Facts and figures in English

According to the German Federal Ministry for the Interior, 1,056,416 war refugees from Ukraine have been registered (as of 30 January). Around 96 per cent are Ukrainian nationals. 750,836 refugees from Ukraine have received temporary protection status along §24 AufenthG, the German legislative implementation of the EU's Temporary Mass Protection Directive.SourceFederal Foreign Nationals' Registry (AZR), as per inquiry to Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs

As Ukrainian citizens can enter the European Union without a visa and move freely between EU member states in the Schengen Area, it is hard to say how many refugees have actually arrived and continue to stay in the country.

Who are the Ukrainian refugees?

Of the adult refugees from Ukraine, around 70 percent are women and 30 percent are men. Around 356,000 of the refugees from Ukraine registered in the AZR are children and young people under the age of 18.SourceFederal Ministry of Internal Affairs, response to MEDIENDIENST press inquiry, 30 January.

Where do they live?

Almost three quarters of all refugees from Ukraine live in private flats and houses - as findings of the study 'Refugees from Ukraine in Germany' indicate (December 2022). Around 25 per cent of them live with relatives or friends who had already lived in Germany prior to 24 February 2022. 17 per cent of the refugees live in hotels or guest houses. Only 9 per cent live in communal accommodation for refugees.SourceInstitute for Employment Research (IAB) IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP (December 2022), 'Geflüchtete aus der Ukraine in Deutschland Flucht, Ankunft und Leben', p. 8.

According to the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR), most war refugees from Ukraine live in the following federal states (figures rounded, as of November 2022).

• North Rhine-Westphalia: 219,000
• Bavaria: 149,000 people
• Baden-Wuerttemberg: 131,000
• Lower Saxony: 109,000
• Hesse: 80,000

Note: The number of refugees from Ukraine registered differs state by state. While some states refer to data from the Central Register of Foreigners, others take into account the number of people registered in reception centres. In both cases, these are approximations, as it is not known how many refugees may have already moved on.

Several million people have fled from and within Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The key figures: 

• 4,823,326 (as of 31 January) people have received international protection in Europe, such as through the EU's Temporary Mass Protection Directive or comparable national protection schemes (such as the Swiss 'Status S').
• 8,046,560 refugees from Ukraine have been preliminarily recorded across different countries in Europe (as of 31 January)
• The IOM estimatesSince May, the IOM reports IDP figures monthly at the end of each month. the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at roughly 5.9 million people (latest update: 5 December). In May, the number of IDPs was over 7,100,000. The IOM estimates that more refugees are returning to their homes.
• 5,236,000 war refugees are estimated to have returned to their homes, according to the IOM (as of 5 December).SourceIOM (2022) Ukraine - Internal Displacement Report - General Population Survey

As of 31 January, the number of people from Ukraine who received temporary protection in neighbouring and other countries was:

SOURCE: The UNHCR updates the number of refugees on a weekly basis on this website, which lists a longer list of other countries. Furthermore, some countries' ministries of internal affairs - Switzerland, Italy, or the Czech Republic – regularly announce the figures via twitter. 

Other countries where many refugees from Ukraine fled to:

• Italy: 169,306 (temporarily registered refugees, last update: 20/01)
• Spain: 161,012 (temporarily registered refugees, last update: 31/01/)
• UK: 158,300 (temporarily registered refugees, last update 23/1)QuelleUNHCR: 'Ukraine Refugee Situation'.

NOTE ON DATA: As many refugees initially cross the border to one country and then travel to another (e.g. from the Republic of Moldova to Romania), this can result in data duplications or delays. Beyond this, Ukrainian citizens can travel visa free across the Schengen area. SourceUNHCR, Upon request of MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION, 24 March. 

Rights of Ukrainian refugees in European countries: In early March, EU countries agreed on enacting the Temporary Protection Directive from 2001 in response to the the large number of arrivals from Ukraine. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) compiled an overview on how EU countries are implementing these measures. The Polish Legal Aid Center Halina Niec published an explainer to Polands legal measures in response to the large number of Ukrainians entering the country. 

Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, 353,788 children and youth under the age of 18 were recorded in Germany's Foreign Nationals' Registry (AZR) (last update: 16 January). Most of them are at primary school age (6-11 years).SourceFederal Ministry of Internal Affairs, upon MEDIENDIENST request on 16 Januar; own calculations.

