Republic of 4,560
45 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) 4,180
46 Cameroon 4,045
47 Japan 4,025
48 Belgium, Kingdom of 3,930
49 Australia 3,760
50 Moldova, Republic of 3,405

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 1,003,390
Total Population: 6,103,890

...off we go to the confluence of the Rhine to...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Düsseldorf Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 157,900
2 Poland (Polska) 77,755
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 59,130
4 Italy (Italia) 50,800
5 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 38,495
6 Romania (România) 35,785
7 Netherlands (Nederland) 31,965
8 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 26,555
9 Serbia (Srbija) 23,795
10 Iraq 23,620

11 Croatia (Hrvatska) 19,585
12 Spain (España) 17,720
13 Russian Federation (Russia) 16,990
14 China, People's Republic of 15,450
15 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 15,315
16 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 15,165
17 Kosovo (Kosova) 14,790
18 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13,700
19 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 12,635
20 Ukraine 11,100

21 Portugal 9,910
22 Iran, Islamic Republic of 9,815
23 India (Bhārat) 8,645
24 Austria (Österreich) 8,520
25 Japan 8,230
26 United Kingdom 8,030
27 France 7,900
28 Hungary (Magyarország) 6,765
29 Nigeria 6,320
30 Ghana 5,115

31 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 5,010
32 Sri Lanka 4,720
33 Albania (Shqiperia) 4,635
34 United States of America 4,610
35 Thailand 3,685
36 Pakistan 3,565
37 Serbia and Montenegro, former 3,340
38 Eritrea (Ertra) 3,160
39 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 3,120
40 Korea, Republic of (South) 3,085

41 Belgium, Kingdom of 2,980
42 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 2,950
43 Latvia (Latvija) 2,930
44 Lithuania (Lietuva) 2,905
45 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,870
46 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 2,625
47 Brasil 2,600
48 Guinea (Guinée) 2,565
49 Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan) 2,325
50 Egypt, Arab Republic of 2,165

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 883,110
Total Population: 5,220,947

...next stop is a city near the Jutland Peninsula, between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the northeast and that city is...


Image Source: fotowelt-hamburg.de

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Hamburg Metropolitan Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 72,590
2 Poland (Polska) 58,680
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 41,450
4 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 33,345
5 Romania (România) 21,220
6 Russian Federation (Russia) 17,830
7 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 14,390
8 Portugal 14,095
9 Italy (Italia) 13,240
10 Iraq 13,160

11 Iran, Islamic Republic of 11,850
12 Serbia (Srbija) 11,540
13 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 11,230
14 Croatia (Hrvatska) 9,795
15 Spain (España) 9,545
16 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 8,885
17 China, People's Republic of 8,020
18 Ukraine 7,240
19 Austria (Österreich) 7,235
20 United Kingdom 7,040

21 Ghana 7,020
22 France 6,570
23 Netherlands (Nederland) 6,555
24 United States of America 6,490
25 Kosovo (Kosova) 6,345
26 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6,055
27 India (Bhārat) 5,520
28 Eritrea (Ertra) 4,685
29 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 4,395
30 Armenia (Hayastan) 3,980

31 Hungary (Magyarország) 3,765
32 Denmark (Danmark) 3,605
33 Lithuania (Lietuva) 3,545
34 Egypt, Arab Republic of 3,115
35 Thailand 3,115
36 Brasil 2,870
37 Pakistan 2,710
38 Albania (Shqiperia) 2,700
39 Japan 2,700
40 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 2,630

41 Montenegro (Crna Gora) 2,370
42 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 2,365
43 Latvia (Latvija) 2,350
44 Sweden 2,170
45 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,020
46 Somalia 1,970
47 Korea, Republic of (South) 1,950
48 Indonesia 1,925
49 Finland (Suomi) 1,895
50 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 1,895

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 556,125
Total Population: 5,123,074

Now we head to Lower Saxony in northwest Germany to...


