In 2023, around 1.93 million people immigrated to Germany. Numbers fluctuated during the time period covered in the graph at hand, peaking in 2015 during the high point of Europe’s refugee crisis. Significantly lower figures in 2020 may be attributed to the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and subsequent restrictions implemented by the German government on entering the country, in order to control the spread of the disease. Immigration to Germany “Immigrant” is a term used from the point of view of the receiving country, or the country being migrated to by a person. While reasons for and circumstances leading to an immigrant entering a foreign country may vary, they often include love, include seeking residence, employment, family reunions, or applying for asylum. Various countries are represented among foreigners living in Germany, though currently the leading three by numbers are Turkey, Ukraine, and Syria. Around 5.2 million immigrants living in Germany do not need a residence permit due to having EU citizenship, and therefore being allowed freedom of movement based on EU law. Another 2.64 million immigrants were granted an unlimited permit to stay in Germany. The near future Germany remains a popular choice for immigrants, even in currently challenging economic and political times. Welfare benefits, healthcare, and various support initiatives for those moving to or arriving in the country are on the list of selling points, though in practice, difficulties may be encountered depending on individual situations and laws in different German federal states. While the unemployment rate among foreigners living in Germany had gone up in 2020, it dropped again in the following years, but increased once more in 2023 and 2024 to over 16 percent. The country is Europe’s largest economy, housing many global players in various industries, which continues to attract jobseekers, despite these very industries facing struggles of their own brought on both by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical events in Europe.

The largest number of immigrants in Germany were from Ukraine, as of 2023. The top three origin countries were rounded up by Romania and Turkey. Immigrants are defined as having left a country, which may be their home country, to permanently reside in another. Upon arriving, immigrants do not hold the citizenship of the country they move to. Immigration in the EU All three aforementioned countries are members of the European Union, which means their citizens have freedom of movement between EU member states. In practice, this means that citizens of any EU member country may relocate between them to live and work there. Unrestricted by visas or residence permits, the search for university courses, jobs, retirement options, and places to live seems to be defined by an enormous amount of choice. However, even in this freedom of movement scheme, immigration may be hampered by bureaucratic hurdles or financial challenges. Prosperity with a question mark While Germany continues to be an attractive destination for foreigners both in and outside the European Union, as well as asylum applicants, it remains to be seen how current events might influence these patterns, whether the number of immigrants arriving from certain countries will shift. Europe’s largest economy is suffering. Climbing inflation levels in the last few months, as well as remaining difficulties from the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are affecting global economic development. Ultimately, future immigrants may face the fact of moving from one struggling economy to another.

Germany DE: Net Migration data was reported at 36,954.000 Person in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 609,553.000 Person for 2023. Germany DE: Net Migration data is updated yearly, averaging 212,822.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,175,283.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of -754,469.000 Person in 1998. Germany DE: Net Migration data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens.;United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision.;Sum;

This statistic shows the distribution of countries of origin for immigrants in Germany in 2023. In 2023, Ukraine had a 14.3 percent share among countries of origin for immigrants living in Germany.

Germany Immigration: America data was reported at 75,131.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 71,252.000 Person for 2022. Germany Immigration: America data is updated yearly, averaging 49,202.000 Person from Dec 1964 (Median) to 2023, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 83,164.000 Person in 2006 and a record low of 32,711.000 Person in 1976. Germany Immigration: America data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistisches Bundesamt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.G005: Migration.

Between 1820 and 1957, more than six million people emigrated from Germany to the United States. The period with the highest levels of migration came during the 1850s and the 1880s, and over 250 thousand documented migrants came to the US from Germany in 1882 alone. The reasons for these mass migrations were not linked to individual events, but were because of the improved access to trans-Atlantic travel, poor economic opportunities at home (particularly for farmers, who struggled with the rapid industrialization of Germany), and to escape religious persecution in Europe. The periods with the lowest levels of migration from Germany were between 1915 and 1945, and were likely caused by the First and Second World Wars, and also the Great Depression.

Germany Immigration: Asia data was reported at 376,968.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 331,110.000 Person for 2022. Germany Immigration: Asia data is updated yearly, averaging 99,635.000 Person from Dec 1964 (Median) to 2023, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 687,848.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 12,779.000 Person in 1968. Germany Immigration: Asia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistisches Bundesamt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.G005: Migration.

