People living in Germany continue to view the country's multicultural society positively, according to a new study published by the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR). Despite refugees and immigration policy dominating the news and politician's speaking points in Germany, the study found that most people still think that life with their immigrant or non-immigrant neighbors is going well.
The "Integration Barometer 2018" is the first representative study on the matter to come out since the start of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, which saw hundreds of thousands of people escaping war and poverty in their home countries enter Europe.
63.8 percent of local Germans — people described as not having an immigrant background — view the integration situation positively
Residents with immigrant backgrounds viewed the integration situation even more positively, rating it at 68.9 percent.
Around 60 percent of local Germans support continuing to take in refugees, also if Germany were the only country accepting asylum-seekers in the European Union.
The study found that areas where fewer migrants live, such as in the eastern German states, there are more reservations about immigration and integration.
The study found a particular divide between the eastern and western states, with 66 percent of western Germans satisfied with the status of immigration, while eastern Germans rated it at 55 percent.
Researchers noted that skepticism about immigrants can be overcome by having more "personal encounters."
"The everyday experiences are significantly better than what the [media] discourse would suggest," researchers wrote in the study.
The results of the latest "Integration Barometer" come after weeks of far-right protests against refugees and immigrants. Although topics focusing on migrants and refugees dominate headlines and dictate and within the German government, opinion polls suggest that concerns about pensions, housing, education and infrastructure top the list of issues people are most concerned about in Germany.
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