Fewer Germans Moving From East to West

The wave of migration from eastern to western Germany is starting to subside: While 176,700 Germans moved to western states in 2002, only 155,400 did so in 2003, officials for Germany's Federal Statistics Office said on Friday. On the other hand, migration from western to eastern Germany increased last year: 97,000 people from western Germany settled in eastern states -- 1,100 more than in 2002. About 65.6 million people are living in the western part of the country, 13.5 million in eastern Germany and 3.5 million in Berlin. Officials also said that economic problems in eastern Germany still remained the main reason for eastern Germans to move to the western part of the country. Since 1991, a little over 2 million people have moved from eastern to western Germany, most of them settling in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony. As a result, eastern Germany lost about 848,200 people as 1.19 million Germans moved from western to eastern states.