Graph and download economic data for Net migration for Germany (SMPOPNETMDEU) from 1962 to 2017 about migration, Germany, Net, 5-year, and population.

Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 14.879 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.429 % for 2010. Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 11.828 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.879 % in 2015 and a record low of 7.518 % in 1990. Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.;United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.;Weighted average;

Sources: Scientific Publications; official Statistics:

Max Broesike (1904), Rückblick auf die Entwicklung der preußischen Bevölkerung von 1875 bis 1900, Preußische Statistik 188, S. 12-14.

Elsner/Lehmann (1988): Ausländische Arbeiter unter dem deutschen Imperialismus, 1900 bis 1985. Berlin: Dietz Verlag.

Hubert, Michel (1998): Deutschland im Wandel. Geschichte der deutschen Bevölkerung seit 1815. Stuttgart: Steiner.

Köbler, Gerhard (2007): Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder. Die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. München: Beck.

Königlich Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt: Statistisches Jahrbuch für den Preußischen Staat, 13. Jahrgang, Berlin 1916 und 16. Jahrgang, Berlin 1920.

Königlich Statistisches Bureau in Berlin: Preußische Statistik (Amtliches Quellenwerk), Heft 139. Die Sterblichkeit nach Todesursachen und Altersklassen der Gestorbenen sowie die Selbstmorde und die tödlichen Verunglückungen im preußischen Staate während des Jahres 1894. Berlin, 1896.

Königlich Statistisches Bureau in Berlin: Preußische Statistik, Heft 188: Rückblick auf die Entwicklung der preußischen Bevölkerung von 1875 bis 1900. Berlin, 1904, S. 105.

Oltmer, Jochen (2005): Migration und Politik in der Weimarer Republik. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht.

Preußisches Statistisches Landesamt: Statistisches Jahrbuch für den Freistaat Preußen, Statistisches Jahrbuch für den Freistaat Preußen, 17. Band, 1921 und 29. Band, 1933.

Stat. Bundesamt (Hrsg.): Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit. Fachserie 1, Reihe 2. Ausländische Bevölkerung. Ausgabe 2013, S. 26, Tabelle 1.

Stat. Reichsamt (Hrsg.): Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich, verschiedene Jahrgänge: Jg. 1880 bis Jg. 1941/42.

Stat. Reichsamt (Hrsg.): Statistik des Deutschen Reichs: Band 360, Band 393, Band 441.

Trevisiol, O.: Die Einbürgerungspraxis im Deutschen Reich 1871-1945. Diss. 2004. Tab. 1, S. 20 und Tab. 4, S. 24. KOPS – Das institutionelle Repositorium der Universität Konstanz, Suche im Bestand ‘Geschichte und Soziologie‘, WEB: http://d-nb.info/974206237/34

Further literature

Bade, Klaus J. (2002): Europa in Bewegung. Migration vom späten 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. München: Beck.

Gosewinkel, Dieter (2001): Einbürgern und Ausschließen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Oltmer, Jochen (2012): Globale Migration. Geschichte und Gegenwart. München: Beck.

Oltmer, Jochen (2013): Migration im 19. Und 20. Jahrhundert. München: Oldenbourg.

wikipedia.org

In 2023, there were around 12 million employed people with a migration background living in Germany. According to the source, a person is considered as having a migration background when they or at least one parent do not have German citizenship by law. This definition includes the following:1. Immigrated and non-immigrated foreigners.2. Immigrated and non-immigrated naturalized citizens.3. Late emigrants.4. Descendants born with German citizenship within the three groups named above.

This paper compares the partnership arrangements of Turkish and Ethnic German immigrants (i.e., return migrants from Ethnic German communities from predominantly Eastern European countries), the two largest migrant groups in Germany, and native Germans. Most existing analyses of migrants' partnerships focus on intermarriage, marriage formation, or union dissolution. We know only a little, however, about the prevalence of non-marital living arrangements. Given that single person households and cohabitation are widespread phenomena mainly in post-materialist societies, analyzing whether immigrants engage in these behaviors sheds light on potential adaptation processes. The analyses are based on the German Microcensus of the years 2009 and 2013, with a focus on adults in the 18–40 age group. First, we present descriptive findings on the prevalence of partnership arrangements of immigrants and native Germans. Second, we estimate cross-sectional regressions with the partnership arrangement as the outcome variable in order to control for compositional differences between immigrant groups with respect to education. Our results show that while the vast majority of first-generation immigrants are married, the share of married natives is considerably smaller. Living in an independent household without a partner and cohabitation are rare phenomena among immigrants. By contrast, about one in seven natives is cohabiting and more than one quarter is living in an independent household without a partner. The most prevalent partnership living arrangement of the Turkish second generation is living in the parental household without a partner. These results are robust after controlling for education, age, and year in the multiple regression analysis.