Image Source: Michael Abid@hannover-fotos.com

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Hannover Metropolitan Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 64,010
2 Poland (Polska) 48,505
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 42,240
4 Iraq 21,725
5 Italy (Italia) 21,605
6 Romania (România) 17,155
7 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 13,225
8 Russian Federation (Russia) 12,905
9 Serbia (Srbija) 11,825
10 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 11,345

11 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 11,070
12 Kosovo (Kosova) 9,160
13 Spain (España) 8,335
14 China, People's Republic of 8,050
15 Ukraine 7,490
16 Croatia (Hrvatska) 7,455
17 United Kingdom 6,330
18 Iran, Islamic Republic of 6,180
19 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 5,195
20 Netherlands (Nederland) 5,135

21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,935
22 Austria (Österreich) 4,420
23 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 4,165
24 India (Bhārat) 3,925
25 Hungary (Magyarország) 3,885
26 United States of America 3,515
27 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 3,380
28 France 3,335
29 Portugal 3,280
30 Sudan 2,965

31 Lithuania (Lietuva) 2,865
32 Albania (Shqiperia) 2,830
33 Thailand 2,745
34 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,740
35 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 2,690
36 Montenegro (Crna Gora) 2,690
37 Pakistan 2,265
38 Ghana 2,185
39 Côte d'Ivoire 1,965
40 Brasil 1,950

41 Eritrea (Ertra) 1,815
42 Georgia (Sak'art'velo) 1,735
43 Latvia (Latvija) 1,720
44 Somalia 1,590
45 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 1,585
46 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 1,490
47 Serbia and Montenegro, former 1,415
48 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 1,400
49 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 1,385
50 Nigeria 1,315

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 459,670
Total Population: 4,452,725

...moving on to the largest city in Germany's most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Cologne-Bonn Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 102,815
2 Italy (Italia) 39,395
3 Poland (Polska) 35,245
4 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 25,440
5 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 18,475
6 Romania (România) 17,965
7 Iraq 16,910
8 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 12,505
9 Spain (España) 10,980
10 Russian Federation (Russia) 10,955

11 Croatia (Hrvatska) 9,995
12 Serbia (Srbija) 9,640
13 Kosovo (Kosova) 9,115
14 Iran, Islamic Republic of 8,990
15 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 8,275
16 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 8,220
17 Portugal 7,945
18 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7,575
19 Netherlands (Nederland) 6,800
20 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 6,640

21 Ukraine 6,415
22 China, People's Republic of 6,320
23 France 6,155
24 India (Bhārat) 5,865
25 Austria (Österreich) 5,585
26 United States of America 4,995
27 Hungary (Magyarország) 4,825
28 United Kingdom 4,810
29 Albania (Shqiperia) 3,690
30 Belgium, Kingdom of 3,535

31 Nigeria 2,910
32 Eritrea (Ertra) 2,545
33 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,470
34 Pakistan 2,350
35 Brasil 2,320
36 Thailand 2,095
37 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 1,860
38 Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan) 1,825
39 Lithuania (Lietuva) 1,755
40 Korea, Republic of (South) 1,750

41 Congo (Zaire), Democratic Republic of the 1,690
42 Guinea (Guinée) 1,655
43 Japan 1,570
44 Ghana 1,535
45 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 1,510
46 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 1,415
47 Algeria (Al Jaza'ir) 1,335
48 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 1,330
49 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 1,315
50 Somalia 1,310

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 507,820
Total Population: 3,187,579


...and this will end Part I of our journey into Germany for tonight! There are at least 6 more to go before we fly over to East Asia and explore Japan! Stay tuned!

[Urbanguy]

Part II of Germany...

Kicking off things today is a trip to the largest city in Bavaria & headquarters of Siemens AG (electronics), BMW (car), MAN AG (truck manufacturer, engineering), Linde (gases) and Rohde & Schwarz (electronics)....


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Munich (München) Larger Urban Zone, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 56,110
2 Croatia (Hrvatska) 49,205
3 Italy (Italia) 39,900
4 Austria (Österreich) 35,385
5 Poland (Polska) 33,860
6 Romania (România) 33,110
7 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 33,075
8 Bosnia and Herzegovina 25,365
9 Hungary (Magyarország) 21,870
10 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 16,085

11 Iraq 14,565
12 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 12,995
13 France 12,815
14 Serbia and Montenegro, former 12,505
15 Russian Federation (Russia) 12,100
16 Kosovo (Kosova) 11,545
17 Spain (España) 10,835
18 China, People's Republic of 10,230
19 India (Bhārat) 9,970
20 United States of America 9,830

21 United Kingdom 9,175
22 Serbia (Srbija) 8,680
23 Ukraine 8,510
24 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 8,050
25 Nigeria 7,230
26 Yugoslavia, former 6,400
27 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 6,360
28 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 6,020
29 Portugal 4,785
30 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 4,715