Roughly 202,000 children and youth from Ukraine have thus far joined schools in Germany (last update: 18 December).SourceStanding Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder 'Refugee Children and Youth'. 

Approximately two million children had to leave their homes due to the war, UNICEF says. Half of all refugees from Ukraine might be children.SourceUNICEF, Press release "Two million refugee children flee war in Ukraine in search of safety across borders" (30.3.2022)

11 out of 16 federal states plan to introduce so called welcome classes for refugee children from Ukraine, a survey by MEDIENDIENST shows. Pupils are taught mainly in separated classes but participate for instance in sport or music classes with other pupils. Two states plan to install classes entirely separated from the regular ones. Other federal states have different models, some teach refugee children from Ukraine in regular classes and provide for additional German courses.Source(2022): "Bundesländer richten Willkommensklassen ein", LINK

Pupils who weren't able to graduate due to war are allowed to apply for university.

Many Third Country Nationals (TCNs) who were based in Ukraine prior to 24 February 2022, had to seek refuge abroad as a result of Russia's invasion. According to IOM estimates, 592,000 TCNs have fled Ukraine as of 28 December 2022.

Just about 38,000 TCNs have been preliminarily recorded in Germany as of 16 January.SourceFederal Foreign Nationals' Registry (AZR), German Ministry of Internal Affairs, own calculations. 

Unlike Ukrainian citizens, TCNs are only eligible for the EU's Temporary Protection Directive provided that they had permanent residency permits in Ukraine and presently are unable to safely return to their home countries. In 2020When the latest IOM survey was conducted, the IOM estimated the number of foreign citizens with permanent residency permits in Ukraine at around 293,000. Additionally, roughly 150,000 TCNs held temporary residence permits, around half of which were international students – primarily from India (23.6 per cent), Morocco (11.5 per cent), Turkmenistan und Azerbaijan (seven and six percent) as well as Nigeria (five percent).SourceIOM (2021) Migration in Ukraine Facts and Figures 2021

In 2021, around 4,900 TCNs in Ukraine were refugees and asylum seekers, most of which came from Afghanistan and Syria, according to UNHCR. Migration researcher Frank Düvell, however, estimates that the number of refugees in Ukraine might have been much higher: Around 20,000 Afghan refugees are estimated to have fled to Ukraine since the 1980s.SourceUNHCR (March 2021) Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ukraine, p. 2. 

Around 331,000 personsStatistisches Bundesamt (2021), Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergund - Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2020, Seite 58 with an ukrainian "migrant backgroundPersons with a migrant background are those who have immigrated to today's territory of the Federal Republic of Germany after 1949 and all foreigners born in Germany as well as all people born as Germans in Germany with at least one parent who has immigrated or one parent born as a foreigner in Germany. Source: German Federal Statistical Office: Statistical Yearbook." lived in Germany before the war.  More than half of them are German citizens (196,000), the other have the Ukrainian citizenship (135,000). Around 10 percent compare Jannis Panagiotidis (2021), Postsowjetische Migration in Deutschland, Seite 2 of all migrants or migrants' decendants from Post-Sovjet states in Germany are from Ukraine.SourceStatistisches Bundesamt (2021): Bevölkerungsfortschreibung laut Genesis-Datenbank, Link

In fact, up to 250,000 Ukrainian citizens might have lived in Germany before the war, migration researcher Franck Düvell estimates, since many persons from Ukraine commuted without needing a visa.

Since the Russian invasion in the Crimean Peninsula, many Ukrainians left their country, and more persons migratedStatistisches Bundesamt (2021), Wanderungsstatistik 2012-2020 to Germany.

