MigrantoMigration trends in Germany
Europe
Germany takes in more people than it loses: 13.6M immigrants against 4.3M emigrants. Net balance +9.3M — 11% of the country's population
83.5M
Population
13.6M
Immigrants
4.3M
Emigrants
+9.3M
Inflow
1 in 6 residents of Germany was born abroad — and 1 in 20 people born in Germany lives abroad
#2 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Germany
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
4.8M immigrants · 3.9M emigrants
1995
- Rose into the 3 biggest immigrant destinations in Europe
- Surge of immigrants from Bosnia — 282K new arrivals
- Migration accounted for 64% of the country's population growth
- The foreign-born population passed 5M residents
2005
- Slipped out of the 3 biggest countries by emigrants in Europe
- Without migration, the population would have declined
2010
- Poland overtook Turkey as the largest source of new arrivals
- Slipped out of the world's 10 largest diasporas
2015
- Became the biggest destination for immigrants in Europe
- Roughly 1 in 10 residents was now foreign-born
2020
- Surge of immigrants from Syria — 483.4K new arrivals
- Surge of immigrants from Afghanistan — 163.7K new arrivals
- The foreign-born population passed 10M residents
Today
- Roughly 1 in 7 residents was now foreign-born
- Surge of immigrants from Ukraine — 1.1M new arrivals
- Since 1990: 8.8M more foreign-born residents and 426.6K more emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Ask Migo
Tap a question — our AI assistant answers it in chat, with real migration data
Where to live?
Score countries, regions and cities by what matters to you
Living in Germany
See the full country overview