The Migration Report 2023 , Date: 2025.01.15, format: Migration report, area: Authority

Source: © iStock | Kasia Biel (cover image)

The Migration Report 2023, compiled by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, was presented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Community on January 15, 2025. In addition to comprehensive migration data on Germany, the report contains a European comparison of migration and asylum migration patterns. It addresses the phenomenon of irregular migration and provides information on the structure and development of the population with a migration background in Germany.

Key results

In 2023, net migration totaled +662,964 persons, representing less than half of the net migration recorded the previous year. A total of 1,932,509 individuals moved to Germany in 2023, while 1,269,545 left the country. The significant decrease in net immigration is primarily attributed to a reduction in the number of refugees from Ukraine. In 2022, over 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees arrived in Germany due to the ongoing Russian war. However, in 2023, this figure dropped to approximately 276,000.

Immigration from Europe remains dominant despite decline

Intra-European migration has significantly shaped overall migration to Germany for many years. While it accounted for 63.4 percent of total arrivals in 2023, this is notably lower than the 76.2 percent share in 2022. The reduced number of Ukrainian refugees contributed to this decline. Approximately one-third (32.7 percent) of all immigrants arrived from European Union (EU) member states (2022: 24.6 percent). Similarly, intra-European migration dominated outward migration, with 70.5 percent of people leaving Germany moving to another European country in 2023 (2022: 71.0 percent) and 45.5 percent moving to a EU member state (2022: 47.2 percent).

Humanitarian migration

In 2023, 329,120 individuals applied for asylum for the first time, representing an increase of 51.1 percent compared to 2022 (217,774). Among these, 6.9 percent of applications were filed for children under the age of 1 born in Germany (22,603), a decrease from the 11.4 percent recorded in 2022. Consequently, 306,517 first-time asylum applications (93.1 percent) in 2023 were cross-border. The main countries of origin of asylum seekers were Syria, Turkey, and Afghanistan.

Family migration

In 2023, 108,500 individuals were granted residence titles for family reasons, a 15.5 percent increase compared to 2022 (93,960). Among these, 14,615 were relatives of beneficiaries of humanitarian protection arriving under family reunification schemes, representing 13.5 percent of the total family migration. Most residence titles issued for family reasons were for the reunification of spouses or partners (55.2 percent), followed by titles granted to minor children (33.4 percent).

Educational migration

In 2023, 58,775 residence titles for educational purposes were issued to third-country nationals who entered Germany in the same year, a decline of 2.7 percent compared to 2022 (60,395). Of these, 40,435 individuals (68.8 percent) migrated for study purposes, marking a 9.5 percent decrease from 2022 (44,690). 10,220 individuals (17.4 percent) migrated for vocational training, a 27.0 percent increase from 2022 (8,045). An additional 4,930 individuals migrated for the recognition of foreign qualifications (+16.3 percent), while 3,190 migrated for other educational purposes (-6.9 percent).

Labour migration

The Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, FEG), effective since March 2020, aimed to attract skilled workers from third countries. Despite initial setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers have been increasing since 2021. The Act on the Further Development of Skilled Labour Immigration, introduced in stages from November 2023 onwards, further refined the legal framework.

In 2023, 72,400 individuals entered Germany with residence titles for labour migration, representing a slight decrease of 0.9 percent compared to 2022. Among these migrants, 56.3 percent (40,795 individuals) were classified as skilled professionals with recognized qualifications under Section 18 of the Residence Act, while 64.1 percent (46,390 individuals) were identified as having qualified occupations in a broader sense. The remaining 35.9 percent were employed in roles without clearly defined qualification levels.

Immigration of ethnic German resettlers

The number of arrivals of ethnic German resettlers has been slightly increasing since 2013, with 7,155 individuals arriving in 2019 due to legal changes that facilitated family reunification. In 2020, the Federal Office of Administration registered only 4,309 immigrants in this category, a decline attributed to COVID-19-related restrictions. Numbers stabilized above 7,000 in 2021 and 2022 but dropped by 5 percent in 2023, with 6,655 admissions recorded.

Immigration in a European comparison

Germany remains the leading migration destination within the EU in absolute terms, recording the highest longterm immigration figures in 2022 (2,071,690 inflows). Other countries with high immigration figures in 2022 included Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

Population with a migration background / immigration history

According to the 2023 microcensus (based on the 2011 census¹), 24.9 million people in Germany had a migration background, accounting for 29.7 percent of the population in private households. This group includes individuals who did not hold German citizenship at birth or those with at least one parent who did not hold it.

Footnote

The Migration Report is only available in German.

This download is available in other languages, too.

• Migrationsbericht 2023 (German)