"The Migration Report shows that the measures taken by the Federal Government to manage and limit migration are effective. The number of refugees coming to Germany decreased again in 2018", said Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community.

The Migration Report provides an overview of the migration situation in Germany: In 2018, approximately 1.59 million people came to Germany - roughly the same number as in the previous year. In 2016, the figure stood at 1.87 million. In 2018, 1.19 million people left Germany. This means that net migration amounted to 0.4 million people, reaching its lowest level since 2013.

Federal Minister Seehofer said: "We have put the migration situation in order. More peo­ple are coming to Germany to study and work.”

Less humanitarian migration, more migration for work and study

The 2018 figures show that migration to Germany is changing: In the period from 2016 to 2018, humanitarian migration decreased, while more people came to Germany in or­der to work or study. The Federal Republic also continues to be an attractive destination for EU nationals entitled to freedom of movement.

By far the largest group of immigrants comes from Europe: In 2018, two-thirds or 66.9% of all newly arrived immigrants came from other European countries, 53.0% of whom came from other member states of the European Union. 13.8% came from Asia and only 4.2% from Africa and 5.3% from America, Australia and Oceania.

The situation was similar with regard to emigration: 66.1% of those who left Germany moved to another European country, 54.3% of them to another EU member state. 8.4% moved to Asia and only 3.2% to Africa, while 5.3% left for America, Australia and Oceania.

Continued decrease in the number of cross-border first-time asylum applications in 2019

In 2019, the number of cross-border first-time asylum applications also decreased. A to­tal of 111,094 first-time asylum applications were filed in 2019, which is a decrease of 18,534 (-14.3%) compared to the previous year. "The number of asylum applicants in Germany has decreased for the third year in a row," stated Horst Seehofer, Federal Min­ister of the Interior, Building and Community. “Nevertheless, the migratory pressure at the external and German borders remains high. For this reason I will consistently pursue my policy, which strives to achieve orderly migration while respecting humanitarian prin­ciples."