Germany Immigration: Africa data was reported at 94,614.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 72,917.000 Person for 2022. Germany Immigration: Africa data is updated yearly, averaging 29,605.500 Person from Dec 1964 (Median) to 2023, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 115,905.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 8,678.000 Person in 1967. Germany Immigration: Africa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistisches Bundesamt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.G005: Migration.

Germany Immigration: Europe data was reported at 1,224,406.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,031,005.000 Person for 2022. Germany Immigration: Europe data is updated yearly, averaging 617,635.500 Person from Dec 1964 (Median) to 2023, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,031,005.000 Person in 2022 and a record low of 261,576.000 Person in 1983. Germany Immigration: Europe data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistisches Bundesamt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.G005: Migration.

This series is comprised of seven estray documents (that is, documents which have at some point been removed from their official custody) relating to German immigration to the Port Phillip District in 1849.

In light of the purpose and contents of the documents (see below) it is unclear how or why they came to be collected together or when they came into the custody of the Public Record Office. They have been registered as one series because they relate to the same subject matter.

The Superintendent of the Port Phillip District (VA 473) has been shown as the agency recording this series. It is probable that the passenger lists were written or collected by the Immigration Branch of the Superintendent's office. The correspondence, although written by the Superintendent, was almost certainly a part of the correspondence system of the New South Wales Colonial Secretary to whom it was sent.

Between February and April 1849 three ships arrived in Port Phillip from Hamburg, Germany, carrying between them 309 German immigrants. The immigrants' arrival initiated numerous communications between officials in Port Phillip, Sydney and London because the proprietors of the voyages claimed the bounty which the government offered for certain categories of immigrants arriving in the Port Phillip District. Such financial assistance was usually not payable for non-British immigrants unless they fell within certain approved occupational categories. Most of the German immigrants on board the three ships did not fall into these categories.

There are two types of documents in this series. There are four original letters to the New South Wales Colonial Secretary; three from the Superintendent of the Port Phillip District and one from the Agent for Immigration in Sydney. The letters all relate to the application for bounty made by the managers of the ships which transported German immigrants to Port Phillip.

Annotations on the letters indicate that they were received by the New South Wales Colonial Secretary and incorporated into the registry system of that Office (see below). It is not known when or why they were removed from the Colonial Secretary's correspondence system and returned to Victoria.

There are also three lists of German immigrants who arrived in 1849; one for each of the three ships. It seems most likely that the lists were compiled at the time the ships arrived in Port Phillip either by the ships' masters as the basis of their claim for bounty or by immigration officials in port.

The lists do not appear to be attachments to the correspondence described above, however a consolidated list of passengers on the three ships forms the attachment to one of the letters and may have been compiled from these lists.

Each list details the names of immigrants, their calling (occupation, trade or status), age, native place, religion, whether they could read and/or write and whether they were in possession of a Bible. The lists also give details of births and deaths during the voyage.

The project “Immigrants’ Children in the German and Israeli Educational Systems” studies children and adolescents with and without migration background in the educational systems of Germany and Israel. It focuses on studying recent immigrant groups stemming from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) – Jewish and Ethnic German immigrants – in comparison to “older” immigrant groups – persons with Turkish migration background in Germany and Mizrahi in Israel – and the respective reference population (Germans without any migration background in Germany and Ashkenazim in Israel). In this longitudinal study, immigrants’ decision patterns at several educational transitions in their educational careers are examined and these patterns are compared to those of the native population. There is a focus on various resources (economic, social and cultural) that a successful educational career requires as well as on intergenerational transmission of resources from parents to children. Das Projekt "Kinder und Jugendliche mit Migrationshintergrund im deutschen und israelischen Bildungssystem" untersucht Kinder und Jugendliche mit und ohne Migrationshintergrund in den Bildungssystemen Deutschlands und Israels. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Untersuchung von „neueren“ Zuwanderergruppen aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion - jüdische und ethnisch deutsche Zuwanderer - im Vergleich zu „älteren“ Zuwanderergruppen - Personen mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland und Mizrahi in Israel - und der jeweiligen Referenzbevölkerung (Deutsche ohne Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland und Aschkenasim in Israel). In der vorliegenden Längsschnittuntersuchung werden die Entscheidungsmuster von Zuwanderern an mehreren Bildungsübergängen in ihrer Bildungslaufbahn untersucht und mit denen der einheimischen Bevölkerung verglichen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf verschiedenen Ressourcen (wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und kulturellen), die für eine erfolgreiche Bildungslaufbahn erforderlich sind, sowie auf der intergenerationellen Übertragung von Ressourcen von den Eltern auf die Kinder. Mixed probability and non-probabilityMixedProbabilityNonprobability Kombination aus Zufallsstichprobe und Nicht-ZufallsstichprobeMixedProbabilityNonprobability Face-to-face interview: Paper-and-pencil (PAPI)Interview.FaceToFace.PAPI Persönliches Interview : Papier-und-Bleistift (PAPI)Interview.FaceToFace.PAPI Telephone interview: Computer-assisted (CATI)Interview.Telephone.CATI Telefonisches Interview: Computerunterstützte Befragung (CATI)Interview.Telephone.CATI