Before the war, most Ukrainians lived in Berlin (13,000) and Munich (7,300), and in cities in southern and western Germany. Most Ukrainians who arrived before the war had a permanent AufenthaltstitelStatistisches Bundesamt (2021), Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit Ausländische Bevölkerung – Ergebnisse des Ausländerzentralregisters, Seite 126 ff resident permit. Only few Ukrainians applied for asylum before the war, and only few received a protection. SourceBAMF, Asylgeschäftsstatistiken 2017-2021

The legal situation for people who have fled Ukraine are different depending on refugees' nationalities:

Ukrainian citizens:

• Ukrainian citizens can enter Germany legally and stay here for 90 days (Appendix II of EU Directive 2018/1806).
• After those 90 days, they can prolong their stay for another 90 days (§ 40 AufenthV)
• Due to the activation of the EU mass influx directive, Ukrainian citizens can now get a temporary protection status. In German law, this is a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG. This residence permit allows Ukrainian citizens to work, go to school, receive social and health care and financial assistance for housing. (EU: Coucil Implementing Decision introducing temporary protection, EUR-LEX: Directive 2001/55/EG).

Non-Ukrainian citizens:

• Non-Ukrainian citizens would normally need some kind of Visa or residence permit in order to enter Germany legally (§ 4 AufenthG)
• However, the German interior ministry has passed a directive which allows Non-Ukrainian citizens who have fled Ukraine to enter Germany and stay legally until August 31, 2022 (Bundesanzeiger: BMI - UkraineAufenthÜV (erste Verordnung), Verlängerung der Verordnung (zweite Verordnung))
• In order to stay in Germany after August 2022, non-Ukrainian citizens will need to obtain a residence permit. Those who have Ukrainian relatives are entitled to receive a residence permit according to 24 AufenthG (that is, according to the EU mass influx directive). This also applies to people who were recognized refugees in Ukraine. For all other people – such as African students who lived in Ukraine – the legal situation is more complex: Those who cannot safely return to their country of origin are also entitled to the § 24 AufenthG residence permit. Those who can return safely, must return, unless they manage to obtain some other kind of residence permit in Germany, such as a working or studying residence. (Art. 2, 2 Council Implementation Decision 2022/382, BMI: Rundschreiben zur Umsetzung der "EU-Massenzustrom-Richtlinie")

2021

• In 2021, 190,816 asylum application were submitted, 148,233 of which were first-time applications. This constitutes an increase of 56.2 compared to 2020, when the number of applications was lower due to COVID-19.
• The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) ruled on 149,954 cases during this period. The overall protection rateThe protection rate (in German: "Schutzquote") is an administrative term for the percentage of asylum applications that receive a positive ruling. This includes all rulings granting asylum, refugee status, or subsidiary protection as well as non-refoulement cases. Public authorities and the Federal Government use this rate to categorise states according their citizens’ prospect is of staying (in German: "Bleibeperspektive") is. was 39.9 per centThis includes persons entitled to asylum under Art.16 of the German Constitution, refugees as defined under the Geneva Refugee Convention, people entitled to subsidiary protection, and cases of non-refoulement under § 60 paragraph 5 or paragraph 7 sentence 1 of the German Residence Act..Source:Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) 'Current Figures', 12/2022 p. 3 f 
• Asylum applicants predominantly came from:
  • Syria: 70,162 applications (protection rate: 62.6 per cent)
  • Afghanistan: 31,721 (protection rate: 42.9 per cent)
  • Iraq: 16.872 (protection rate: 31.9 per cent)

2020

• In 2020, there were 122,170 asylum applications, of which 102,581 were first-time applications. This corresponds to a two per cent increase compared to the same time period in 2019.
• Approximately one fifth of the applications were children of refugees who were born in Germany.
• The three main countries of origin were Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
• The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) ruled on 145,071 cases during this period. The protection rateThe protection rate (in German: "Schutzquote") is an administrative term for the percentage of asylum applications that receive a positive ruling. That includes all rulings which grant asylum, refugee status, or subsidiary protection as well as non-refoulement cases. Public authorities and the federal government use this rate to categorize states according to how good their citizens’ prospect is of staying (in German: "Bleibeperspektive") is. was running at 43.1 per centThis includes persons entitled to asylum under Art. 16a of the German Constitution, refugees as defined under the Geneva Refugee Convention, people entitled to subsidiary protection, and cases of non-refoulement under § 60 paragraph 5 or paragraph 7 sentence 1 of the German Residence Act.. SourceCurrent figures regarding asylum 12/2020, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

The number of foreign nationals, (i.e. residents without German nationality) varies depending on the survey concerned:

• According to the micro census, 10.6 million foreign nationals were living in Germany in 2021. This constitutes a new peak. SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2022): 'Population data according to migration status and other characteristics', p. 38.
  
