Major study reveals extent of racism in German authorities

After three years of research, Germany’s largest-ever study into institutional racism was finally published in mid-February.

Conducted by the Research Institute for Social Cohesion (FGZ) on behalf of the Federal Interior Ministry, the report examines everyday discrimination across public authorities, from job centres and immigration offices to the police and health services.

Yet the release of the report was not widely publicised, and some have accused the Interior Ministry or trying to bury the findings.

The study does not suggest that German institutions are dramatically more racist than society as a whole. But what it suggests is perhaps even more uncomfortable: that racism within German institutions largely reflects the population they serve.

What does the study reveal about institutional racism in Germany?

The Federal Ministry of the Interior published the final report of the InRa (“Institutions & Racism”) study on February 13th. The three‑year research project, which cost €6 million, was coordinated by sociologist Professor Gert Pickel of Leipzig University and carried out by the FGZ.

The scale of the study is unprecedented in Germany. It brings together 23 individual research projects conducted between October 2021 and late 2024, examining federal, state and local authorities. These include job centres, immigration offices, police, customs, courts, health authorities and youth services.

Researchers identified evidence of racist discrimination across all the institutions examined, particularly in everyday routines, discretionary decisions and organisational culture.

Crucially, a large survey of around 13,000 employees in bodies such as the police, customs, job centres and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) found that 7.8 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that some ethnic groups are inherently less intelligent.

At the same time, the study found that staff did not display uniformly higher racist or ethnically discriminatory attitudes than the general population.

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As Professor Pickel put it: “It’s not that every authority is riddled with racism, but we have not found an authority where there is not racist discrimination.”

The report also highlights structural factors that shape unequal treatment.

Language barriers, for example, play a significant role. People with limited German skills are more likely to receive shorter or less helpful advice while others benefit from proactive support.

Regional political and social climates also appear to influence how rules are applied.

Why has the Interior Ministry been accused of burying the study?

The controversy surrounding the study is largely about presentation rather than content.

The publication of the study was not announced with a press conference, press release or ministerial statement, as is often the case when large, expensive reports are made public. Instead, the findings were published quietly on the ministry’s website on a Friday afternoon – more than a year after they were first submitted.

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That decision prompted accusations that the Interior Ministry was deliberately trying to avoid public scrutiny.

One of the researchers involved, Dr. Sina Arnold of the Technical University of Berlin, told Der Spiegel that the timing and lack of notice meant researchers had no opportunity to do their own press work.

The Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti‑Discrimination, Ferda Ataman, was even more direct. She described the study as the most comprehensive investigation into racism in German institutions to date, and accused the interior minister of “simply sweeping it under the carpet”.

The Interior Ministry rejected the claim. A spokesperson said the report is widely accessible on the ministry’s website.

The study was commissioned in 2021 under the previous federal government coalition as part of efforts to address racism and right‑wing extremism.

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How was the report conducted?

The InRa study was designed to be as broad as possible. Researchers from ten institutions worked across 23 sub‑projects, using surveys, interviews, institutional data analysis and on‑site observations.

Some projects focused on staff attitudes, while others examined the experiences of people using public services.

One sub‑study surveyed 468 Muslim respondents. Eighty percent reported experiencing racial discrimination when dealing with authorities, yet only 17 percent went on to contact an anti‑discrimination body, often because they believed nothing would come of it.

What does the study recommend?

The authors make 17 recommendations, focused less on punishment and more on long‑term change. These include establishing independent complaints offices, expanding anti‑racism training and actively recruiting people from groups affected by discrimination into the civil service.

They also call for closing a major legal gap. At present, Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act does not clearly apply to discrimination by public authorities, leaving many people without effective legal protection.

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The report argues that implementing these recommendations should be the focus of a further project. It calls for the formation of a group, “consisting of public officials, academics, representatives from anti-discrimination work, and (post-)migrant self-organisations to develop plans for the implementation of anti-racist organisational development in administration and public authorities.”