31 Netherlands (Nederland) 4,300
32 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 4,215
33 Japan 4,060
34 Slovenia (Slovenija) 3,615
35 Brasil 3,420
36 Pakistan 3,220
37 Somalia 3,115
38 Thailand 3,030
39 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 2,975
40 Eritrea (Ertra) 2,825

41 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2,810
42 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 2,670
43 United Arab Emirates 2,270
44 Sweden 2,125
45 Albania (Shqiperia) 1,950
46 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 1,885
47 Egypt, Arab Republic of 1,825
48 Canada 1,740
49 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 1,610
50 Georgia (Sak'art'velo) 1,585

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 636,375
Total Population: 2,883,373

...and now off to the largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Stuttgart Region, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 84,720
2 Italy (Italia) 64,370
3 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 46,275
4 Croatia (Hrvatska) 41,795
5 Romania (România) 28,210
6 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 19,375
7 Kosovo (Kosova) 17,845
8 Poland (Polska) 17,045
9 Serbia (Srbija) 13,905
10 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13,825

11 Hungary (Magyarország) 12,140
12 Portugal 10,955
13 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 10,075
14 Austria (Österreich) 9,095
15 Iraq 8,135
16 India (Bhārat) 7,725
17 Spain (España) 7,490
18 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 7,230
19 China, People's Republic of 6,755
20 France 6,700

21 Russian Federation (Russia) 6,675
22 United States of America 5,350
23 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 5,165
24 Ukraine 4,175
25 Slovenia (Slovenija) 3,470
26 Pakistan 3,375
27 Gambia, The 2,950
28 United Kingdom 2,935
29 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2,850
30 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 2,815

31 Nigeria 2,650
32 Serbia and Montenegro, former 2,510
33 Thailand 2,420
34 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 2,385
35 Brasil 2,290
36 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 2,115
37 Eritrea (Ertra) 2,115
38 Netherlands (Nederland) 2,050
39 Yugoslavia, former 1,885
40 Sri Lanka 1,640

41 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 1,625
42 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 1,615
43 Japan 1,595
44 Lithuania (Lietuva) 1,560
45 Albania (Shqiperia) 1,545
46 Egypt, Arab Republic of 1,250
47 Cameroon 1,245
48 Georgia (Sak'art'velo) 1,225
49 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 1,145
50 Korea, Republic of (South) 1,135

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 538,505
Total Population: 2,773,880

...off we go to the largest city in the Federal State of Saxony & one of Germany's fastest growing...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Leipzig/Halle/Dresden Region, Germany 2017

1 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 33,385
2 Poland (Polska) 12,310
3 Russian Federation (Russia) 10,620
4 Romania (România) 9,670
5 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 9,410
6 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 8,175
7 China, People's Republic of 7,520
8 Ukraine 7,055
9 Iraq 6,250
10 Hungary (Magyarország) 5,690

11 India (Bhārat) 5,515
12 Turkey (Türkiye) 4,955
13 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 4,435
14 Italy (Italia) 4,125
15 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 3,670
16 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 3,240
17 Iran, Islamic Republic of 2,550
18 Eritrea (Ertra) 2,370
19 Pakistan 2,295
20 Spain (España) 2,170

21 United States of America 2,080
22 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 1,935
23 Serbia (Srbija) 1,915
24 France 1,840
25 Portugal 1,820
26 Kosovo (Kosova) 1,810
27 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) 1,810
28 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,690
29 Austria (Österreich) 1,595
30 United Kingdom 1,465

31 Georgia (Sak'art'velo) 1,400
32 Somalia 1,370
33 Korea, Republic of (South) 1,365
34 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 1,355
35 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 1,225
36 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 1,205
37 Albania (Shqiperia) 1,170
38 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 1,065
39 Egypt, Arab Republic of 1,005
40 Belarus 980

41 Netherlands (Nederland) 920
42 Brasil 915
43 Bosnia and Herzegovina 905
44 Lithuania (Lietuva) 900
45 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 865
46 Japan 810
47 Indonesia 770
48 Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan) 760
49 Thailand 725
50 Moldova, Republic of 715

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 205,550
Total Population: 3,208,085

Disclaimer: *The three remaining locations for this journey to Germany are just of the city -- not their metros or urban areas.*

Moving onward to the 2nd largest city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (the largest is Düsseldorf)...


