At least 73 MPs with migration history

At least 73 members of the newly elected German Parliament (Bundestag) have a so-called immigration background ("Migrationshintergrund"). This is the result of a research by the Mediendienst Integration. That's 11.6 per cent of 630 members of parliament. Their share is therefore roughly as high as in the last survey 2021 (2021: 11.3 per cent i.e. 83 MPs, link).

Key findings (the full report in German is available here LINK):

• The Greens (Die Grünen) have the highest proportion of MPs with an immigration background: 20 per cent (2021: 14.4 per cent).
• The Left (Die Linke) has had a decrease of MPs with an immigration background, from 28.2 per cent in 2021 to now 18.8 per cent.
• The SPD (Social Democratic Party) has 17.5 per cent of MPs with an immigration background (2021: 17 per cent).
• CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Party) has 6.3 per cent of MPs with an immigration background (2021: 4.1 per cent).
• The right wing populist AfD (Alternative for Germany) is the party with the smallest proportion of MPs with an immigration background, namely 5.9 per cent (in 2021: 7.2 per cent).

The list of MPs with a migration background can be found >> here (as a pdf file). The list does not claim to be exhaustive. It also makes no statement about any experiences of discrimination or political positions of the individual persons.

This is the first time that the proportion of MPs with an immigration background has stagnated after having risen over several election periods.

The proportion of women among MPs with an immigration background is 47.2 per cent, which is significantly higher than in the Bundestag as a whole (32.4 per cent). MPs with an immigration background are also significantly younger on average (42.1 years) than the MPs as a whole (47.1 years).

20 MPs won a mandate as "direct candidates" in their constituency. 53 MPs were elected via their parties' state lists. At least 5 MPs come from constituencies in eastern Germany and 4 from Berlin.

Places of origin

At least 25 of the 73 MPs with an immigration background have a connection to countries of the European Union, including 7 from Poland. At least 18 MPs have a connection to Turkey. At least 8 have familiar ties to ex-Soviet states (they frequently belong to "Spätaussiedler"-families).

In relation to their proportion in the population, the group of people of Turkish origin is also well represented in the new Bundestag. They tend to be strongly represented in the Left Party and not at all in the AfD. People with links to the former Soviet Union are significantly underrepresented. They are often represented in the AfD and less so in the other parties.

Andreas Wüst (Political scientist, Munich University of Applied Sciences)

"Political participation is more about equal opportunities and less about having exactly proportional representation in parliaments. All parties should be able to bring the experiences and views of different groups into the discourse. But there are major deficits in some parties. If MPs with an immigration background are marginalised in politics, equal participation is much more difficult".

Deniz Nergiz (migration sociologist and publicist)

"Hostility and racism prevent many people with an immigration background from becoming more active in politics – or otherwise they induce them to withdraw in resignation. The figures show an inability of the political parties to advertise specifically for a more diverse set of candidates. This requires a high degree of consistency: especially in times like these, when migration and diversity are being discussed in such a polarising way, it is important to consistently campaign for diversity".

"However, the early election date and the electoral law reform must also be mentioned as additional factors. Both of these factors have presented an obstacle for newcomers with an immigration background – because positions in state list were extremely coveted and direct mandates were highly contested even amongst well-known politicians".

Research methodology

The MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION inquired among parliamentary groups, national head offices as well as state offices of all parties about the number of candidates with an immigration background. Since a candidate's immigration background is not systematically recorded, several party press offices were either unwilling or unable to disclose these figures.

In addition, the MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION evaluated the list of all incoming MPs based on their names and publicly available information. Any indication of an immigration background was cross-referenced with biographical information on websites, in speeches, interviews and media reports or checked in direct communication with the MPs' offices.

A person has an immigration background if they or at least of one their parents was born without hte german citizenship. The research bears no indication whether the MPs may face discrimination. The list of names does claim to be exhaustive.

By Cordula Eubel, Carsten Wolf, Alma Beck Chacón, David Gevorkjan, Fabio Ghelli, Sara Gutiérrez, Donata Hasselmann, Miriam Kruse, Andrea Pürckhauer, Miriam Sachs, Lina Steiner und Sophie Thieme