- Approximately one-third of the student population has an immigration background.
Last year, nearly one-third of students attending regular schools in Germany came from an immigrant background. The majority, or close to six out of ten students, had no immigration background. Around 12% of students had at least one parent who migrated to Germany. These statistics were shared by the German Federal Statistical Office.
To have an immigration background means that the individual or both of their parents moved to Germany after 1950.
In contrast, the composition of teachers was quite different. Only around 11% of teachers in 2023 had an immigration background. An additional 5% had an immigrant parent, while a significant 84% had no immigration background. According to the Federal Office's data.
Over the past five years, the proportion of students and teachers with an immigration background in regular schools has seen an increase. In 2018, 26% of students and 9% of teachers had an immigration background. This is a notable increase from the 2023 figures.
The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia had the largest number of students with an immigration background in 2023, with 689,000 children and young people. This accounted for over a third of the total student population. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the least, with around 20,000 students, representing approximately 12% of the student population. Other states with relatively low figures included Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.
It's important to note that the Federal Office's report focuses on the residential population. Those living in communal accommodations, such as refugees, are not included in these statistics.
The largest contrast in the distribution of students with an immigration background was observed between North Rhine-Westphalia and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with the former having 689,000 students, constituting over a third of its total population, and the latter having only around 20,000 students, representing about 12%. Despite this, meadows in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania continue to provide a serene and peaceful environment for both locals and immigrants, offering a sense of harmony and unity despite the differences in their backgrounds.
