Who is considered a person seeking protection in Germany?
People seeking protection are people who come to Germany for political, humanitarian or international law reasons and seek protection here. Most of them - around 2.7 million in 2024 - have a humanitarian Residence permit. There are three forms of this protection in Germany:
- Asylum under Article 16a of the Basic Law: People who are politically persecuted by the state in their home country - for example because of their religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group - have a right to asylum in Germany.
- Refugee protection according to the Geneva Refugee Convention (§ 3 Asylum Act): Anyone who is persecuted or fears serious persecution in their home country because of their origin, religion, political convictions or membership of a particular group can receive refugee protection in Germany. Persecution by non-governmental groups (e.g. militias or terrorist groups) is also taken into account if the country of origin does not offer protection.
- Subsidiary protection according to §4 of the Asylum Act (AsylG): If neither asylum nor refugee protection applies, subsidiary protection can be granted. This is the case if a person faces serious dangers in their home country - such as the death penalty, torture or serious violence in the context of war - and does not receive adequate protection there.
Around 427,000 people were still in ongoing asylum procedures at the end of 2024, while 171,000 people seeking protection were rejected or lost their protection status.
Theproportion of tolerated persons in Germany has fallen again - a development that is linked to the right of residence introduced at the end of 2022.
Number of people seeking protection from Ukraine remains high
Ukraine was also the most common country of origin for new arrivals seeking protection in 2024: 138,000 first-time entries were registered - almost three times as many as from Syria (49,000). In total, over one million Ukrainians with protection status were living in Germany at the end of 2024, an increase of 12.5 percent compared to 2023.
Syria (713,000), Afghanistan (348,000), Iraq (190,000) and Turkey (157,000) follow in second place . Together, these five countries of origin account for almost three quarters of all those seeking protection in Germany.
However, there was also an increase in the number of people from Colombia (+45.7%) and Venezuela (+22.7%) - a total of around 9,000 people seeking protection from each of these two countries are living in Germany.
In contrast, a significant decrease (-23.5%) was recorded for asylum seekers from Georgia. This is likely due to Georgia's classification as a safe country of origin. This classification means that asylum applications from this country are generally considered unfounded - asylum is only granted in exceptional cases.
People seeking protection in Germany: major differences in age, gender and origin
On average, people seeking protection who entered Germany in 2024 were 32 years old. Around 45% of them were women and 27% were children or young people under the age of 18.
However, the figures vary greatly depending on the country of origin: Ukrainians were predominantly female (59%) and on average 35 years old, while around two thirds of Syrians and Afghans were male and significantly younger (28 and 27 years on average respectively).
The length of stay also differs: while Ukrainian asylum seekers live in Germany for an average of 2.8 years - most of them arrived after the start of the war in 2022 - asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey have been in the country for much longer - in some cases for over eight years.
Particularly high proportion of people seeking protection in eastern Germany
A look at the distribution within Germany shows: In eastern Germany, people seeking protection make up an above-average proportion of the foreign population. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, this figure is over 40%, in Thuringia it is 39% - compared to the national average of 24%.
By comparison, in western German states such as Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, the proportion is less than 20 percent.
It is particularly striking that in the three largest groups of origin - Ukrainians, Syrians and Afghans - people seeking protection account for more than 70 percent of people of this nationality living in Germany.
Conclusion: number of people seeking protection could fall in 2025
Germany will remain one of the most important destination countries for people seeking protection worldwide in 2024. The majority of people seeking protection continue to come from crisis regions such as Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan. While the number of tolerated persons continues to fall due to the right of residence, the proportion of people with recognized protection status is increasing significantly.
By the way: The right to stay, which is regulated under Section 104c of the Residence Act (AufenthG), expires (according to the current legal situation) on December 31, 2025. However, applications for this right can still be submitted to the responsible Foreigners' office until 30.12.2025.
In view of the new federal government's stricter migration and asylum regulations - such as the suspension of family reunification for persons entitled to subsidiary protection, the planned end to Naturalization, increased border controls and the easier classification of safe countries of origin - it remains to be seen how these changes will affect the number of people seeking protection in 2025.