• According to the Central Register of Foreign Nationals (AZR), around 11.4 million foreign nationals were living in Germany by the end of 2020. This constitutes an increase by 1.8 per cent during 2020 (i.e. 204,000 people). SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2021):Press Release: "Foreign population grew by 1.8 percent in 2020", link and own calculation based on the Genesis database"
• The Population Projection predicted that around 10.6 million foreign nationals would live in Germany by the end of 2020. In contrast to the AZR, the Population Projection is based on the 2011 Census, the most up-to-date population census in Germany.Source Federal Statistical Office (2021): Foreign population Results of the Central Register of Foreigners

Which of these figures is the most reliable cannot be stated with certainty. Experts suspect that the AZR figures are too high. This is because the AZR was last "adjusted" in 2004, i.e. reconciled with the data of the regional foreigners’ registration offices ("Ausländerbehörden"). At the time, the number of foreign nationals had to be adjusted for error and was significantly lowered. In addition, the AZR was not offset against data from the 2011 Census "for technical and legal reasons", as the Federal Statistical Office explains.

In 2021, there were around 22.3 million people with a so-called "migration background" (See definition below). This corresponds to 27.2 per cent of the overall population of Germany. In 2020, their proportion was at 26.7 per cent.Source: Federal Statistical Office (2022): Population with a migration background - results of the 2021 microcensus, p. 39f.

• The majority, around 11.8 million, are German passport-holders.
• Around 10.6 million are foreigners.
• Around 14 million have "lived migration experience"Source: Federal Statistical Office (2022): Population with a migration background - results of the 2021 microcensus, p. 39f.

MIGRANTS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN GERMANY'S OFFICIAL STATISTICS 

What is: "migration background" ("Migrationshintergrund")? 

In 2005, the Federal Statistical Office established the category "migration background" in its microcensus (population survey published annually). Since then, the category has become a widely used indicator for the integration of migrants and their descendants in population statistics and research in Germany: For example, to measure participation in education, the labour market or political representation.

Who is considered to have a migration background:

• Foreign-born foreign citizens. This also includes children that were born abroad with foreign citizenship and adopted by German citizens. German citizens born abroad, on the other hand, are not considered to have a migration background.
• Descendants of at least one parent with foreign citizenship. This is irrespective of when the parent moved to Germany or if they had lived there since infancy.
• Foreign citizens born in Germany.SourceFederal Statistics Office (2022) "Migrationshintergrund"; MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION (2021) "Migrationshintergrund einfach erklärt"; MEDIENDIENSTINTEGRATION (2020) "Wer hat einen Migrationshintergrund"

When it was introduced, the "migration background" replaced the hitherto common "foreigner" ("Ausländer") in the microsensus, which had been critisised by many as stigmatising and exclusionary. However, the term "migration background" soon faced increasing criticism, too: Some argued it was not a helpful indicator as it grouped too many different people and experiences together (e.g. recent immigrants as well as people with only marginal international ties). Others argued it did not reflect discrimination, as ethnic minorities such as German BPOC, the Roma or the Jewish population, who have often held German citizenship for several generations, are not measured. 

Migrants and their descendants ("Einwanderer und ihre Nachkommen")

In April 2022, the German Federal Statistics Office announced it would introduce "immigrants and their descendants" as an additional category in population statistics. This decision was based on a recommendation by the Expert Commission on the framework conditions for integration capability ("Fachkommission Integrationsfähigkeit") from early 2021. The new category will measure:

• Foreign citizens who immigrated to Germany (regardless of current nationality)
• Germans or foreign citizens – if both parents immigrated to Germany as foreign nationals

While, according to the Federal Statistics Office, "migration background" will continue to appear in micro-census surveys for some years to come, it is expected that the category will eventually be phased out.SourceMEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION (2022) "Ciao, Migrationshintergrund?", April.

