Destatis: 2.6 million people with Turkish roots live in Germany, 65 years after recruitment deal

Agreement signed in Bad Godesberg

On 30 October 1961, German and Turkish diplomats signed a short agreement in Bad Godesberg, near Bonn, to send Turkish workers to West Germany during its postwar boom. Comparable deals with Italy, Greece and Spain had already been concluded. Economists disagree about who benefited most. Some say Germany answered a shortage of skilled workers, while others argue that Turkey, with high unemployment at home, pushed for the arrangement. Bonn also hoped the deal would bind Turkey more closely to Europe and NATO.

Arrival and life in guest housing

At first only unmarried men could come, for a maximum of two years, and the first workers reached West Germany within weeks of the signing. Many were tradesmen, farmers, construction workers and unskilled labourers. Haci-Halil Uslucan, professor of Turkish studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, cites studies suggesting 20 to 50 percent of arrivals already held a qualification, and says teachers were among them. Many newcomers first saw a former air-raid shelter under platform 11 at Munich's main station, where the Federal Employment Agency ran a referral point. Employers housed workers in barracks, factory halls or bunkers, some fenced with barbed wire, under strict rules on meals, washing and night rest.

Figures released on 29 October 2026

On Thursday, 29 October 2026, the Federal Statistical Office reported that about 2.6 million people with Turkish migration roots lived in Germany in 2025, or 3.2 percent of the population. Around 1.5 million (56 percent) had immigrated themselves, and 1.2 million (44 percent) were born in Germany. Those who came from Turkey had lived in Germany for an average of 32.4 years and had arrived at an average age of 19.6. Just under half, 48 percent, held German citizenship, compared with 74 percent of German-born descendants. Asked about their main reason for moving, 944,000 people born in Turkey (64 percent) cited family, 218,000 (15 percent) work, 146,000 (10 percent) flight, asylum or protection, and 55,000 (4 percent) education.

Family reasons944,000

Employment218,000

Flight, asylum or protection146,000

Education55,000

Family reasons

944000 people

Employment

218000 people

Flight, asylum or protection

146000 people

Education

55000 people

Data from the article text

Migration waves and family reunion

The released figures put arrivals from Turkey at 216,000 for 1961 to 1973, the recruitment years. The number rose to 484,000 for 1974 to 1989, a period that included the military coup of 12 September 1980, and the statistics office links the growth to family reunification and, from the 1980s, to growing numbers seeking protection for political reasons. Arrivals then fell to 409,000 for 1990 to 2007 and 54,000 for 2008 to 2013, before climbing to 307,000 for 2014 to 2025. In 1983 a return-aid law paid foreigners several thousand Deutschmarks to leave, a scheme Uslucan says Turkish residents called a 'get-lost bonus'.

1961-1973216,000

1974-1989484,000

1990-2007409,000

2008-201354,000

2014-2025307,000

1961-1973

216000 people

1974-1989

484000 people

1990-2007

409000 people

2008-2013

54000 people

2014-2025

307000 people

Data from the article text

Berlin and the anniversary

In Berlin, about 82,000 people from Turkey moved to West Berlin in the twelve years after the agreement, up from only 284 by the end of 1961. Around 210,000 people with a Turkish connection now live in the city, more than 100,000 of them Turkish citizens. Social senator Cansel Kiziltepe, whose father arrived in 1961, backs a museum that would recall the history of migration in the capital. She said of her father's generation:

“My father came from Turkey to Germany in 1961. Like many others, he worked hard, accepted hardship and opened new paths for his children.”

Work, pensions and discrimination

In 2025, 61 percent of working-age immigrants from Turkey were employed, against 77 percent of the whole population in that age group. People with Turkish migration history made up 3.5 percent of all employed people and were over-represented in cleaning, textile and leather work and metal construction. In mid-September, North Rhine-Westphalia's minister-president Henrik Wüst held a ceremony at Düsseldorf Airport, where many arrivals had landed 65 years earlier, and said:

“They made our country more diverse, more open and stronger.”

Uslucan says discrimination against people of Turkish origin remains widespread, and cites studies putting old-age poverty at 25 to 30 percent among migrants, against 12 to 14 percent among Germans. He also points to educational and political advancement, citing Baden-Württemberg's minister-president Cem Özdemir:

“We have successes in many areas, that is, educational advancement.”