Image Source: JotHaGie@flickr.com

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Dortmund City, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 23,090
2 Poland (Polska) 10,350
3 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 9,460
4 Romania (România) 5,210
5 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 4,495
6 Italy (Italia) 3,935
7 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 3,605
8 Spain (España) 3,540
9 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 3,530
10 Iraq 2,645

11 Serbia (Srbija) 2,560
12 Ukraine 2,500
13 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 2,240
14 Croatia (Hrvatska) 2,130
15 Russian Federation (Russia) 2,055
16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,995
17 Portugal 1,980
18 Kosovo (Kosova) 1,680
19 China, People's Republic of 1,615
20 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 1,355

21 Hungary (Magyarország) 1,195
22 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1,110
23 Netherlands (Nederland) 930
24 United Kingdom 890
25 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 830
26 Albania (Shqiperia) 720
27 Austria (Österreich) 705
28 Ghana 685
29 Sri Lanka 665
30 Nigeria 660

31 Cameroon 650
32 France 640
33 Guinea (Guinée) 590
34 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 570
35 India (Bhārat) 565
36 Lithuania (Lietuva) 485
37 Thailand 405
38 Pakistan 375
39 Yugoslavia, former 360
40 Eritrea (Ertra) 320

41 United States of America 320
42 Korea, Republic of (South) 315
43 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 305
44 Egypt, Arab Republic of 300
45 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 285
46 Brasil 270
47 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 270
48 Bangladesh 255
49 Latvia (Latvija) 245
50 Algeria (Al Jaza'ir) 215

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 112,665
Total City/DistrictPopulation: 586,600

...and now we go to the smallest and least populous of Germany's 16 States to the city of...


Image Source: panorama-cities.net

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Bremen City, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 20,805
2 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 11,545
3 Poland (Polska) 8,315
4 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 5,950
5 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 2,890
6 Russian Federation (Russia) 2,880
7 Romania (România) 2,715
8 Serbia (Srbija) 2,380
9 Italy (Italia) 2,340
10 Spain (España) 2,025

11 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1,935
12 Ghana 1,700
13 Iraq 1,700
14 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 1,595
15 Kosovo (Kosova) 1,420
16 Croatia (Hrvatska) 1,295
17 Ukraine 1,225
18 China, People's Republic of 1,185
19 Nigeria 1,155
20 Portugal 1,155

21 United Kingdom 1,155
22 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 1,145
23 France 1,080
24 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,030
25 India (Bhārat) 995
26 Netherlands (Nederland) 990
27 Albania (Shqiperia) 945
28 United States of America 920
29 Austria (Österreich) 750
30 Lebanese Republic (Lebanon) 745

31 Hungary (Magyarország) 675
32 Pakistan 615
33 Lithuania (Lietuva) 610
34 Sri Lanka 540
35 Gambia, The 525
36 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 515
37 Thailand 510
38 Latvia (Latvija) 505
39 Brasil 500
40 Morocco (Al Maghrib) 485

41 Egypt, Arab Republic of 475
42 Montenegro (Crna Gora) 455
43 Somalia 440
44 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 435
45 Cameroon 420
46 Eritrea (Ertra) 415
47 Guinea (Guinée) 395
48 Indonesia 380
49 Tunisian Republic (Tunisia) 365
50 Korea, Republic of (South) 335

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 104,350
Total City/DistrictPopulation: 568,006

...and last but not least we travel to our last stop in Germany to the 2nd largest city in Bavaria (1st is Munich)...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Germany countries or places of citizenship

Nuremberg (Nürnberg) City, Germany 2017

1 Turkey (Türkiye) 17,885
2 Romania (România) 11,800
3 Greece (Hellenic Republic) 11,580
4 Italy (Italia) 7,030
5 Poland (Polska) 5,945
6 Croatia (Hrvatska) 4,985
7 Bulgaria (Balgariya) 4,715
8 Iraq 4,525
9 Ukraine 4,275
10 Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) 4,000

11 Russian Federation (Russia) 3,535
12 Serbia (Srbija) 2,840
13 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2,775
14 Kosovo (Kosova) 2,270
15 Hungary (Magyarország) 1,905
16 Spain (España) 1,810
17 Austria (Österreich) 1,590
18 China, People's Republic of 1,295
19 United States of America 1,295
20 Ethiopia 1,280

