Number of Male Asylum Seekers Aged 16-40 on the Rise in Germany

The latest data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) revealed that the surge in the percentage of male asylum seekers aged 16 to 40 in Germany has significantly increased over the past five years.

According to the same source, from January to November 2023, half of first-time asylum seekers (50.7 per cent) were found to be within this age group, a marked increase compared to 2019 and 2020, when the percentage was slightly more than a quarter (26.2 per cent and 26.6 per cent, respectively), SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

BAMF also pointed out that this change echoes the pattern observed in 2015 and 2016 when the proportion of young male asylum seekers reached 47.4 per cent and 42.9 per cent, respectively, coinciding with the increased influx during the “refugee crisis”.

Last year, a total of 71.7 per cent of asylum applicants in Germany were male, marking a departure from the more balanced gender ratio observed from 2018 to 2020.

Migration expert Marcus Engler, affiliated with the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), emphasises that the rise in the proportion of male asylum seekers lacks a singular cause. Engler notes a positive correlation between the surge in lengthy and difficult migration journeys and the increased representation of men among those arriving in Europe.

As he explains, the adoption of more stringent border policies in Turkey and Greece has heightened the dangers and costs associated with escaping oppressive regimes and persecution.

In addition, research conducted by BAMF indicates that their country of origin influences the age and gender distribution of asylum applicants. For instance, since about 2020, there has been a renewed increase in the number of refugees from Afghanistan and Syria arriving in Germany, as per BAMF figures.

In November 2023, BAMF approved 35,316 initial asylum applications, contributing to 304,581 initial asylum applications for the year. Over the same period, the BAMF successfully concluded 242,185 asylum procedures.

From January to November 2023, the overall count of asylum seekers in Germany reached 325,801 individuals, consisting of 304,581 initial applications and an additional 21,220 subsequent applications.

The figure also represents a 60.3 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2022, where there were 189,998 initial asylum applications. Furthermore, the data show that out of the initial applications in 2023, a total of 21,287 were related to children born in Germany who were under the age of one year.