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400,000 people net immigration are needed each year – 330,000 came
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / picture alliance / dpa
The development of immigration and emigration in Germany is approaching the level before the corona crisis.
Last year, almost 330,000 more people moved to Germany than left, according to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office.
In the first Corona year 2020 there were only 220,000 more people moving in than out.
In total, there were around 1.32 million arrivals and 994,000 departures across Germany’s borders in 2021.
In 2020, around 1.19 million new arrivals and 966,000 departures were registered.
This means that around twelve percent more people moved to Germany in 2021 - and three percent more moved away than in 2020.
The German economy urgently needs people to move in - because there is a shortage of skilled workers in many areas.
The Labor Market and Vocational Research Institute of the Federal Employment Agency (IAB) believes that net immigration of 400,000 people per year is necessary for Germany alone in order to close the gap created by the retirement of the baby boomers.
These baby boomers are currently retiring in bulk from working life.
Germans are drawn to Paraguay and Sweden
Around 1.14 million foreigners were among those who had now moved to Germany – among those who had left, 746,000 were without a German passport.
The highest migration surpluses within Europe were recorded from Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Among the Asian countries, net immigration from Syria and Afghanistan dominated.
"For people with German citizenship, there has always been a net emigration since 2004," the office reported.
In 2021, the »migration loss« was 64,000 people.
Switzerland, Austria and the USA were the main target countries.
During the pandemic, Germans moving to Paraguay and Sweden increased the most.
For the first time since 2009, a net emigration of foreigners to the United Kingdom was recorded last year despite Brexit (-2000).
After the end of the transition phase at the end of 2020, Great Britain left the EU internal market and the customs union.
In previous years, net immigration from the United Kingdom was +6,000 in 2020 and +4,000 foreigners in 2019.
Within Germany, 1.06 million hikes across federal state borders were registered.
This was three percent more than in the previous year.
With a positive balance of 17,000 people, Brandenburg benefited the most from inner-German migration, followed by Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Berlin, on the other hand, lost most of their residents to other federal states.
apr/dpa