Of the 22.3 million persons in 2021 who had a so-called "migration background" (for definition see above):

• 12.3 per cent had a Turkish migration background (around 2.75 million), 
• 9.8 per cent had a Polish migration background (around 2.2 million),
• 5.8 per cent had ties to the Russian Federation (around 1.3 million).SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2020): Findings of the Micro-Census 2020 p. 65 

Overall, the majority of the 14 million people who immigrated to Germany came from Europe: around 64.7 per cent came from European countries (including Turkey). Of these, around 36.5 per cent came from EU-member states.SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2022): Findings of the Central Register of Foreign Nationals 2022, p. 101

About 2.7 million "Ethnic Germans" from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union – referred to as repatriates and late repatriates – live in the Federal Republic of Germany. They constitute the second largest migrant community. According to the definition by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, repatriates and late repatriates are “persons of German descent who suffered under the consequences of the Second World War in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union (and who), even decades after the end of the war, were being massively persecuted due to their ethnicity”. In 2013, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees published a comprehensive Research Overview on integration of the (late) repatriates.SourceGerman Federal Statistic Office (2022): Findings of the Central Registry of Foreign Nationals 2021, p. 7.

Since the early post-war years, repatriates and late repatriates have enjoyed special protection in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1953, the German federal government under Konrad Adenauer offered them an opportunity under the Federal Expellee Act to immigrate with their families. They were able to enjoy full civil rights in Germany, which they were entitled to under the German Constitution Article 116. Aside from repatriates from Russia, most late repatriates arrived in Germany following the collapse of the Soviet Union from the Republic of Kazakhstan (575,000), where the Stalinist regime had banished the “Russian-Germans” to during the wartime years.SourceGerman Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (2013): (Late) Repatriates in Germany, p. 38

In 2021, around 2.75 million people with ancestral ties to Turkey were living in Germany. They are Germany's largest grouping of “migration-backgrounders” (see a detailed definition above).SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2022): Population and Occupation - Population with a migrant background, Findings of the Micro-Census 2021, p. 65

Citizenship

Various official figures exist on the nationality of people of Turkish origin in Germany. According to the 2021 mirco census, about 1.4 million ethnic Turks had a German passport, 285,000 hold dual citizenship. SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office upon request by MEDIENDIENST;

According to the most recent full census in 2011, around 530,000 people had both a German and a Turkish passport.SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office: Press release from April 10th 2014

The census figures, based mainly on analyses of residents’ registry entries, are likely too high. This can partially be explained by Turkish authorities not always informing their German counterparts when they denaturalise a former national. By contrast, the micro census figures are based on voluntary self-identification of the respondents. They are likely too low, as respondents do not always disclose their second nationality.

The Central Registry of Foreign Nationals (AZR) records only foreign nationals: around 1.5 million people were registered with a Turkish passport in 2020. It is not clear how many foreigners registered in the AZR also hold a German passport. According to the AZR, the number of Turkish nationals in Germany is declining. As stated in the Migration Report, this is partly due to many either leaving Germany or acquiring German citizenship.

Germany’s residents with a 'migration background'For definition and context, see above. are significantly younger than Germans without migration history: In 2021, their average age was 35.6, compared to 46.9 years of Germans without international family ties.SourceFederal Office for Statistics (2022): Population with a migration background - Findings of the micro census 2021, p. 68.

In terms of gender ratio, differences are negligible: In 2021, 51 per cent of the country's population were women; among those with migration background, women made up 49.2 per cent.SourceFederal Office for Statistics (2022): Population with a migration background - Findings of the micro census 2021, p. 38.

Figures for 2021: According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 1.3 million people moved to Germany in 2021, 1.1 million of which were foreign nationals. Roughly one million people emigrated during the same period, resulting in a net migration of around 316,500 for 2021. This constitutes an increase of 44 per cent compared to 2020.SourceGerman Federal Statisics office (2022) Immigration and Emigration Report 1991-2021.

Figures for 2020: 1.2 million people moved to Germany in 2020 (around 995,000 were foreign nationals), while 966,000 people emigrated. The net migration was 220,300 people. Net migration to Germany has been decreasing for five years.SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office (2021) Report 2020

Figures for 2019: In 2019, around 1.59 million people moved to Germany (1.34 million were foreign nationals) and 1.23 million people emigrated. Net migration was at 327,000.SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office: Report 2019

Figures for 2018: In 2018, around 1.58 million people moved to Germany (among them 1.38 million foreign nationals). At the same time, approximately 1.19 million people emigrated. This equates to a positive net migration of 400,000 people.SourceGerman Federal Statistical Office: Report 2018

Figures for 2017: in 2017, around 1.55 million people moved to Germany (1.38 million foreign nationals). Approximately 1.14 million people emigrated. This equates to a positive net migration of 416,000 people.

