Menu
Search
IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey – displacement, arrival in Germany and first steps towards integration ,
The fifth edition of the BAMF's Brief Analyses reports information from the survey carried out among 2,349 respondents from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey. Respondents aged 18 and older who entered Germany between 1 January 2013 and 31 January 2016 and who filed an asylum application (regardless of their current legal status) were interviewed as well as the members of their households.
German language proficiency low but improving
Contact
90 percent of the refugees knew no German when they arrived in the country, but according to the respondents’ own assessments, the level of language knowledge improves relatively quickly over time. 18 percent of the refugees who had been in Germany for less than two years rated their knowledge of German as good or very good, and 35 percent considered it to be medium. Among those respondents who had been in Germany for more than two years the share with good or very good knowledge of German is 32 percent, according to the respondents’ own assessments, and the share that has a medium level of knowledge is 37 percent.
Many had already attended BAMF integration courses
Roughly one-third of respondents stated at the time they were surveyed that they had attended BAMF integration courses, whilst 5 percent had attended work-related ESF-BAMF language courses and 8 percent had attended the Federal Employment Agency’s beginners courses or other language programmes of the Agency; 38 percent had attended unspecified language courses. Roughly one-third had not yet attended any language programmes, or had not been able to attend any. Estimates show that there is a positive connection in each instance between completing BAMF integration courses, ESF-BAMF language courses and the language programmes of the Federal Employment Agency and taking up gainful employment.
Much in common: Comparing refugees’ values with the German population
The refugees show a high level of agreement with fundamental democratic values. In each case more than 90 percent of the respondents consider democracy to be the best type of state and free elections and the protection of civil rights to constitute elementary components of democracies. Only a small minority of the respondents agrees with the statement that a strong leader is needed who does not need to bother with Parliament and free elections, or takes the view that religious leaders should decide how laws are to be interpreted.
A large quantity of further information
The BAMF’s Brief Analysis 5/2016 presents these and other results, for instance relating to the reasons and costs of forced migration, the causes for leaving the countries of origin, and for choosing Germany as a destination country, the skills that refugees can contribute, educational orientation, experience on the labour market in the country of origin, labour market integration in Germany, social contacts, experience with discrimination, as well as satisfaction with life and health.
The Brief analysis was drawn up by: Prof. Dr. Herbert Brücker, Dr. Nina Rother, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schupp, Dr. Christian Babka von Gostomski, Axel Böhm, Dr. Tanja Fendel, Martin Friedrich, Juniorprof. Dr. Marco Giesselmann, PD Dr. Elke Holst, Dr. Yuliya Kosyakova, Prof. Dr. Martin Kroh, Dr. Elisabeth Liebau, Dr. David Richter, Agnese Romiti, PhD, Diana Schacht, Jana A. Scheible, Dr. Paul Schmelzer, Dr. Manuel Siegert, Dr. Steffen Sirries, Dr. Parvati Trübswetter and Dr. Ehsan Vallizadeh.