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Living Conditions and Participation of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany , , Findings from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees
Source: BAMF (Cover image: AdobeStock | Viktoriia)
The joint research report by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ) and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin provides an overview of the living conditions and participation of Ukrainian refugees in Germany. The study focuses on the family situation of Ukrainian refugees, their housing situation, their intentions to stay, the development of their language skills and their labour market integration.
The analyses are based on data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in the second half of 2023, in which around 3,400 Ukrainian refugees participated. The report differentiates between two immigration cohorts: The first cohort is made up of Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Germany shortly after the start of the war until the end of May 2022, while the second is made up of those who arrived from June 2022 onwards. The report thus enables a comparative analysis of the living conditions of those who arrived in Germany before and those who arrived after the Ukrainian refugees' change of legal status to SGB II and SGB XII. Through weighting, the study provides representative findings for all Ukrainian refugees in Germany.
Key findings
- At the end of 2023, three quarters of adult Ukrainian refugees are women. The proportion of single women has fallen from 46 per cent (2022) to 30 per cent (2023) in the first immigration cohort and is around 20 per cent in the second immigration cohort, partly because more men and families have joined them.
- As the length of stay of Ukrainian children in Germany increases, the childcare rate rises, but remains below the German average. In 2023, the childcare rate for Ukrainian children is 76 per cent for 3 to 6-year-olds and 23 per cent for under 3-year-olds. The German average for these age groups is 91 and 37 per cent respectively. There is still a need for childcare, particularly for children under the age of three.
- In the second half of 2023, the vast majority (83 per cent) of refugees are living in private flats or houses and are satisfied with their own housing situation. Those who live in private accommodation have mainly found it through friends and acquaintances. 88 per cent of Ukrainian refugees prefer medium-sized cities as their place of residence, followed by large cities (70 per cent) and the countryside (34 per cent).
- The participation rate in integration courses in the second half of 2023 is 70 per cent. However, women with young children, refugees with health restrictions and older refugees face barriers to attending courses.
- With increasing participation in language courses, especially integration courses, and an increasing length of stay, German language skills improve: 52 per cent rate these as at least "sufficient". 40 per cent of Ukrainian refugees also have an average to good level of English.
- In the second half of 2023, on average 22 per cent of Ukrainian refugees of working age (18 to 64 years) in Germany were employed. The employment rates of Ukrainian refugees increase with the length of stay: 13 or fewer months after arrival, they amount to 17 per cent, 22 to 23 months after arrival to 31 per cent.
- Personal social networks play a central role in finding a job: 51 per cent of employed refugees found their job through friends and acquaintances - often of German origin. In addition, the completion of German courses, good German and English language skills and the recognition of qualifications acquired abroad have a positive effect on the employment opportunities of Ukrainian refugees.
- More than half of Ukrainian refugees plan to stay in Germany permanently, especially those who arrived later (69 per cent). Plans to return depend heavily on the end of the war (90 per cent) and the economic situation in Ukraine (60 per cent).
Note: Identical versions of the research report have been published by IAB and SOEP.
The entire report is only available in German.