Expenditures on benefits for refugees and migrants in Germany continue to grow rapidly. In 2021, €5.9 billion was allocated to support these groups, and by last year, this amount had increased to €12.2 billion, accounting for more than a quarter of all unemployment benefit spending, which totaled €42.6 billion.
It is projected that in 2024, spending on migrant support will rise to €13.7 billion, which will represent nearly 30% of the total costs. These figures were provided by the German Ministry of Labor in response to a request from the “Alliance of Sarah Wagenknecht” (BSW) party and published in BILD.
In 2023, the largest share of basic assistance under Article SGB II went to citizens of Afghanistan (€1.3 billion), Syria (€3.5 billion), Ukraine (€5.8 billion), as well as Iraq (€774 million), Iran (€282 million), Eritrea (€172 million), Somalia (€155 million), Nigeria (€125 million), and Pakistan (€112 million).
The share of spending on refugees and migrants within the total benefit expenditures has increased significantly since 2021—from 16.6% to 29.2% (from January to July 2024). The main reason for this increase was the Ukrainian conflict, which led to the arrival of more than 1.3 million refugees in Germany, mostly women with children.