Figures for 2016: In 2016, 1.87 million foreign nationals moved to Germany, while around 1.37 million emigrated. This equates to a positive net migration of approximately 500,000 persons (see diagram).SourceGerman Federal Office for Migration and Refugees: Migration between Germany and abroad 1991-2018

NOTE: It is unclear how many new arrivals are real "immigrants" (i.e. stay in Germany permanently), as the data does not take account the duration of their stay in Germany. The same applies to emigration data.

In 2020, the majority of immigrating to Germany came from other European countries (about 63 per cent). About 50 per cent of the new arrivals moved to Germany from a EU country. Approximately 13 per cent of new arrivals came from Asia, about four per cent from Africa and three per cent from the United States. SourceFederal Statistical Office (2021), Report: Immigration and Emigration, Calculations by MEDIENDIENST

Most arrivals in 2020 held the following nationalities:

Around 594,000 EU citizens immigrated to Germany in 2019. This corresponds to 40 per cent of all immigration to Germany. Compared to 2018, the number of EU citizens moving to Germany in 2019 was about 6.5 per cent lower. Most EU immigrants came from Romania (188,091), Poland (101,467) and Bulgaria (68,815).SourceFederal Office for Migration and Refugees (2020): Free Movement Monitoring 2019.

Immigrants from EU countries and their children make up a large proportion of the people with a migration backgroundAnyone who does not have a German citizenship by birth or has at least one parent with whom this is the case, has a "migration background". Source: Federal Statistical Office, micro-census in Germany: Of the more than 21 million people with a migration background living in Germany in 2019, around 7.5 million had ties to a member state of the European Union.SourceFederal Statistical Office (2020), results of the 2019 micro-census, page 68

Of the people with an EU migration background, most have ties to:

• Poland: Around 2.2 million people in Germany have a Polish migration background. After people with family ties to Turkey (almost 2.8 million), they form the second largest group in Germany.
• Romania: 1,018,000
• Italy: 873,000
• Greece: 453,000
• Croatia: 416,000
• Austria: 342,000
• Bulgaria: 312,000
• Spain: 210,000
• The Netherlands: 193,000
• France: 192,000
• Portugal: 166,000.SourceFederal Statistical Office (2020): "Results of the micro-census 2019", page 68

In the immigration debate, the paramount issue at present is the rising numbers of refugees. But in this context one thing is often forgotten: this is not the first time that Germany has experienced increased levels of migration. People have been immigrating to Germany for a very long time. Others leave the country to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The MEDIENDIENST provides an overview of the major migration movements involved.

In Germany’s migration history, there have been different phases of migration, with concomitantly disparate reasons. Germany was seldom an immigration or emigration country exclusively. In the 19th century, emigration to America was the dominant phenomenon, whereas the early 20th century saw large numbers of workers immigrating. The two world wars were characterised by expulsions, deportations and slave labour. The majority of immigrants after the end of the Second World War came

• by means of recruitment agreements as what were called “guest workers” (1955 to 1973),
• through family reunification for foreigners already living in Germany (primarily between 1973 and 1985, but also up to the present day),
• as asylum-seekers (late 1980s and early 1990s),
• as ethnic German repatriates and late repatriates (primarily between 1987 and 1999),
• as citizens of the European Union under the principle of free movement,
• and for the past few years as asylum-seekers again.

18th CENTURY TO 1914 – Emigration to America

The major wave of emigration from the German-speaking regions over the Atlantic began back in 1700 or thereabouts, with most of the emigrants heading for the present-day United States, followed by Canada, Brazil and Argentina. The zenith of "transatlantic mass emigration” (Klaus J. Bade) was reached in the 19th century: from 1816 to 1914, 5.5 million Germans emigrated to the USA. At the end of the century, the German immigrants even constituted the largest foreign population grouping in the USA. The principal reason for emigration was the rapid population growth, which was causing poverty and unemployment. Only around 20 per cent of the emigrants returned home.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.146 f.

