A study into child sex abuse in the German Protestant Church (EKD) estimated that the number of minors who fell victim may be as high as 9,355.

The study, published on Thursday, had made the estimate after reviewing 2,225 documented cases of assault and identified 1,259 potential perpetrators since 1946.

The limited number of files provided by regional churches meant the figure was likely just "the tip of the iceberg", co-author Martin Wazlawik said at a press conference.

The total estimated number of perpetrators was close to 3,500 among the church's ministers and officials, according to the EKD-commissioned study.

The study brings some light to the extent of abuse within the German Protestant Church, which had long managed to avoid the sort of scandal which has engulfed its Catholic counterpart. 

The Protestant church's efforts to come to terms with the history of abuse had been worse than the more-criticised Catholic Church, co-author Harald Dressing said.

The "slow work" of regional churches to deliver documents, despite a contractual agreement to make them available, meant the study could not be carried out fully, Dressing said.

The Protestant study was commissioned by a unanimous vote of Germany's 20 regional churches in 2020.

Not just ministers, but full- and part-time employees, as well as church volunteers fell within the scope of the study.

The investigation was carried out by an independent research association under the direction of the Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

A similar study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference in 2018 concluded that 1,670 Catholic clergymen had committed some form of sexual attack against 3,677 minors between 1946 and 2014.

The real number of victims is thought to be much higher.