Press release No. 396 of 9 November 2016
WIESBADEN - According to first provisional data, 721,800 children started school in Germany at the beginning of the current school year 2016/2017. This was an increase of 2.4% compared with the preceding year. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the number of school beginners was up in almost all Länder year on year. The largest increases were recorded in Saarland (+8.0%) and Brandenburg (+5.4%).
Based on the population figures as at the end of 2015, the total number of children of school entry age was up 4.2% in the whole of Germany on a year earlier. One of the reasons for the rise in the total number of school beginners was probably the increased immigration in 2015.