The Bertelsmann Stiftung study published on 29 August 2022 deals with the topics of participation, connectedness and belonging and provides interesting insights into how people with and without an immigrant background perceive living together in the German immigration society.

A large majority of over 70 per cent of respondents, both with and without an immigrant background, say they are satisfied overall with their life in Germany. About 80 per cent of those surveyed feel comfortable in Germany and connected to the country. In the study, younger people in particular show themselves to be more open to migration-related diversity than older people. They have already grown up with diversity and understand it as normality. This suggests the interpretation that living together in an immigration society will become more and more natural in the future.

In principle, the respondents’ life satisfaction is high, but there are also signs that people with a migration background in Germany still have poorer opportunities for participation. They stated more often that they sometimes feel they do not really belong in society and that it is more difficult for them to find a suitable flat or a suitable job. People with and without a migration background agree, with almost 80 per cent that belonging to Germany depends primarily on the fact that someone has lived in Germany for a long time, speaks the language and makes his or her contribution to society.

The results of the study thus suggest that German society should be made even more aware of discrimination and that anti-discrimination policies, especially in the areas of housing, work and education, need to be further intensified in order to improve diverse coexistence in Germany even more.