Of all European countries, those who emigrate from Germany are still most likely to be drawn to Switzerland. Germans were also the most likely to acquire Swiss citizenship recently.
Switzerland is again the most popular country for German emigrants in Europe. At the beginning of 2022, almost 311,300 Germans were resident in the neighboring country. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office. The number has reportedly been increasing for years.
The second most popular emigration destination for Germans is Austria. A good 216,700 German citizens lived there at the beginning of last year. “Both states have in common that the change of residence for Germans is made easier by the physical proximity and the lack of language barriers,” according to the statistics office.
The third most popular destination for Germans is Spain. A good 142,600 people with German citizenship were resident there at the beginning of 2022.
| The ten most popular emigrant destinations | |
|---|---|
Switzerland | 311,299 |
Austria | 216,731 |
Spain | 142,632 |
France | 87,233 |
Netherlands | 82,943 |
Belgium | 40.167 |
Italy | 32,984 |
Sweden (2021) | 28,957 |
Denmark | 28,179 |
Norway | 26,221 |
| Source: Eurostat, FSO Switzerlandranking without United Kingdom |
7,940 Germans acquired Swiss citizenship
According to the Federal Statistical Office, Switzerland is also the country in Europe in which Germans most often acquired citizenship. In 2021 there was even a new high. 7,940 Germans became Swiss citizens – 14 percent more than a year earlier.
Sweden was in second place: almost 1,350 Germans acquired Swedish citizenship there in 2021 – five percent less than in the previous year.
The statistical office points out that Germans who also have citizenship of the target country would not be counted as Germans for these surveys. In addition, data for the United Kingdom was only available up to 2019, which was therefore not included in the comparison.