One in four Germans has a migration background.
In Germany, the number of residents with a migration background reached approximately 21.2 million people last year, representing an increase of 4% compared to the previous year, equivalent to an additional 873,000 people. This data, announced by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, is based on preliminary results from the 2024 microcensus survey. According to these results, more than a quarter of Germany's population has a migration background, at a rate of 25.6%, up from 24.7% in 2023.
A person is considered to have a migration background if he or both of his parents immigrated to Germany since 1950. Statistics indicate that the percentage of this group has increased by about one percentage point in just one year.
According to the same source, about 16.1 million first-generation migrants lived in Germany last year, meaning people born outside the country who later moved there. This number increased by 4% compared to the previous year. In addition, the number of children of these direct migrants reached about 5.2 million, an increase of 6% from 2023.
These statistics do not include individuals born in Germany who have only one parent who immigrated, and they represent an additional category estimated at around 4.1 million people.
It is noted that the Microcensus is an annual survey conducted by the Federal Statistical Office, which includes a sample representing 1% of the population of Germany, and this data is then used to estimate the total figures.