The exodus of young people from the eastern German states continues. Last year, more 18 to 29-year-olds moved from there to the West than vice versa - a net total of 7,100 people, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on the Day of German Unity (October 3). Berlin was not included in the calculations.
Over all age groups, migration movements between East and West have been much more balanced over the past ten years. According to the data, last year, for the first time since 2016, more people migrated from the eastern German states to the western German states than vice versa. However, this migration loss was comparatively low at 3,000 people in total. Previously, there had been a slightly positive internal migration balance in the eastern German states as a whole from 2017 onwards - after decades of strong outward migration in some cases.
However, the differences between the federal states are also striking: "While Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony have recorded positive net internal migration in recent years, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt have been consistently affected by net outward migration to the western German states since 1991," it said.
Net immigration from abroad per capita lowest in Brandenburg
The statisticians also looked at net immigration from abroad. The highest figures per 10,000 inhabitants were recorded in the city states of Bremen (140 people), Berlin (131) and Hamburg (116). Brandenburg had the lowest net immigration from abroad with 63 people per 10,000 inhabitants, followed by Bavaria (69) and North Rhine-Westphalia (70).
