Integration Report: Hate crimes against migrants up 70% in four years
Germany's 15th Integration Report, released by the Federal Government, finds that most people with a migration background feel they belong in the country. But the same report shows migrants still earn less, find work less often, and face hate attacks more frequently.
RastinewsIn Germany, 81% of people with a migration background say they feel they belong in the country. Among the German-born children of migrants, that figure rises to 89%. Among people with no migration background, it stands at 91%.
The report was presented in Berlin on Wednesday by Natalie Pawlik, the Federal Government's Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration. It was produced by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM).
"Despite persistent barriers and challenges, integration is increasingly paying off," Pawlik said. She also flagged planned cuts to language and integration courses, migration counseling and independent asylum advice services, warning that scrapping these structures would put recent progress at risk.
21.8 million people, a quarter of the population
According to the report, 21.8 million people in Germany have a migration background, or 26.3% of the total population. They either migrated themselves or are the direct children of someone who migrated after 1950.
Gaps in jobs and pay persist
Federal Statistical Office data show that 70% of migrants aged 15 to 64 were employed last year, up from 57% two decades ago. Among people with no migration background, the employment rate is 81%.
The gap is widest among women. While 76% of male migrants are employed, the figure for female migrants is just 62%. In households of couples with children, the employment rate for migrant women is 60.7%, compared with 87.7% for women with no migration background.
Wages follow the same pattern. Full-time migrant workers earned an average gross salary of 3,494 euros in 2025, compared with 4,165 euros for those with no migration background — a gap of 16%.
Dropout rate five times higher
Citing the report, Deutsche Welle noted that children from migrant families attend daycare less often. Among young people without German citizenship, 16.7% leave school without a diploma, compared with 3.3% of those who hold German citizenship.
Two-thirds of hate violence is right-wing
Hate crimes against migrants rose by roughly 70% between 2021 and 2025, reaching 1,815 cases. More than two-thirds were driven by right-wing motives. The number of migrants reporting discrimination also rose over the same period.
People without German citizenship make up 14.9% of the population but account for 26.1% of crime victims and 40% of those with final criminal convictions. The report attributes this gap to a concentration of demographic and social risk factors within this group. It also notes that non-citizens are stopped by police and reported to authorities more frequently.
Pawlik had previously warned against the cuts to integration and language courses made by the Interior Ministry, led by Alexander Dobrindt.