21 India (Bhārat) 1,265
22 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 1,240
23 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1,230
24 Czech Republic (Česká Republika) 1,140
25 Macedonia (Makedonija), The former Yugoslav Republic of 1,070
26 Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan) 1,030
27 United Kingdom 940
28 France 935
29 Portugal 670
30 Nigeria 555

31 Latvia (Latvija) 550
32 Moldova, Republic of 545
33 Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan) 520
34 Thailand 515
35 Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika/Slovakia) 505
36 Armenia (Hayastan) 495
37 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 480
38 Brasil 455
39 Slovenia (Slovenija) 450
40 Pakistan 420

41 Lithuania (Lietuva) 415
42 Sri Lanka 410
43 Georgia (Sak'art'velo) 395
44 Belarus 375
45 Albania (Shqiperia) 360
46 Montenegro (Crna Gora) 360
47 Netherlands (Nederland) 360
48 Cameroon 340
49 Eritrea (Ertra) 335
50 Serbia and Montenegro, former 310

Foreigners (country groups/citizenship): 123,445
Total City/DistrictPopulation: 515,201

Much more to come! The following countries and cities therein coming up are Japan, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Thailand, Ireland, Turkey, Malaysia, The United States, Trinidad & Tobago, Luxembourg, Spain and more! We've got a lot more to go!

[Urbanguy]

...we say Auf Wiedersehen (goodbye) to Germany & こんにちは (Kon'nichiwa) to one of the World's economic & technological powerhouses and that country is Japan!

...but first a brief history as brought to you by: facts-about-japan.com

"Japan has a long history with the first humans arriving around 35,000 B.C.. The position of Japan relative to the Asian mainland had played a significant role in the country's development. Although the archipelago is situated near the mainland, there is still a considerable amount of open sea, which separates the two landmasses. Throughout most of Japan's history, it has been closed to the outside world refusing to open its borders to foreigners. The sakoku policy, literal translation "locked country", enacted in 1633 by the Tokugawa Shogunate prevented foreigners from entering Japan on penalty of death. The same policy also prevented Japanese from leaving Japan.

The first historical documents mentioning Japan date to around the 5th century. Japanese myth holds that Emperor Jimmu was the first emperor of an imperial line that is still in place today. However, archaeological evidence gathered by a number of researchers place the imperial rule starting later around the third to seventh centuries AD, during the Kofun period. The following Asuka regime during the mid 8th century is noted for a more centralized Japan in which Chinese culture significantly influenced Japanese traditions.

Nara was the first centralized capital of the nation established in the late 8th century. The layout of the capital city was influenced by Chang’an, the capital of China during that time. The Nara period was the last time that political power was held by the emperor. The following Heian period was characterized by an affluent aristocracy with eccentric social customs, and the moving of the capital from Nara to Kyoto. The capital city of Kyoto became the residence of Japan’s emperors until the late 19th century. Toward the end of the Heian period, the aristocracy lost their power and the Kamakura period marked the beginning of military rule. Regional warlords became powerful and often rose to become Shogun, a position that sometimes wielded more power than the Emperor. During this period, a caste system developed with the Shogun at the top. The Shogun controlled large areas of land and would divide it up and delegate responsibility to a Daimyo, or regional warlord. The Daimyo ruled with an army of Samarai who protected the land and its people. Feudal Japan did not allow for social mobility and marrying outside one’s own caste was prohibited.

After a succession of powerful Shogun, Japan fell into a state of near-anarchy as provinces declared war upon one another during the 15th century. In 1600 during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to reunify the country and successfully established the Tokugawa Shogunate. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate the feudalist system was re-established. During his reign, Tokugawa ruled from Edo, the location of present day Tokyo. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate the Edo period was a time of stability for the Japanese people, but there was little or no development when compared to other nations in the rest of the world during the same period. From 1852-1854, Commodore Matthew Perry negotiated a trade agreement between Japan and the United States. The government at Tokyo was forced to agree to the demands of the United States as they were intimidated by the technologically advanced and heavily armed fleet of steam frigates under the command of Commodore Perry. The ships in Perry's fleet are now known in Japan as the "Black Ships" and have come to symbolize the threat imposed by western technology.

