BERLIN (AP) — Germany saw another big increase in the number of people gaining citizenship last year as large numbers of people from Syria helped push naturalizations up to their highest level since at least 2000, according to official data released Tuesday.

About 200,100 people were granted German citizenship in 2023, the Federal Statistical Office said. That was an increase of about 31,000, or 19%, compared with the previous year.

The increase followed a 28% rise in 2022, which also was fueled by large numbers of Syrians being naturalized as increasing numbers of people who migrated to Germany between 2014 and 2016 fulfilled the requirements for citizenship.

Last year, 75,500 people from Syria were naturalized — the biggest single group, accounting for 38% of the total — the statistics office said. That number was up 56% compared with 2022. They had spent an average 6.8 years in Germany before becoming citizens.