A third of Germans would say goodbye to their homeland over migration and a weak economy, according to a new YouGov survey.
The survey found that 31 percent of respondents would definitely move abroad if work, personal or financial factors did not stand in their way. Another 27 percent would be very likely to emigrate, while 22 percent would probably not and 15 percent would definitely not plan to move.
Of those who think emigration is a possibility, 36 percent said that the idea had been on their minds more often in recent months, with 61 percent of these naming the migration situation as the main reason and 41 percent blaming Germany’s difficult economic situation and poverty.
The proportion of right-wing AfD voters is particularly high: 55 percent would definitely emigrate and 24 percent would most likely emigrate, notes Die Welt.
NEW:
There were 734,000 fewer native Germans living in Germany last year than in 2023, while those of a migration background* soared by 873,000.
Of those aged 20-38, 1 in 3 living in Germany is now of a migration background.
Of the new arrivals since 2015, just 23 percent… pic.twitter.com/T9reJk1mq7
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 22, 2025
However, at the same time, many of that 36 percent, about 29 percent, were also frightened by the strengthening of the AfD, while 22 percent by the threat from Russia.
Another 12 percent believe that the United States’ role in protecting Europe could decrease because of Donald Trump, while 36 percent cited “other reasons.”
Those considering emigration would most likely choose German-speaking countries: Switzerland is the most popular with 30 percent, followed by Austria (23 percent), Spain (22 percent) and Canada (17 percent).
Die Welt also interviewed Oliver Nachtwey, a German sociologist at the University of Basel. He believes that those who want to leave are looking for the Germany of the 80s and 90s in Switzerland, when the infrastructure was still in order and politics still worked relatively well. Many simply do not think the German government will be able to improve the situation and are this looking for an “individual exit.”
According to a recent INSA poll conducted for Bild in mid-May, only 23 percent of Germans are satisfied with the work of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the paper further notes.
Commenting on the “dream destination” of Switzerland, including right-wing AfD voters, Nachtwey noted the irony of this, as the country actually has a higher percentage of foreigners than Germany (40 percent of residents have a migrant background). Notably, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, reportedly loves in Switzerland herself. Nevertheless, Switzerland, he says, offers “the Germany of the 1980s and 1990s, when the infrastructure was still in working order and politics still functioned reasonably well—at least in a nostalgic retrospective,” the paper summarizes.
One important caveat which Nachtway does not mention is that most of those foreigners are other Europeans, with a large share of French and Italians. In addition, the German-speaking regions of Switzerland have a relatively low rate of foreigners, and many of them who are foreigners, are Germans and Austrians. In other words, non-EU immigration is very low in Switzerland, and certainly lower in many parts of Germany.
As for the new German government now in place, “There are no real expectations for the new government because people do not trust it,” says INSA head Hermann Binkert. And making Germans see any differently will “require action, not just words.”
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