Two thirds of migrants in Germany experience discrimination: study

Two thirds of people with a migratory background in Germany experience discrimination as a result of their foreign roots, a study published on Wednesday by the country's Federal Association for Property Ownership, House Building and Urban Development (vhw) finds.

The vhw emphasized in a press statement that there was a growing sense within the group of being disadvantaged in the labor and housing market in particular. Although inter-ethnic and cultural coexistence was still rated positively by a broad majority of Germans with migratory backgrounds, the study highlighted concerns that the quality thereof could deteriorate.

The findings were based on a representative survey of 2,053 citizens with migratory backgrounds aged 15 or above which was conducted by the Heidelberg-based SINUS institute. Individuals are officially considered to have a migratory background in Germany when they were not born with German citizenship or have at least on parent to whom this circumstance applies.

According to vhw president Juergen Aring, the survey responses indicated that some sub-groups were increasingly resigned and isolated from the majority population. "The traditional and precarious environments feel a significantly stronger sense of belonging to their culture of origin than 10 years ago," Aring said. He noted that this was especially true for the "relatively small group" of individuals which were strongly rooted in their religious identity.

Nevertheless, Aring warned that it would be wrong to project the issues of these groups to all individuals with migratory backgrounds. The majority of respondents were actually much better integrated than was previously the case and naturally viewed themselves as part of German society.

In seven out of 10 migrant environments assessed by the vhw, religion did not play a significant role. While wanting to preserve their own cultural roots, the share of respondents who indicated that they wanted to adapt to the lifestyles of the broader German population without migratory backgrounds grew as well.