In 1867, the Tokugawa Shogunate collapsed, and gave way to the Meiji Restoration. The imperial capital was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo, renamed from Edo to Tokyo (Eastern Capital). Japan then directed their efforts toward industrialization and modernization. During World War I the United States and Japan fought on the same side although relations were not favorable between the two nations due to policy disagreements over China and competition for power in the Pacific. After World War I Japan's economy began to decline and hit a low point during the Showa recession in 1926. The negative impact of the recession combined with domestic political turmoil (assassination attempts on the emperor, coups d'etat attempts, terrorist violence) ultimately contributed to the increased militarism in Japan during the late 1920's and 1930's.

Japanese imperialist policy aimed to dominate China to acquire its vast material reserves and natural resources. In the early 1930's there were many small-scale military engagements in so-called "incidents" between the two sides. This culminated into a full-scale war in 1937. Western powers were reluctant to provide support to the Chinese who they thought would eventually lose the war. The United States entered the war in December 1941 after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces. In 1945, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan surrendered soon afterward. After surrendering Japan was occupied by the Allied Forces marking the first time in the nation's history it had been occupied by a foreign power. After the occupation ended in 1951, Japan's government shifted from imperial and military rule to a parliamentary democracy.

Today, despite suffering massive losses during World War II and possessing very little natural resources, Japan has become an economic and technological powerhouse."

For a country as large in population as Japan it doesn't have a very large foreign population but it does have a fairly diverse mix of immigrants from some places of origin that you might find surprising. A stand out from Latin America is Brazil -- least talked about (or perhaps not as well known) are immigrants from places like Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay to Ghana & Nigeria to Turkey, Iran & Afghanistan.


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Japan countries or places of citizenship

Japan 2017

1 China, People's Republic of 730,890
2 Korea, Republic of (South) 481,522
3 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 262,405
4 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 260,553
5 Brasil 191,362
6 Nepal 80,038
7 Taiwan 56,724
8 United States of America 55,713
9 Thailand 50,179
10 Indonesia 49,982

11 Perú 47,972
12 India (Bhārat) 31,689
13 Sri Lanka 23,348
14 Myanmar (Burma) 22,519
15 United Kingdom 17,200
16 Pakistan 15,069
17 Bangladesh 14,144
18 France 12,503
19 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 10,719
20 Australia 10,671

21 Canada 10,282
22 Malaysia 9,638
23 Mongolia 9,144
24 Russian Federation (Russia) 8,672
25 Germany (Deutschland) 7,132
26 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 5,751
27 Turkey (Türkiye) 5,502
28 Italy (Italia) 4,147
29 Iran, Islamic Republic of 4,037
30 New Zealand (Aotearoa) 3,353

31 Spain (España) 3,037
32 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 2,978
33 Uzbekistan (O‘zbekiston) 2,921
34 Nigeria 2,911
35 Singapore 2,817
36 Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) 2,745
37 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 2,728
38 México (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) 2,566
39 Colombia 2,384
40 Romania (România) 2,337

41 Ghana 2,287
42 Paraguay (Paraguáype) 2,040
43 Egypt, Arab Republic of 1,850
44 Ukraine 1,831
45 Sweden 1,736
46 Poland (Polska) 1,434
47 Netherlands (Nederland) 1,351
48 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 1,142
49 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 1,139
50 South Africa, Republic of 873

Foreigners by country of citizenship: 2,561,848
Total Population: 126,706,210
Source: The Ministry of Justice (Japan)

...and now we dive into the largest city in Japan & its capital (FYI: these stats are not of the entire metro) and that city (or prefecture) is...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 50 Non-Japan countries or places of citizenship

Tokyo, Japan 2017 *officially Tokyo Metropolis

1 China, People's Republic of 205,041
2 Korea, Republic of (South) 98,012
3 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 33,120
4 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 32,757
5 Nepal 26,494
6 Taiwan 19,281
7 United States of America 18,764
8 India (Bhārat) 12,285
9 Myanmar (Burma) 9,935
10 Thailand 8,310

11 France 6,627
12 United Kingdom 6,459
13 Bangladesh 4,543
14 Indonesia 4,422
15 Australia 3,468
16 Brasil 3,454
17 Canada 3,282
18 Sri Lanka 3,179
19 Germany (Deutschland) 2,983
20 Malaysia 2,784

21 Russian Federation (Russia) 2,684
22 Mongolia 2,443
23 Perú 1,976
24 Italy (Italia) 1,955
25 Uzbekistan (O‘zbekiston) 1,672
26 Singapore 1,237
27 Pakistan 1,217
28 Spain (España) 1,201
29 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1,037
30 New Zealand (Aotearoa) 923

