Asylum Seekers Have a Higher Level of Education Than the Average Population in Their Country of Origin

The level of education among asylum seekers who recently arrived in Germany in many cases differs significantly from the average level of schooling in their country of origin. On average, male asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa have around 1.6 more years of schooling than men of the same age in their country of origin. They therefore generally belong to a more highly educated class in their homeland. However, compared to young German men, asylum seekers tend to have considerable gaps in their education, making intensive further training necessary to help them integrate more easily into the German labour market. These are the findings of a recent study carried out by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim.

The study analyses the human capital – the achievement potential of workers – of male asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa living in the Rhine-Neckar region in comparison to that of men of a similar age in their country of origin. The study was carried out as part of the “Real-World Laboratory: Asylum Seekers” project in the Rhine-Neckar region, which brings together researchers from ZEW, the Heidelberg University of Education (PH) and Heidelberg University. The main indicators of human capital are the number of years of schooling of both the individual and their parents in their country of origin.

ZEW researchers found that asylum seekers in Germany on average exhibit a considerably higher level of formal education than individuals of the same age in their country of origin. 16 per cent of asylum seekers have completed more than twelve years of schooling in their homeland – equivalent to a full secondary education in Germany. However, according to the information provided by the asylum seekers themselves, one in seven of them do not have any kind of formal education.

Sharp polarisation in the level of parental education

On average, the parents of asylum seekers have more than 38 per cent (roughly 1.7 years) more formal schooling than people of a similar age in their country of origin – an indication that a significant share of asylum seekers come from wealthier households. “In the data, we see a stark polarisation in the level of parental education. Around half of the asylum seekers come from households with a below-average level of education,” explains Martin Lange, a researcher in the ZEW Research Department “Labour Markets and Human Resources” and co-author of the study.

The study also suggests that the human capital of young asylum seekers as well as that of their parents has a short-term impact on their chances of integrating into the German labour market, while any work experience they may have gained in their homeland has no influence at all. This means that the more years of education young asylum seekers have completed in their homeland, the easier it is for them to learn German and therefore improve their chances of finding work in Germany.

Though many asylum seekers have a higher-than-average level of education in their country of origin, this differs greatly from the average level of education among young Germans. The ZEW researchers found a difference of as much as five years of formal education. “This gap is partly due to interrupted educational histories and low levels of investment in education in their countries of origin. Successful integration policy should take the sharp differences in asylum seekers’ level of education into account and try to create specific further training opportunities for them,” says Martin Lange.

For further information please contact:

Martin Lange, Phone +49 (0)621-1235-156, E-mail martin.lange@zew.de