1890s TO 1918 – Workers for the industrial sector and the wartime economy

The apogee of industrialisation did not begin in the German Empire until towards the end of the 19th century. This meant far more workers were needed: within a few years, the German Empire was thus transformed from an emigration country to the world’s second-most-important immigration country, just behind the USA. What were known as the "Ruhr Poles" emigrated from what was then the Prussian part of Poland to this industrialised region of western Germany, the Ruhr. They were Polish-speaking Prussian citizens, so this was a case of internal migration. But East Prussia, too, became a target for migrant workers from the Russian part of Poland, and from Italy and Austria-Hungary. The foreign Poles, in particular, were here confronted with a nationalistically inspired “exclusion policy”. In 1914, there were 1.2 million foreign migrant workers in the German Empire. In the First World War, foreign workers continued to be recruited. Then there were also 1.5 million prisoners of war, who were drafted for slave labour in Germany.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S. 149-152.

THE INTER-WAR PERIOD – Russian and Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe

The Communist revolution and the civil war in the former Tsarist Russia forced about 1.5 million people to flee, among them many aristocrats and entrepreneurs. In the years 1922/23, 600,000 Russian refugees sought protection in the Weimar Republic, more than half of them in Berlin. The majority moved on to Paris or New York. The primary reason involved was a restrictive integration policy, which offered the refugees from Russia neither legal nor financial support for integration. The situation was even more difficult for Jews who had fled from the violent riots in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Nonetheless, around 70,000 of them had requested asylum in the Weimar Republic by 1921, before here, too, the antisemitic pogroms became progressively more open and excessive.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.154 ff.

1933 TO 1945 – Persecution of Jews and Holocaust under the Nazi regime

The election of Adolf Hitler to the chancellorship de facto ended the rule of law in the Weimar Republic. The Nazi government enacted numerous antisemitic laws in subsequent years. Assaults on Jews and their exclusion from society were tolerated and indeed encouraged. By 1939, 247,000 of the approximately 500,000 Jews had left their German homeland. But more and more nations were no longer prepared to allow Jewish refugees to immigrate. At a conference held at Évian, France, in 1938, the then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to put global rules in place for accepting them. The representatives of the 32 nations attending, however, were not prepared to grant any protection to refugees – the sole exception was the Dominican Republic. Nonetheless, between 1940 and 1945 another 31,500 Jews succeeded in escaping, most of them to Palestine and to the USA. Between 1940 and 1945, 130,000 Jews were deported from the German Empire to concentration and extermination camps. Only 34,000 survived the Nazi regime in Germany.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.155 und Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Dossier: Vertreibung und Vernichtung der Juden aus dem Deutschen Reich

2nd WORLD WAR AND THE WAR’S END – Foreign slave labourers and displaced persons

The Nazi regime was able to wage war for so long only because it made use of foreign labour: in 1944, there were around eight million slave labourers and prisoners of war working in the Third Reich. After the war ended, the Allies took ten to twelve million “displaced persons” (DPs) into their care, mainly survivors of the labour, concentration and extermination camps. In the first few post-war months, five million were sent back to their homelands. Repatriating citizens of the Soviet Union proved problematic, since as alleged collaborators they were facing probable persecution upon their return. In 1950, there were still about 150,000 DPs living in reception centres in Germany. They were not, however, given legal equality with German refugees and expellees, and in most cases did not receive any compensation.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S. 155-157

1945 TO THE PRESENT DAY – Expellees and (late) repatriates

The history of the repatriates begins in the 18th century: around 740,000 Germans moved to the Danube area between 1680 and 1800, to Transylvania, to Russia and as far as the Black Sea. During the First and Second World Wars, too, conquered or occupied territories were settled with Germans. The local population was deported or expelled. At the end of the Second World War, 14 million ethnic Germans fled towards the west. Hundreds of thousands did not survive exodus, expulsion and deportation. In 1950, expellees in West and East Germany numbered 12.5 million. As from 1953, the Federal Expellee Act governed their admission as repatriates, who were entitled to German nationality. With the incipient policy of perestroika and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, the number of repatriates rose. A total of around 4.5 million (late) repatriates have come to Germany since 1950, of whom 3.1 million are still living here.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.147, 153, 158. Zudem: Statistisches Bundesamt, Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2014, Fachserie 1 Reihe 2.2, S.7

