Net Immigration to Germany Increased During 2021, for First Time Since 2016
Data also show that during 2021, the percentage of people who emigrated from other European countries dropped slightly to 63.8 per cent compared to 2020, during which year it was 69.1 per cent, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
The countries from which most emigrants arrived in Germany from are: Romania with 14.4 per cent, followed by Poland with 7.3 per cent, and Bulgaria with 5.4 per cent.
In addition, BMI emphasises that the percentage of the population with a migration background is also increasing in this country. According to statistics, 22.3 million people in Germany belonged to this group in 2021 because they themselves or at least one of their parents, were not born with German citizenship.
As a result, this corresponds to 27.3 per cent of the total population, which is an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2021.
The BMI report also reveals that more than half of people with a migration background in Germany are German citizens, and almost two-thirds have immigrated themselves.
According to the report, in 2021, there was again an increase in labour migration from non-EU countries due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, more than 40,000 immigrants received a residence permit for gainful employment in Germany, which is about a third more than in 2020.
“Nevertheless, the numbers from before the pandemic have not yet been reached again, when around 64,000 migrant workers moved to Germany. The situation is different in the area of ??educational migration: more than 100,000 foreign students (with foreign higher education entrance qualifications) began their studies at a German university in 2021,” the report explains.
Commenting on these data, the head of the research centre at the Federal Office for Migration. and Refugees (BAMF), Axel Kreienbrink, said that taking into account that in 2021 immigration to Germany increased much more by 11.5 per cent compared to emigration by only +2.9 per cent, one cannot yet speak of any trend change.
He also added that almost 330,000 more people immigrated to Germany than left. Meanwhile, the highest net migration was recorded on arrivals from Syria in 2021, with around 41,000.
Among the main countries of origin of first-time asylum applicants in Germany is Syria with a percentage of 37 per cent, followed by Afghanistan with 16 per cent, and Iraq with 11 per cent.
