Menu
Search
Migration Report 2013 ,
On 21 January 2015, Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Thomas de Maizière presented the Migration Report 2013, which was drafted by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. The Report provides a comprehensive overview of migration events in Germany, as well as discussing the various types of migration and providing information on the structure of the population with a migration background.
The main conclusions
- Germany is an immigration country: More and more people are coming to Germany, which according to the OECD is the world’s second most popular destination country among migrants. 2013 saw the largest number of immigrants and the highest positive migration balance since 1993.
- Immigration increased by 13 percent on a year-on-year basis in 2013, whilst the number of people emigrating rose by 12 percent. All in all, 429,000 more people immigrated to Germany than emigrated.
Immigration to Germany is European: Migration within the EU accounts for 58 percent of all migration to Germany:
- As has been the case since 1996, immigrants’ main country of origin was also Poland in 2013.
- The number of new arrivals from Romania and Bulgaria has continued to increase since these countries acceded to the EU in 2007.
- The numbers of people arriving from Croatia have also increased considerably since that country acceded to the EU as per 1 July 2013.Furthermore, immigration from the Southern European EU States Spain and Italy has increased markedly.
- Humanitarian immigration is increasing: The number of people applying for asylum in Germany has continued to rise, increasing by 70 percent year-on-year. The indicators of irregular migration also indicate an increase in this regard.
- Labour migration from third countries also continues to be important: Immigration of highly-skilled workers from countries outside the European Union was at roughly the level of the previous year in 2013.
- Germany is an attractive place to study: At 86,000, more young foreigners than ever before who had acquired their entitlement to study abroad started studying in Germany in 2013.
- Family reunification at a constant level: Visas for the purpose of spousal and family reunification were issued to 44,311 third country nationals in 2013.
- Our society is characterised by diversity: One German resident in five has a migration background. This share is roughly one in three among children aged under ten.
The Federal Government's Migration Report is drafted on an annual basis by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
This report is only available in German language.