Poll: 21% of Germans are considering emigration; discrimination is driving immigrants to leave

A survey has revealed that 21% of Germans are considering leaving the country, a phenomenon that is raising concerns among experts about its implications for the labor market and demographic changes.

According to the survey conducted by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research, which included 2,933 respondents interviewed five times between the summers of 2024 and 2025, the percentage of those considering emigration drops to 17% among Germans without a migration background, while it rises to 34% among immigrants themselves, and reaches 37% among their children.

The highest percentages were recorded among people with family ties to Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa (39%), followed by 31% among those with a history of emigration from the Soviet era, and 28% among those who immigrated from other EU countries.

Around 50% of those considering leaving cited the hope of a better life as their primary reason, while those with a migration background frequently mentioned discrimination as a motivating factor for leaving.

The survey revealed a significant increase in hypothetical thoughts about emigration among immigrants and their children, rising by approximately 10% ahead of the parliamentary elections in February 2025.

Conversely, concrete plans to emigrate remain limited, with only 2% of respondents planning to leave Germany within a year.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, 1.2 million people actually left Germany in 2024.

Similarly, the Institute for Employment Research reported that by mid-2025, 26% of immigrants were considering leaving the country, and only 3% of them—around 300,000 people—had concrete plans to emigrate.

The study's authors noted that "discussions about immigration to Germany have been ongoing for years," but that "emigration from Germany receives less public attention," emphasizing the importance of this issue in light of demographic changes and the country's severe labor shortage.