Germany is one of the most important countries of immigration in Europe. The country has a strong tradition of refugee protection and is recognised for welcoming large numbers of Syrian refugees in 2015. While Germans have some concerns about the impact of immigration, most recognise its potential economic benefits and are supportive of the country’s moral obligation towards refugees. A key aim of immigration policy has been to ensure the country is able to manage its significant labour shortages, a critical factor behind the country's new Skilled Immigration Act. Anti-immigrant rhetoric has increased with the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Migration trends

Germany has attracted large numbers of European immigrants from the mid-20th century onwards, following well-established guest-worker schemes. More recently there has been a shift in policy to allow workers from outside the EU to enter the country, and more attention has been paid to integration policies. Germany experienced a large influx of refugees around 2015, and while yearly totals reduced in the coming years, 2022 also saw a large increase in immigration levels.

This data shows annual immigration, emigration and net migration figures. Source: Statistiches Bundesamt (DESTATIS) (n.d.) Migration figures for 1950-1990 are for West Germany. From 1991 figures refer to Germany.

Salience

While remaining low over the past two decades, the salience of immigration as a key issue spiked in parallel with Germany’s opening up to Syrian refugees in 2015. Though it declined sharply afterwards, 2023 once again saw a huge increase in salience, considerably more than in other European countries.

This shows the percentage of people who see immigration as one of the two most important issues facing the country today. Source: Eurobarometer (n.d.) 'Standard Eurobarometer'. Brussels: European Commission. Data shown is taken from Autumn surveys, with the Autumn surveys of 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 shifting to Winter 2020/21, Winter 2021/22 and Winter 2022/23 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perceptions

Notable between 2017 and 2021 is the increasing share of the German population who perceive immigration to be equally a problem and an opportunity. However, also clear is that the population became less likely to say immigration is more of a problem than an opportunity (with the share of respondents with this perception falling from 35% to 27% over the four year time period).

This shows the percentage of people that think immigration from outside the EU is more of a problem than an opportunity, or more of an opportunity than a problem, or equally a problem and an opportunity. Source: European Commission (2018) 'Special Eurobarometer 469. Integration of immigrants in the European Union'; European Commission (2022) 'Special Eurobarometer 519. Integration of immigrants in the European Union'

Attitudes

Positive attitudes towards immigration rose fairly consistently between 2002 and 2018, while negative attitudes declined. In 2018, 39% of Germans believed immigration made Germany a better place to live, a significant increase on the 28% recorded in 2002. However, 2022 saw a marked shift with positive attitudes declining and negative views on the increase. A large share of the population remains indecisive.

This shows how people have answered the question 'Do immigrants make Germany a worse or a better place to live.' Those scoring 0-4 are classified as holding 'negative' views, those scoring 5 as 'indecisive' and those scoring 6-10 as holding 'positive' views. Source: European Social Survey (n.d.) 'Germany.' Electronic Dataset Survey postponed in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.