In mid-January, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) together with the European Commission published a large study on the integration of immigrants in various industrialized countries, including Germany. The study answers the question of what has changed in this area over the past 10 years.
Germany is a country attractive to many foreigners, notes "Russkaya Germaniya". According to data for 2017, almost 13 million people living in Germany were born abroad. This corresponds to 16 percent of the total population. Another eight percent are children of immigrants born here.
"Overall, the trend towards integration of immigrants in Germany is positive and more successful than in countries with comparable immigration history," said OECD immigration expert Thomas Liebig. However, there are also many unresolved problems. But let's take it in order.
More jobs
The most encouraging is the labor market situation, which has mainly resulted from overall economic growth. According to the study, the employment rate of immigrants in Germany has increased over the past 10 years from 59 to 67 percent. The share of 15-34-year-old immigrants who are not in education or employment is about 10 percent lower than in any other EU country. At the same time, unemployment among the local population has not decreased as much as among newcomers.
Although the employment rate of foreigners overall lags behind the local population by 8.7 percent, which is higher than the average for OECD member countries, this gap is gradually narrowing.
Barriers for professionals
However, things are not yet so smooth for skilled professionals from abroad. "Germany is one of the countries that have long been a destination for immigrants with relatively low qualifications," says Thomas Liebig. The share of highly skilled workers among immigrants is only 23 percent, significantly lower than the EU average. For women, this share is lower than for men. Almost every third employed immigrant woman performs unskilled work.
Recently, the share of young people (25-34 years old) with an immigration background obtaining higher education in Germany has increased significantly. In addition, there are many who seek to improve their qualifications. But compared to those whose parents were born in Germany, the percentage of students among immigrants is quite small. In 2017, only 17 percent of young immigrants in Germany were obtaining higher education, which is lower than in other OECD member countries.
Perhaps one of the reasons why few highly skilled workers come to Germany is the difficulty in recognizing foreign diplomas. Also, a foreign specialist finds it much harder to find a job matching their qualifications than with education obtained in Germany.
Often, immigrants with higher education are forced to perform unskilled work. For example, an Iranian engineer ends up working as a bus driver. Such cases are much rarer among the local population. "We must simplify the process of recognizing professional qualifications," said Annette Widmann-Mauz, the federal government's integration officer, commenting on the OECD study results.
Civil service not for immigrants
Children of immigrants find it very difficult to get a job in the civil service. "The small number of immigrants employed in the civil service, especially in high positions, is a structural problem of these institutions, not of immigrants," said Gökay Akbulut, spokesperson for immigration policy of the Left party in the Bundestag. Incidentally, in the USA, Canada, and Australia—countries with a high percentage of immigrants—the share of foreigners working in the civil service is high.
Less discrimination and poverty
The overall situation of children of immigrants born in Germany has generally improved. For example, over the past ten years, literacy among 15-year-olds has increased significantly and is now above the average for OECD countries. In the past, students with one or both immigrant parents on average performed significantly worse in school than students without an immigration background. According to the OECD study, this gap has narrowed but has not completely disappeared.
Some studies attributed the lag of immigrant children to insufficient parental qualifications, others to possible discrimination at school due to foreign surnames.
Recently, according to the OECD publication, the attitude of the German population towards immigrants has become more positive. The share of newcomers experiencing discrimination is 11 percent, which is 4 percent lower than the EU average. However, there is a big difference in the attitude of the local population towards immigrants from the European Union (EU) and immigrants from non-EU countries, especially refugees.
Regarding material conditions, the number of immigrants in Germany living in relative poverty currently stands at 21.7 percent, while the share of Germans living in poverty is 16.4 percent. In other European countries, the percentage of poor among immigrants is noticeably higher.
According to most Germans, for successful integration, mastering the language and adapting to the local way of life are key. Proficiency in German turned out to be the most important criterion for 70 percent of respondents. Good education and qualifications were in first place for 60 percent of Germans surveyed.