Most immigrants in Germany feel they belong in the country, but they also face lower earnings, unequal chances for children and rising discrimination according to a new report. The biennial integration report by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research highlights both successes and challenges in integrating foreigners into German work and life.
According to the report, 81 percent of immigrants feel they belong in Germany, while the figure reaches 89 percent among their descendants. This compares with 91 percent among people without an immigration history. Foreign citizens have accounted for all net employment growth in Germany since 2024, contributing particularly in sectors such as nursing, hospitality and transport.
However, participation does not bring equal rewards, as full-time earnings for immigrants in 2024 were about 16 percent below those of people without an immigration history. Their descendants earned around 12 percent less, with the report linking part of the pay gap to immigrants being more frequently employed in less-skilled work. In 2025, 60.7 percent of immigrant women in family households were employed, compared with 87.7 percent of women without an immigration history in family households.
Integration Commissioner Natalie Pawlik pointed to reliable childcare, faster recognition of qualifications, language support and targeted training as ways to get more immigrant women into the workforce. The report also showed positive educational trends, with 26.7 percent of immigrant descendants holding a university degree by 2025, which is more than double the proportion in 2009. However, daycare attendance in 2025 was lower for immigrant children compared with 91.4 percent for children without an immigration history.
The report also highlights that feeling at home does not necessarily mean feeling accepted or safe, noting that hate crimes rose by about 70 percent between 2021 and 2025. Xenophobia was the most common motive, and the proportion of immigrants reporting racial discrimination increased from 12.6 percent in 2022 to 15.5 percent in 2024, with Muslim immigrants reporting discrimination particularly frequently. Pawlik argued that Germany cannot simply ask newcomers to integrate without supporting them through quality education, language support and access to employment.
Source: The Local. Read the original report ↗