People with a migration background are underrepresented in the public service in Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in 2023, 11% of people with a migration history, aged 15 to 64, were employed in the public service. This is roughly half the proportion of people without a migration background, among whom 20% were employed in the public service, for example, as teachers, childminders, police officers, or administrative staff. People are considered to have a migration background if they, or both their parents, have been in Germany since 1950.
There are also differences within the group of people with a migration background: while 10% of those who themselves migrated to Germany were employed in the public service in 2023, the proportion was 14% for the children of two migrants, and 18% for those with one migrant parent, only slightly lower than the 20% of those without a migration background.
The development over time also differs between the groups: while the proportion of those in the public service among self-migrants increased by almost a percentage point to 10% in 2023, compared to 2013, the proportion among the children of migrants almost doubled to 14%. The proportion among those with one migrant parent also increased, from 13% to 18%.
In total, in 2023, about 15% of public service employees had a migration background, with around 12% being self-migrants and around 4% being the children of migrants. This means they are also significantly underrepresented in the population as a whole: people with a migration background made up around 29% of the total population, with around 23% being self-migrants and around 5% being the children of migrants. Among the employed population aged 15 to 64, their proportion was around 26%, with around 21% being self-migrants and around 5% being the children of migrants.