Refugees’ sense of being welcomed in Germany has been steadily declining since 2017. According to a study by the German Institute for Economic Research, the proportion of refugees who felt welcome fell from 84% in 2017 to 78% in 2020, and declined further to just 65% in 2023.
The study was based on a survey of asylum seekers in Germany conducted between 2013 and 2023. Respondents were asked a single question: “Do you feel welcome in Germany today?” The study excluded the responses of Ukrainian and Turkish refugees from its statistical analysis due to their disproportionate representation.
The study’s researcher stated that the public debate over immigration as well as the decisions taken by the Federal government to restrict it have made asylum seekers feel less welcome in Germany. “In 2023, as is the case today, there was a high level of group-focused enmity, in addition to an increasing prominence of anti-immigration attitudes in political discourse,” according to the study.
The study also found that refugees’ anxiety about xenophobic hostility has increased. In 2019, about a third of respondents were worried about such hatred; by 2023, that number rose to over half. The researchers noted that these developments may contribute to refugees feeling less welcome and more fearful of anti-foreigner sentiment.
The study’s results reveal the negative impact of anti-immigration rhetoric on refugees, especially with the significant rise of the far-right and its significant gains in the recent 2024 parliamentary elections. The anti-immigration, xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second place among the participating parties.
Despite the unstable conditions for refugees in Germany in recent years, most asylum seekers do not wish to leave the country. Another study by the German Institute for Economic Research revealed that the majority of refugees want to remain in Germany, with 98% of participants seeking German citizenship, while the percentage of participants who do not seek citizenship was less than 1.5%.
