Schwerin (dpa/mv) - Schwerin recorded the strongest population growth in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the first half of the year. The population rose by 2.1 percent to 97,775, the country's statistical office announced on Thursday. The state capital thus remains below the threshold of 100,000 inhabitants and does not have the status of a major city.
Nationwide, the population grew by one percent to 1,627,456 in the first half of the year. The districts of Rostock (plus 1.2 percent) and Northwest Mecklenburg and Ludwigslust-Parchim (both plus 1.1 percent) recorded an above-average increase. The country's largest city, Rostock, grew by 0.6 percent to 209,623 inhabitants. The smallest community, Voigtsdorf in the Mecklenburg Lake District district, has lost two residents since the beginning of the year and still had 92 in the middle of the year.
The smallest increase among the districts was recorded in Vorpommern-Greifswald (plus 0.8 percent) and Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (plus 0.9 percent). The main reason for the nationwide population growth is the influx of refugees from Ukraine after Russia's attack on the neighboring country in February.
With 70 inhabitants per square kilometer, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania remains the most sparsely populated federal state. The office has calculated the highest population density for the Hanseatic city of Rostock with 1156 people per square kilometer, the lowest for the districts of Ludwigslust-Parchim with only 45 and Mecklenburgische Seenplatte with 47. Vorpommern-Greifswald has 60 inhabitants per square kilometer, the district of Rostock has 64 and Western Pomerania-Rügen at 71. According to the information, the most densely populated district is Northwest Mecklenburg with 75 inhabitants per square kilometer.