1949 TO 1989 – Inner German migration and "Flight to the West”

Between 1949 and 1961, 2.7 million people crossed the inner-German border towards the west. In order to stop this internal migration, the East German government had a wall built around the “island” of West Berlin in 1961, and sealed off the borders with West Germany. Up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, around 700,000 people nonetheless succeeded in leaving East Germany, by not returning from visits, or being ransomed by the West German government as political prisoners or successfully applying for emigration. In addition, 5,000 East German citizens managed to scale the wall itself, often assisted by escape helpers. At least 138 people were killed at the inner-German border.SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.159 und Chronik der Mauer, einem Projekt des Zentrums für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam e.V., der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung und des Deutschlandradios.

1955 TO THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL IN 1989 – "Guest workers” in West and East Germany

With the massive expansion of foreign trade, West Germany needed more workers than were currently available. The construction of the Berlin Wall put an end to migration from East Germany. As from 1955, West Germany concluded recruitment agreements with Italy, Spain, Turkey and other countries. Of the 14 million so-called guest workers, 11 million returned to their homelands following the recruitment ban of 1973. In particular, however, Turks, Italians and Yugoslavs stayed, and fetched their family members to join them. East Germany, too, had been recruiting foreign workers since the mid-1960s. In 1989, there were 93,600 contract workers living in East Germany. Most of them came from Vietnam (59,000) and Mozambique (15,000).SourceBade, Klaus J. et al (Hrsg.): Enzyklopädie Migration in Europa. Vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart. 3. Auflage. 2010. S.159 ff. und "Dableiben oder ausreisen?", Publikation des Bundesbeauftragten für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, S. 20, Forschungsprojekt der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, "Migration in die DDR (und BRD)"

1990s – Asylum-seekers in reunited Germany

Since the end of the 1980s, the number of asylum-seekers in West Germany had been rising. After the Berlin Wall had fallen, they reached a new high: in 1992, 438,191 people applied for asylum, almost three-quarters of them from Eastern and Southern Europe. The principal categories involved were civil war refugees from Yugoslavia and Roma from Romania and Bulgaria. This was followed by a severely polarised public debate on the asylum issue, accompanied by violent incidents like the arson attacks in Rostock Lichtenhagen (1992), Mölln (1992) and Solingen (1993) on asylum-seekers’ accommodation centres and immigrants’ homes. In 1993, what was called the Asylum Compromise was approved by parliament. The number of asylum-seekers fell substantially, and by 2008 had reached a low of 28,000. Of the refugees from Yugoslavia, only a few settled permanently in Germany: the reasons involved were a proactive repatriation and a stringently draconian deportation policy, plus the option of emigrating to other host countries. For instance, the number of Bosnians in Germany fell from 350,000 (1996) to around 20,000 (2001) persons.SourceDossier der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung "Flucht und Asyl seit 1990" und BAMF, Das Bundesamt in Zahlen 2014, S. 11

PRESENT DAY – EU free movement and rising numbers of refugees

Since 2006, the number of immigrants to Germany has been rising again, with most of them coming from member states of the European Union. The free movement enables them to enter Germany without a visa and work here. According to the latest Migration Report, in 2013 around 1.2 million people came to Germany, 708,000 of them from EU states. Poland, Italy and Romania were the principal countries of origin involved. Net migration, however, i.e. inward minus outward migration flows, was running at a mere 429,000 arrivals, since emigration from Germany is also rising. The immigrants from non-member countries primarily included people who came to Germany for education and work (24 per cent), within the context of family reunification (15 per cent) or for humanitarian reasons (29 per cent). After the number of asylum-seekers was running at 220,000 in 2014, it soared to approximately 890,000 people in 2015 – most of them coming from war-torn Syria. Since April 2016 the number of asylum-seekers reaching Germany has decreased considerably. Between 2015 and 2017 approximately 1.3 Million asylum-seekers have entered the country – and about half of them have gained protection.SourceMigrationsbericht 2013, BAMF und BAMF, Das Bundesamt in Zahlen 2014, S. 11