The termimmigration country describes astate whose population is growing rapidly due toimmigration from other countries or in whichimmigrants make up a significant part of the population. The term is sometimes used as apolitical slogan.
When referring to the people of the immigration country, one also speaks of animmigrant society or, if the temporary character of immigration is to be emphasized, of animmigration society.[1]
Typical immigration countries areArgentina,Australia,Brazil,Israel,Canada,New Zealand,South Africa, theUSA and other countries, particularly inSouth America. These are countries in which a large proportion of the population is descended from immigrants. In many cases, immigration was deliberately encouraged, often due to lowpopulation density combined with a shortage of labour, in other cases for military-strategic reasons, for example in order to be able to provide a reason for occupying a claimed territory through a population presence.Large migration movements to these countries occurred particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the course ofglobalization, a change occurred around the time ofthe Great Depression and theSecond World War. While the traditional immigration countries controlled immigration through immigration laws and limited it as needed, numerous formeremigration countries became targets of immigration, particularly the states of theEuropean Union. Especially since about 1990, the conditions for immigration in these countries have been gradually relaxed, with the southern European countries, especiallySpain, taking a pioneering role. In recent times, these countries are also generally referred to as immigration countries, even if the specific use of this term is often controversial in public.[2]
In 2013, 232 million people lived outside their home country (about 3.2 percent of the world's population). The United States received the most immigrants (45.8 million people), followed by Russia (about 11 million) and Germany (9.8 million).
The UN Migration Report of 2017 gives the following ranking of the countries with the most immigrants:[3]
Germany is considered an immigration country (German: Einwanderungsland).[4]
More than three million refugees and asylum seekers live in Germany, more than in any other European country.[5]
As of 2017, Germany is the third most popular immigration country in the world after theUnited States andSaudi Arabia.[3]Immigrants from almost all countries in the world live in Germany .
In 2011, the total proportion of the population with amigration background as defined by official statistics (i.e. people who have immigrated to the current federal territory from outside Germany since 1949 and their descendants) was around 19 percent (15 million inhabitants) and the total proportion of the population withoutGerman citizenship was 8.3 percent (6.6 million inhabitants). According to statisticians, Germany has been considered a country of immigration for decades.
The term "country of immigration" has been used for theFederal Republic since the beginning of the immigration of so-called "guest workers" in recognition of thede facto immigration, but was controversial in public for many years. The guest workers were recruited primarily in the1960s, after theWest German cities had been rebuilt and workers were needed for the prosperous companies of theeconomic miracle years. The recognition that Germany is a country of immigration has been more firmly established, at least inscience andpolitics, since the turn of themillennium.[6][7]
In a historical context, it can be seen that Germany was always an important country of immigration at certain times. In the 16th and 17th centuries,Huguenots fromFrance who werepersecuted for religious reasons immigrated toGermany; during the time ofindustrialisation in theGerman Empire, large numbers of Polish workers (Ruhr Poles) andItalians immigrated. In addition to the guest workers in the1960s and1970s, since the1980s there have been large numbers of immigrants from theformer Soviet republics, fromPoland and, during the time of theYugoslav Wars, from theformer Yugoslavia. Due to the2008 financial crisis and the resulting economic problems (especiallyyouth unemployment) in places likeSpain,Greece,Portugal andItaly,Germany has developed into a stable location that is attractive to immigrants. In addition to migrants from European countries, Germany is also a popular destination for academics and entrepreneurs from other parts of the world; the number ofIsraelis, for example, has increased sharply in the years since 2010.
Switzerland has the highest proportion of foreigners (residents withoutSwiss citizenship) of all European countries, with around two million inhabitants (seeImmigrant proportions by country). It has been a country of immigration since the 1960s. One of the reasons for this was the high demand for workers in a rapidly growing economy; previously low-skilled jobs were increasingly only filled by immigrants. However, the seasonal worker status was initially used to balance the economy's need for workers and what critics called “Überfremdung” of a growing foreign population : foreign (mainly southern European) workers received seasonal work permits, but had to leave the country again afterwards. Even for newly settled people, family reunification was almost impossible during the initial phase of their stay.
In 2000, areferendum resulted in a majority in favour of concluding a bilateral agreement with the EU on the free movement of persons ; this was again pushed for primarily by the economy, with its need for a predominantly well-qualified workforce. Full freedom of movement was introduced in several steps. Since the borders to the EU were fully opened, the already high level of immigration has accelerated significantly. Even with the rise inunemployment since 2009 in the wake of theeconomic crisis, the immigration surplus has remained almost unchanged. This has prompted right-wing political circles (especially theSVP) to call for the application of the safety valve clause set out in the bilateral agreements, which could lead to certain immigration quotas being reintroduced. The termination of the free movement of persons demanded by some representatives became reality with thereferendum on 8 February 2014: 50.3% of those eligible to vote voted for the federal popular initiative "Against mass immigration". This means that thefree movement of persons must be restricted within three years.