According to the report almost 16 million of Germany’s population of 80.6 million now has non-German roots. More than three quarters of immigrants come from other European states. Most emigrants leaving Germany (77%) were also destined for other European states. About 60 per cent of these people moved to other EU states.

Most immigrants come from Europe

Most immigrants came from Poland (190,000), followed by Romania (139,000), and German nationals (118,000). Some 61,000 people came from Bulgaria. Most emigrants were also German (140,000), Polish (119 000), Romanian (87,000) and Bulgarian (39,000).

The number of people leaving Germany increased by 12 per cent between 2012 and 2013 according to the Migration Report, to a total of 800,000 (as compared to 712,000 in 2012). That puts the net migration figure at around 430,000 people (as compared to 370,000 in 2012) – the highest figure recorded since 1993.

The Migration Report lays out the facts and figures relating to migration in Germany. It is a statistical publication and contains no political assessment. The report of the German government is intended to provide a foundation for political and administrative decisions in the field of migration policy. On 8 June 2000 the German Bundestag demanded that the German government submit an annual report giving a comprehensive overview of annual trends in inward and outward migration. The Migration Report is published by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and presented by the Federal Interior Minister to the Cabinet.

Highly qualified individuals, experts and students

After a consistent rise in the inward migration of experts and highly qualified individuals from non-EU states over the period 2009 to 2012 (from 16,000 in 2009 to 27,000 in 2012) the figure fell again in 2013 (to 24,000). In-migration of experts alone stagnated at about the 2012 level in 2013.
In 2013 4,651 people with an EU Blue Card came to Germany. The 2012 figure was 2,190. In the winter semester 2013/2014 a total of 301,000 non-Germans were studying at German universities, including 77,000 in their first semester.

More asylum seekers

From 1990 to the end of 2013 Germany received a total of 2.584 million requests for asylum. Since 2007 the number of applications has been rising once more. In 2013 a total of 109,580 people lodged an initial request for asylum, which marked an increase of almost 70 per cent over the 2012 figure of 64,539 applications.

In 2013 about 39 per cent of all asylum seekers came from Europe (2012: 34.9 per cent) as compared to almost 39 per cent from Asia (2012: 51.1 per cent). The percentage of asylum seekers from Africa rose as compared to the previous year (20.5 per cent as compared to 12.9 per cent in 2012).

Young migrants

People with a migrant background in Germany are significantly younger than the German average. In 2013 almost 67 per cent of individuals with a migrant background were under the age of 45, whereas only 44 per cent of the population without any migrant background are in this age group.

The German government will now present the Migration Report to the German Bundestag and the second chamber of the parliament, the Bundesrat.