Who Becomes a German Citizen? An Analysis based on the 2022 Micro-Census

This figure corresponds to 3.3 per cent of the population as a whole, while the 1.74 million who were in gainful employment represent, at 4.2 per cent, a slightly higher proportion of the country’s total workforce. Of those aged between 25 and 64 who arrived in Germany between 2002 and 2016 and did not obtain German citizenship by other means, slightly more than one in ten (11.3 per cent) had become naturalised by 2022. This was particularly common among graduates, people who came to the country for vocational training and those who had arrived as children. A multivariate analysis shows the correlations under otherwise identical conditions. A country of origin accepted as grounds for asylum is a particularly prominent factor. In recent years, the proportion of Syrian nationals among those naturalised has increased significantly. In 2022, of those 25- to 64-year-olds who had entered the country between 2002 and 2016, the employment rate among those who had obtained German citizenship was, at 80 per cent, much higher than among those who had not (72.0 per cent). Indeed, it is almost on a par with the employment rate among those who acquired German citizenship at birth. Even under otherwise identical conditions – particularly with regard to educational attainment – there remain significant differences between naturalised citizens and immigrants without German nationality.