Net migration to Germany continues to decrease, with the last two years seeing a turnaround in the movement of labor from the new EU member states for the first time in a decade. More and more people are returning to their countries of origin, while the number of asylum seekers and newly arrived migrants is also decreasing.
This is according to an analysis by the Institute for German Economics (IW), prepared based on data from the Federal Statistical Office and obtained by BTA.
According to the study, net migration from the new EU member states will become negative in 2024. About 35,000 more people have left Germany than have settled in the country from these countries. In 2025, the negative balance deepens to approximately 45,000 people.
This breaks the trend of the previous decade, when Germany was one of the main recipients of labor from Central and Eastern Europe. Analysts point out that the reversal of the process is unlikely to be temporary, as demographic changes in the countries of origin limit the available potential for new labor migration.
A similar trend is also observed in the countries of the Western Balkans. After peaking in 2022, net immigration from the region has been declining, amounting to around 40,000 people in 2025.
In parallel, Germany is also reporting a significant drop in the number of asylum applications.
In 2023, 329,000 people filed initial applications for international protection, while in 2025 their number decreased to 113,000.
The biggest contribution to this is the sharp decrease in applicants from Syria - from nearly 100,000 in 2023 to around 23,000 two years later. According to the authors of the study, the reasons are not limited to the tightening of German migration policy, but are also related to the political changes in Syria after the end of the Bashar Assad regime in 2024.
Asylum applications from citizens of Afghanistan also decreased significantly - from 51,000 to 24,000, as well as from Turkey - from 61,000 to 12,000.
A separate category remains Ukrainian citizens, who are accepted under the special temporary protection regime, and not through the asylum system.
In 2025, net migration from Ukraine amounted to about 89,000 people. Although this remains the largest migration flow from a single country, it is smaller than in 2024, when the net inflow was 116,000 people.
As a result, total net migration to Germany in 2025 decreases to around 235,000 people - the lowest level since 2010.
The study also reports another trend - an increase in the emigration of German citizens.
In 2025, nearly 100,000 Germans left the country. According to migration expert Vido Geiss-Thöne, this is not yet a critical development, but the increase of around 30 percent compared to 2023 is a warning signal.
According to him, against the background of an aging population, Germany can hardly afford to lose highly qualified specialists. According to him, the country must improve living and working conditions to remain attractive to qualified personnel, including by limiting the tax and social security burden.