According to recently released data stemming from a parliamentary inquiry by the Left Party, the number of individuals residing in Germany who are classified as refugees has decreased for the first time since 2011. As of July 4, 2024, the total number stood at approximately 3.495 million, a decline of roughly 50,000 compared to the end of 2023.
At the close of 2023, 3.545 million refugees were recorded as living in Germany. Of the current figure, 688,518 individuals hold refugee protection status under the Geneva Refugee Convention, with the majority – 80.9 percent – possessing a temporary right of residence. Only 17 percent have been granted indefinite residency, while the remaining 1.9 percent are tolerated or have an undetermined status.
The largest proportion of refugees with protection status originate from the Near and Middle East, with Syria accounting for the highest number (291,645). Refugees from Iraq (91,295) and Afghanistan (89,330) follow in second and third place, respectively.
Clara Bünger, the Left Party’s spokesperson for interior and refugee affairs, cautioned against celebratory interpretations of the figures, emphasizing that global factors continue to drive displacement. She suggested that increasingly fortified and shifted EU external borders are hindering access for vulnerable individuals.
The decline in overall numbers challenges assertions of an emergency situation that would justify suspending EU asylum law. Bünger argued that focusing on integration and participation in the labor market and broader society is a more constructive approach than prioritizing increased border restrictions.