First OECD study on local integration presented

The local integration of immigrants in the OECD countries has improved over the last ten years. The first OECD study on local integration of immigrants (this is also the title of the study) which was presented on December 3, 2012 researched the treatment of immigrants and their children in the individual OECD countries. Indicators were education, health as well as living conditions, income conditions and working conditions.

Within the OECD countries, approximately 110 million people lived in other countries than in their home country in 2010. This corresponds to an average of 9% of the total population. More than a third of the immigration in the OECD countries concerned the USA. As the second most important host country, Germany accepted almost 10% of the immigrants. With this, the percentage in relation to the total population remained constant with 13% since the millennium, whereas this ratio increased in most other countries during the same period.

One result of the study shows that the percentage of highly qualified immigrants has strongly increased in the OECD countries in general and in particular in Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the last ten years. The authors note however for Germany that this could not have a noteworthy impact on the percentage of the qualified immigrants in the country, due to the restrictive German immigration policy.

The study confirmed also that education has a positive impact on the labor market for immigrants and in particular for their children. Despite an observed catching-up development, the employment rate of immigrants with high educational level is below that of people born in the country with similar degrees. From an overall perspective the employment ratio of immigrants was in the OECD average at 65% and therefore 2.6 percent below that of natives in 2010.