Around 17 million people living in Germany today were born abroad. This makes Germany the country with the world’s second-largest foreign-born population in absolute terms, after the USA. Conversely, around 4.3 million people born in Germany live permanently abroad. This two-way movement is illustrated by the UN dataset ‘International Migrant Stock 2024’, compiled by Our World in Data.
Where these people come from
The largest group of people born abroad comes from Poland (1.9 million), followed by Turkey (1.5 million), Ukraine (1.4 million) and Russia (1.1 million). These are followed by Romania, Kazakhstan and Syria.
Behind this ranking lie very different migration histories. The Turkish group can largely be traced back to the so-called Recruitment Agreement of 1961, as a result of which a total of around 876,000 people came to Germany from Turkey (Federal Foreign Office). Part of the immigration from these countries of origin is linked to the (late) repatriates – that is, people of German origin born abroad who have come to Germany since 1950, for example from Russia, Kazakhstan or Poland. According to the 2024 Microcensus, a total of around 2.69 million (late) repatriates live in Germany (bpb.de). A second important factor is EU labour migration, particularly from Poland and Romania.
Other countries of origin reflect more recent waves of people fleeing in search of protection. The 1.4 million from Ukraine are largely attributable to Russia’s war of aggression since 2022, whilst the figures for Syria (860,000) and Afghanistan (360,000) reflect migration flows over the past ten years.
Where people are going
The flow in the opposite direction is significantly smaller. Of the approximately 4.3 million people living abroad who were born in Germany, by far the largest proportion are in the USA (1.1 million). This is followed, in significantly smaller numbers, by Switzerland (370,000), Turkey (360,000), the United Kingdom (290,000) and Austria (270,000). Turkey’s position in third place is striking; it is the only country that also features prominently on the ‘country of origin’ side.
Migration is not a one-way street
In 2024, around 304 million people worldwide were living permanently outside their country of birth, representing 3.7 per cent of the world’s population (UN DESA). This overview covers only the ten largest countries of origin and destination; the remainder is spread across around 150 other countries. Behind these figures lie very different stories, ranging from labour migration and (late) repatriates to those seeking protection. Together, they paint a picture of a country that, over the decades, has become one of the world’s most important destinations for immigrants.
