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Bertelsmann survey: Germany needs immigration but does not want it

2019-08-29T06:07:20.788Z


A survey shows that a slight majority of Germans say that there is too much immigration - and yet it is necessary from an economic point of view. A contradiction? The Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation prefers to speak of pragmatism.



If you ask around 2,000 Germans about their attitude to immigration, you will sometimes get contradictory findings. In a recent survey by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, 52 percent of respondents say that "there is too much immigration overall". At the same time, 65 percent of respondents say immigration has a positive effect on the economy. On the other hand, 71 percent find that they additionally burden the welfare state.

The ambiguous result summarizes the board of the Bertelsmann Foundation, Jörg Dräger, as follows: Germany is now a pragmatic immigration country. "The population clearly understands the challenges of migration, but also sees the opportunities for an aging society."

This is also evident in other answers:

  • Many people associate immigration with something negative. A majority (63 percent) think that too many migrants do not adopt German values. And just as many (64 percent) fear problems as a result of immigration at schools and housing shortages in metropolitan areas (60 percent). 69 percent fear conflicts between immigrants and natives.
  • But many of the interviews also see opportunities. 64 percent say that immigration is a remedy against the aging of society. In addition, 41 percent of those polled said that immigration was needed to combat the skills shortage. Two years ago, this share was still at 33 percent. A good two-thirds of the respondents also think that migration makes life more interesting.

There is also something inherent in the way people feel about immigration: young people in particular see opportunities rather than risks. "Welcome culture in Germany is young," says the study. The group of under-30s differs significantly in their assessments from older respondents.

And the attitude also depends on where the respondents live. For example, 83 percent of respondents in East Germany said that migration was a burden on the welfare state. In the west, however, the proportion was only 68 percent. Positive effects on the economy are seen by 67 percent of respondents in the West and 55 percent in the East.

Background: The study "Welcoming culture between skepticism and pragmatics" is based on a representative population survey carried out by Kantar-Emnid on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation in April 2019. 2024 persons of German-speaking population aged 14 and over were interviewed.

Source: spiegel

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