Editing Thuringia (section)

=== Natural and spatial tendencies ===
The [[birth rate]] was about 1.8 children per women in the 1970s and 1980s, shrinking to 0.8 in 1994 during the economic crisis after the reunification and rose again to more than 1.4 children in 2010, which is a higher level than in West Germany. Nevertheless, there are only 17,000 births compared to 27,000 deaths per year, so that the annual natural change of the Thuringian population is about −0.45%. In 2015 there were 17,934 births, the highest number since 1990.

Migration plays an important role in Thuringia. The internal migration shows a strong tendency from rural areas towards the big cities. From 2008 to 2012, there was a net migration from Thuringia to [[Erfurt]] of +6,700 persons (33 per 1000 inhabitants), +1,800 to [[Gera]] (19 per 1000), +1,400 to [[Jena]] (14 per 1000), +1,400 to [[Eisenach]] (33 per 1000) and +1,300 to [[Weimar]] (21 per 1000). Between Thuringia and the other German states, the balance is negative: In 2012, Thuringia lost 6,500 persons to other federal states, the most to [[Bavaria]], [[Saxony]], [[Hesse]] and [[Berlin]]. Only with [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Brandenburg]] the balance is positive. The international migration is fluctuating heavily. In 2009, the balance was +700, in 2010 +1,800, in 2011 +2,700 and in 2012 +4,800. The most important countries of origin of the Thuringia migrants from 2008 to 2012 were [[Poland]] (+1,700), [[Romania]] (+1,200), [[Afghanistan]] (+1,100) and [[Serbia]]/[[Montenegro]]/[[Kosovo]] (+1,000), whereas the balance was negative with [[Switzerland]] (−2,800) and [[Austria]] (−900).