The Integration Climate, as measured by the German Expert Council for Integration and Migration (SVR), has cooled off slightly after a high two years ago. This is evident from the SVR’s Integration Barometer for the current year, which was presented on Tuesday.
According to the survey, people without a migration background rate the climate in the areas of education and neighborhood slightly more negatively. On the other hand, the climate is perceived as more positive in the labor market and social relationships. The willingness to provide protection to people fleeing political persecution or war remains high, according to the survey.
“The majority of people with and without a migration background still rate the integration climate as clearly positive” said SVR Chairman Hans Vorländer. “While people express greater skepticism in some areas, they also see improvements in others.” The respondents distinguished between abstract debates and their personal experiences in their immediate surroundings.
The Integration Climate Index (IKI) stands at 66.3 points, the same as four years ago. However, in 2022, the IKI was 68.5 points. The scale ranges from 0 to 100, with a higher value indicating a better integration climate.
The integration climate is rated positively in the areas of work and social relationships. “People without a migration background are more skeptical than two years ago about the neighborhood and education areas, in particular” said SVR member Marc Helbling. “Trust in the school system as a whole has also decreased, not only among those who fear the impact of a heterogeneous student body but also among those who do not share these concerns” Helbling added.
The survey also examined attitudes towards refugees. More than six in ten respondents still expect a positive long-term economic contribution from the refugees taken in. Two-thirds of the respondents believe that refugees will culturally enrich Germany in the long term.
The study surveyed a total of 15,020 people across the country, with 8,001 people without a migration background, 1,092 (late) repatriates, 1,003 people of Turkish descent, 1,730 people from EU countries, and 3,194 people with a migration background from the “rest of the world”. The SVR interviewed at least 500 people without and another 500 with a migration background in each federal state. Due to the smaller proportion of the population in the eastern German states, the SVR interviewed only 300 people with a migration background in addition to the 500 people without a migration background in each of these states.