31 Sweden 919
32 Turkey (Türkiye) 820
33 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 785
34 México (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) 584
35 Netherlands (Nederland) 550
36 Romania (România) 545
37 Nigeria 544
38 Colombia 541
39 Ghana 540
40 Poland (Polska) 486

41 Ukraine 472
42 Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) 468
43 Ireland, Republic of (Éire) 421
44 Belgium, Kingdom of 381
45 Egypt, Arab Republic of 311
46 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 309
47 Saudi Arabia 307
48 Denmark (Danmark) 276
49 Finland (Suomi) 272
50 Israel (Yisra'el) 259

Foreigners by country of citizenship: 537,502
Prefecture Population: 13,723,799

Next up is another very large prefecture located in the Kansai region of Japan's "main" island of Honshu...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 40 Non-Japan countries or places of citizenship

Osaka, Japan 2017

1 Korea, Republic of (South) 107,090
2 China, People's Republic of 60,024
3 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 19,789
4 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 7,895
5 Taiwan 6,620
6 United States of America 2,999
7 Indonesia 2,713
8 Nepal 2,537
9 Brasil 2,531
10 Thailand 2,319

11 India (Bhārat) 1,229
12 Perú 1,223
13 United Kingdom 1,005
14 Australia 793
15 Canada 684
16 France 650
17 Myanmar (Burma) 638
18 Malaysia 611
19 Russian Federation (Russia) 457
20 Sri Lanka 431

21 Pakistan 376
22 Germany (Deutschland) 317
23 Italy (Italia) 310
24 Bangladesh 263
25 Spain (España) 256
26 Mongolia 247
27 New Zealand (Aotearoa) 247
28 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 246
29 Turkey (Türkiye) 218
30 Singapore 190

31 Iran, Islamic Republic of 178
32 México (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) 157
33 Nigeria 156
34 Ghana 154
35 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 151
36 Romania (România) 150
37 Egypt, Arab Republic of 143
38 Ukraine 135
39 Colombia 122
40 Sweden 90

Foreigners by country of citizenship: 228,474
Prefecture Population: 8,823,286

...last but not least we travel to the region with the highest concentration of Latin Americans in Japan and that is...


Image Source: wikimedia.org

Top 40 Non-Japan countries or places of citizenship

Aichi/Tokai/Nagoya, Japan 2017

1 Brasil 54,566
2 China, People's Republic of 47,749
3 Philippines (Pilipinas), Republic of the 35,989
4 Korea, Republic of (South) 32,680
5 Vietnam (Việt Nam), Socialist Republic of 24,314
6 Perú 7,623
7 Nepal 7,358
8 Indonesia 6,433
9 Thailand 2,995
10 United States of America 2,780

11 Taiwan 2,081
12 Sri Lanka 1,792
13 Turkey (Türkiye) 1,679
14 Pakistan 1,486
15 India (Bhārat) 1,167
16 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 1,158
17 Myanmar (Burma) 1,154
18 Cambodia (Kampuchea) 789
19 United Kingdom 773
20 Canada 636

21 Bangladesh 572
22 Mongolia 499
23 France 462
24 Malaysia 456
25 Australia 441
26 Argentine Republic (Argentina) 366
27 Paraguay (Paraguáype) 334
28 Colombia 306
29 Germany (Deutschland) 253
30 Romania (România) 250

31 Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of 249
32 Russian Federation (Russia) 248
33 Nigeria 203
34 México (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) 197
35 Iran, Islamic Republic of 195
36 Uzbekistan (O‘zbekiston) 186
37 Italy (Italia) 155
38 Spain (España) 145
39 Ukraine 141
40 New Zealand (Aotearoa) 137

Foreigners by country of citizenship: 242,978
Prefecture Population: 7,524,759

...and that is our layover for today! Austria & Switzerland are next to follow!

[Urbanguy]

In the case of Japan -- their census does not measure ethnicity so it's difficult to find recent information about the population of Japan's indigenous (or first) peoples like the Ainu (also found on Sakhalin Island, Russia) mostly located on the island of Hokkaido. It wasn't until 2008 that Japanese Government finally passed a resolution recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people “with a distinct language, religion and culture.”

