Do migrants really live longer? An empirical analysis of the mortality of migrants in Germany , Date: 2008.07.22, Order number: FFWP16, format: Working paper, area: Authority

Working Paper 16 starts by using own calculations to show that in official statistics the mortality of the adult migrants is much lower than in the adult German population. However, the average life expectancy of migrants is considerably overestimated as a result of errors in the statistical registrations of migrant deaths and migrant population stock. In addition to the data of the official statistics, data from the Central Register of Foreigners, as well as from the Statutory Pension Insurance, were therefore used in the analysis.

It can be concluded that also with alternative databases migrants have a lower mortality than the German population.The differences are however much lower than would to be expected in analyses based on official statistics. It is evident in long-term studies that the mortality gap is increasingly closing between migrants and Germans. Assuming that a part of the existing mortality differences still based on registration errors it can be already spoken of an identical mortality among migrants and Germans.

Author of the study: Martin Kohls

This is how you access the project description from the project .

This publication is only available in German.

This download is available in other languages, too.

• Leben Migranten wirklich länger? Eine empirische Analyse der Mortalität von Migranten in Deutschland. (German)