In 2023, more young people will have moved from the eastern German states to the west than the other way around. What does this mean for the age structure? And what about immigration from abroad?
The exodus of young people from the eastern German states continues. Last year, more 18 to 29-year-olds moved from there to the West than vice versa – specifically, there were 7,100 net people, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced on the Day of German Unity (October 3). Berlin was not taken into account in the calculations.
“This means that the continuous loss of migration in East Germany compared to the West in this age group, which has existed since 1991, will continue in 2023,” it said. This may also be due to migration to study or vocational training. According to the data, a total of 727,000 net 18- to 29-year-olds have migrated from eastern German states to the west since 1991.
Fewer people of working age in the East (excluding Berlin)
Decades of development also contribute to a lower proportion of people of working age in the East. According to the 2022 census, 57.5 percent of the population in the eastern German states (excluding Berlin) were between 18 and 64 years old. In the West German states, however, the proportion was 61.6 percent. The fewest people of working age were in Saxony at around 57 percent, and the most were in Berlin at around 64 percent. In addition, the ten districts with the lowest proportion of 18 to 64 year olds are all in the east. Dessau-Roßlau brings up the rear (53.4 percent).
Across all age groups, migration between East and West has been significantly more balanced over the past ten years. According to the data, last year, for the first time since 2016, more people migrated from East German to West German states than vice versa. However, this migration loss was comparatively small at a total of 3,000 people. Previously – after decades of sometimes strong emigration – there was a slightly positive internal migration balance in the eastern German states as a whole from 2017 onwards.
However, the differences between the federal states are also striking: “While Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony have recorded a positive internal migration balance in recent years, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt have been consistently affected by net migration to the West German states since 1991.” , it said.
Net immigration from abroad per capita is lowest in Brandenburg
The statisticians also looked at net immigration from abroad. The city states of Bremen (140 people), Berlin (131) and Hamburg (116) recorded the highest number per 10,000 inhabitants. Brandenburg had the lowest net immigration from abroad with 63 people per 10,000 inhabitants, followed by Bavaria (69) and North Rhine-Westphalia (70).
According to the 2023 microcensus, 27.6 percent of the population in the western German states (excluding Berlin) had a history of immigration. In the eastern German states (excluding Berlin) the proportion was less than half as high at 9.7 percent. In Berlin, the proportion of people with an immigrant background was 33.6 percent.
Source: Stern
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