The Contribution of Migration to Germany's Innovative Strength

The results show that migration is making an ever greater contribution to Germany's innovative strength. Measuring full patent equivalents, the proportion of inventors with foreign roots among all inventors resident in Germany rose from 6.1 per cent in 2005 to 9.4 per cent in 2016. A case count measurement confirms these results. In 2016, the number of applications filed in Germany by inventors resident in the country was 4.3 percent higher than in 2005. However, the contribution of inventors from German-speaking countries increased by a relatively low total of 1 percent in the comparison period, while inventors from non-German-speaking countries recorded a rise of something over 65 percent. In particular, inventors from Indian, Chinese and Arabic-Turkish language areas are increasingly contributing to patent applications from Germany. The planned Immigration Act, whose aims include further simplifying immigration procedures from third countries for technicians and scientists, i.e. the core group of potential inventors, would provide a positive impetus for Germany’s innovation system.