Within the framework of the Immigrant German Election Study (IMGES), for the first time in Germany exclusively persons with a Turkish migration background or an origin from countries of the former Soviet Union were interviewed about political attitudes and behaviour. One of the main objectives of the study was to investigate whether the voting behaviour of German citizens with a migration background can be explained by established theories of electoral research or whether it is more dependent on migration-specific characteristics. The survey was conducted after the 2017 federal elections and was conducted simultaneously with the post-election survey of the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES). The project was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) between October 2016 and March 2020.

IntroductionSince the 2015/16 refugee influx to Germany and other European countries, these host societies have been challenged with the integration of culturally distant refugees. These recent arrivals can strategically invest their time in activities promoting their integration, thereby rendering time use as a channel of integration. Refugees are a vulnerable group that differs from other immigrants with respect to their migration motivation, experience, and conditions in the receiving countries. Accordingly, refugees might also differ from other immigrants with respect to their time use. This might play a role in explaining differences in refugees' and other immigrants' integration outcomes.MethodsUsing a cluster analysis approach, this contribution (1) descriptively examines whether and to what extent refugees' time use differs from that of other immigrants and the host-country population in Germany and (2) examines the role of refugees' legal status for their time use. The study examines time allocation to different activities of refugees, other first-generation immigrants, and native Germans, using data collected from 2016 to 2019 of the German Socio-Economic Panel, including the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees and the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample.Results and discussionResults from (1) the cluster analysis approach show different clusters of time use patterns for the three population groups of refugees, other immigrants, and natives. For native Germans and other immigrants, the dominant time use cluster is characterized by full-time investment in employment activities. For refugees, the dominant time use pattern is characterized by low overall invested hours to the measured activities (low activity cluster). In contrast to the other two groups, a cluster of refugees predominantly allocating their time to employment activities is not found. Pooled analyses (2) of the role of refugees' legal status show some evidence that those who have a form of protection status, in comparison to those who have asylum seeker status, have a lower probability to display childcare- and household-related activities than to report low activity. However, fixed effects analyses show that refugees receiving a positive decision on their asylum application do not change with respect to their time use patterns.

Based on an innovative design, combining a multi-factorial survey experiment with a longitudinal per- spective, we examine changes in the public acceptance of immigrants in Germany from the beginning of the so-called ‘migration crisis’ to after the sexual assaults of New Year’s Eve (NYE) 2015/2016. In contrast to previous studies investigating similar research questions, our approach allows to differen- tiate changes along various immigrant characteristics. Derived from discussions making up the German immigration discourse during this time, we expect reduced acceptance especially of those immigrants who were explicitly connected to the salient events, like Muslims and the offenders of NYE. Most strikingly, we find that refugees were generally highly accepted and even more so in the second wave, whereas the acceptance of immigrants from Arab or African countries further decreased. Moreover, female respondents’ initial preference for male immigrants disappeared. Contrary to our expectations, we find no changes in the acceptance of Muslims. We conclude that (i) public opinion research is well advised to match the particular political and social context under inves- tigation to a fitting outcome variable to adequately capture the dynamics of anti-immigrant sentiment and that (ii) the vividly discussed upper limits for refugees seem to be contrary to public demands according to our data.

Historical dataset showing Germany immigration statistics by year from 1990 to 2015.