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Levels of racism and discrimination in Germany revealed in new survey

Paul Krantz
Paul Krantz - paul.krantz@thelocal.com
Levels of racism and discrimination in Germany revealed in new survey
Passers-by walk across a street in Munich's Haidhausen district in the early hours of the morning. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Peter Kneffel

More than half of people from ethnic or religious minorities in Germany experience discrimination on a regular basis, a recent survey has revealed.

Some 54 percent of people living in Germany who identify as belonging to ethnic or religious minorities experience racial discrimination on a regular basis, according to a recent survey by the National Discrimination and Racism Monitor.

More than 60 percent of black men and women reported experiencing discrimination at least once a month in the past year.

Of these instances, skin colour was suggested to be the reason for the discrimination in roughly four out of five incidents, Tagesschau reported.

Similarly, just over 60 percent of Muslim women reported being discriminated against at least once a month during the survey period.

In comparison, among those who said they do not appear to belong to an ethnic or religious minority, 32 percent reported experiencing discrimination at least once per month - due to gender, age or other characteristics.

The survey covered the period from August 2024 to January 2025 and had 9,500 respondents between the ages of 18 and 73.

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The study also found that 23 percent of the German population believed ethnic and religious minorities make too many demands for equality.

Twenty-two percent of respondents believed that minority groups had economically benefited more than they were entitled to in recent years.

The racism monitor is a long-term ongoing project to identify social developments in racism and discrimination in Germany based on quantitative evidence. The project is compiled by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), and funded by a federal programme.

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Terry
I am a dual American-German citizen from a Jewish family that fled Cologne in November 1938. My recent research has confirmed that at least 49 of my family members were murdered in the camps. I feel angry and heartbroken that, 86 1/2 years later, hatred of the “other” thrives in both of the countries I call home. My life is now dedicated to designing, delivering, and disseminating experiential learning programs in schools, government, business, and society through The Unerasure Projekt, a U.S. not-for-profit and close to becoming a tax-exempt association in Germany, https://unerasure.org. Join us!

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