{"id":1879853,"date":"2026-04-13T12:53:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1879853"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:53:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:53:43","slug":"building-new-lives-in-germany-volunteers-empower-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1879853","title":{"rendered":"Building new lives in Germany: Volunteers empower migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5C5p6<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Syria were the five most common countries of origin for the cohortImage: Michael Gstettenbauer\/IMAGO<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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More than a quarter of people in Germany have an “‘immigration history,” according to new official data.<\/p>\n

The Federal Statistical Office of Germany (known as Destatis in German)\u00a0said<\/a> 21.8 million people \u2014 26.3% of the population \u2014 either immigrated themselves or are children of two immigrants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is an ‘immigration history’?<\/h2>\n

The data takes into account both first- and second-generation migrants living in Germany.<\/p>\n

About 16.4 million people, or 19.8%, are first-generation immigrants, having moved to the country themselves. Growth in the\u00a0category slowed in 2025, rising just 1.7% from 2024 after much larger increases in previous years.<\/p>\n

Another 5.4 million people (6.5%) are second-generation, having been\u00a0born in Germany to two immigrant parents who moved to Germany since 1950.<\/p>\n

The past two decades have seen a particularly large increase across the two categories. Since 2005, the number of people with a migration background has risen from 13 million to 21.8 million in 2025 \u2014\u00a0an increase of 8.8 million, or 67%, according to Destatis.<\/p>\n

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Building new lives in Germany: Volunteers empower migrants<\/h2>\n

The agency’s term “immigration history”\u00a0does\u00a0not mean the same as another it commonly uses,\u00a0“migration background,” which also includes second-generation immigrants who have one\u00a0German parent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who has\u00a0moved\u00a0to Germany?<\/h2>\n

The largest origin groups among those\u00a0deemed as having an immigration history\u00a0are:<\/p>\n