study
OECD: Integration has improved in many areas
In the Pisa school survey, the greatest increase in writing comprehension among 15-year-old migrant children after the USA was in Germany. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
According to an OECD study, the integration of migrants is making significant progress in the EU and industrialized countries. Children in particular are catching up.
According to the OECD, the organization of industrialized countries, the integration of migrants has improved in many areas in recent years. A study published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the EU Commission mentions positive developments in the labor market and in education.
More than half of young people in Germany with at least one foreign-born parent achieve a higher level of education than their parents. That’s only about 30 percent of young people whose parents were born in Germany. The trend is the same across the EU, but the values for both groups are closer together.
However, the higher educational qualifications do not necessarily lead to success. Within the EU, almost a quarter of people aged 25-34 with a foreign-born parent are overqualified for their job. In Germany, their number fell significantly between 2021 and 2020. In the meantime, young people in particular, who immigrated as children, are overqualified for their work in this country.
According to the OECD study, there is still a higher risk of poverty for children whose parents were born abroad. The different living conditions compared to children of native-born parents are particularly pronounced in Spain, Sweden, France and the USA. In Germany, the risk of poverty among young people is lower than in other countries and the difference between children of migrants and parents born in the country is smaller, according to the study.
School achievements of migrant children greatly improved
The OECD research also concludes that in EU countries, public perceptions of the contribution of migrants to society are at odds with the available evidence. For example, while the proportion of migrants from outside the EU with a high level of education is increasing, this development is not noticed in most countries. In addition, the public in classic immigration countries is convinced that the school performance of migrant children is declining, when in fact it has improved significantly over the past decade. In the Pisa school survey, for example, the greatest increase in writing comprehension among 15-year-old migrant children after the USA was in Germany.
Every fifth migrant in the EU who does not come from Europe themselves says they feel discriminated against. Discrimination is above average in France and Belgium, where every third non-European migrant feels discriminated against. According to the OECD study, discrimination is less pronounced in the Nordic countries and in Ireland. While discrimination is reported to have increased further in France and Belgium, it has decreased in Germany and Austria.