The last figure that i've seen of the Ainu was taken in 1984 for Hokkaido with a population of 24,381.

Previous recorded (estimated) figures were (according to ainu-museum.or.jp)...

1807 : 26,256
1822 : 23,563
1854 : 17,810
1873 : 16,272
1903 : 17,783
1931 : 15,969

A brief history of the The Ainu People brought to you by the Ainu Museum:

"Ainu" means "human". The Ainu people regard things useful to them or beyond their control as "kamuy"(gods). In daily life, they prayed to and performed various ceremonies for the gods. These gods include : "nature" gods, such as of fire, water, wind and thunder ; "animal" gods, such as of bears, foxes, spotted owls and gram-puses ; "plant" gods, such as of aconite, mush-room and mugwort ; "object" gods, such as of boats and pots ; and gods which protect houses, gods of mountains and gods of lakes. The word "Ainu" refers to the opposite of these gods.

History

About 300 B.C., Honshu (Japan's mainland) experienced the Yayoi Period. Between the Yayoi and Muromachi Periods, Hokkaido experienced periods of earthenware cultures, such as the Zoku-Jomon Period, the Satsumon Period, and the Okhotsk Culture.

The "Ainu Culture" extended from about 1400 to the early 1700 s. According to one theory, the Satsumon Culture developed into the Ainu Culture through the influence of the Okhotsk Culture.

However, this theory is not a proven one. In the mid-1400 s, the Japanese extended their influence over southern Hokkaido, primarily Esashi and Matsumae. Later, they came to op-press the Ainu. To resist the oppression by the Japanese, the Ainu waged the Battle of Kosyamain in 1457, the Battle of Syaksyain in 1669, and the Battle of Kunasiri-Menasi in 1789. The Ainu lost each time. After losing the Battle of Kunasiri-Menasi in particular, the Ainu fell completely under the control of the Japanese.

They remained oppressed and exploited by the Japanese until the Meiji era. In the Meiji era, under the government policy of assimilation, the Ainu were prohibited from observing their daily customs. Given the status of former aborigines, the Ainu were forced to abide by Japanese daily customs. In 1899, the Hokkaido Aborigine Protection Act was passed. The act primarily aimed to provide relief for the Ainu and help them become engaged in agriculture. However, the act designated the Ainu as "former aborigines" and clarified the distinction between the Japanese and the Ainu.

In the late Meiji era, with an increasing number of Japanese colonizing Hokkaido from Honshu, the oppression and exploitation of the Ainu was replaced by discrimination against them. Discrimination against the Ainu still remains today and has become a major social problem.

At the Hokkaido Ainu Convention in Shizunai, Hokkaido, in 1946, the Hokkaido Ainu Association was established primarily to provide higher education and collaborate in the construction of social welfare facilities. In 1961, the association changed its name to the Hokkaido Utari Association. The association is actively engaged tackling in various problems regarding the Ainu. In 1984, the Hokkaido Utari Association resolved that the Government should enact the New Ainu Law (tentative name), a new law which replaces the current "Hokkaido Aborigine Protection Act." Since then, the association has been conducting an active campaign to demand that the national government enact the New Ainu Law as soon as possible. Furthermore, these days, various activities are being vigorously promoted to revive the Ainu language and to preserve and maintain Ainu culture, such as traditional dancing and various ceremonies. Ainu language classes are being held in various parts of Hokkaido. Moreover, associations to preserve traditional dancing have been organized to revive and conduct ceremonies such as iyomante and chipsanke."

The area where Ainu lived in in the early modern times

Image Source: hakaimagazine.com


Image Source: japan-experience.com

The Ainu fished salmon and trout on rivers using gaff-like spears. They headed to sea in large, sophisticated canoes for tuna, swordfish, sunfish, and marine mammals—fur seals, sea lions, and whales. Photo by The Protected Art Archive/Alamy Stock Photo

Image Source: hakaimagazine.com

Around the age of 12 or 13, Ainu young women began tattooing their lips, hands, and arms. By age 15 or 16, the tattoos were finished, and the young women ready for marriage. Young men were also considered adults at 15 or 16. Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images

Image Source: hakaimagazine.com

If you're interested in learning more about the Ainu -- there is a great & fascinating article located here>> From Prejudice to Pride - Hakai Magazine

[Urbanguy]

I have also updated the New Zealand stats to the include some information about New Zealand's indigenous peoples -- the Māori.