Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - Most German emigrants were in NRW in 2021 in Cologne and Düsseldorf. 5059 people with a German passport left the cathedral city for foreign countries, 2966 emigrated from the state capital. The big cities of Essen, Dortmund and Duisburg follow in the "migration statistics" for German emigrants, as can be seen from the response of the state government to a small inquiry by the AfD in the state parliament.
According to this, a total of around 204,000 people left NRW abroad in 2021, around a quarter of them with a German passport. Most of the German emigrants in 2021 went to Switzerland, Turkey, the Netherlands and Austria. Most of the people with foreign passports moved to Romania, Poland or Bulgaria.
The statistics do not make it clear whether the people concerned are returnees - but it is obvious. At the same time, almost 258,000 people came to North Rhine-Westphalia in 2021. Most were foreigners. According to statistics, Romanians again had the largest share, followed by Poles and Bulgarians.
The AfD had the numbers for Bulgarians and Romanians extra shown by the government. In 2021, Duisburg was far ahead when it came to immigration, and in the longer term there was a strong influx in the districts of Gütersloh and Recklinghausen. With regard to the statistics, AfD MP Enxhi Seli-Zacharias called for "special support" for the relevant municipalities.
Ukrainian refugees were not included in the statistics since the war started last February. The State Statistical Office announced a few days ago that between January and April 125,400 people came to North Rhine-Westphalia from the Ukraine - more than half of all immigrants in this period.
