Admin l Wednesday, 21 December 2022
BERLIN – The number of asylum seekers receiving benefits from the German state has risen for the first time since the migrant crisis in 2015, new data shows.
Some 399,000 people were receiving assistance under the Asylum-Seekers’ Benefits Act at the end of 2021, according to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday. That was a 4.3% rise over the previous year, or the equivalent of 17,000 more people.
The act says people who have successfully applied for asylum in Germany, or who meet another requirement laid down in the law, can receive help from the state.
Beneficiaries receive assistance to cover their needs for food, shelter, heating, clothing, health care, household goods and other requirements of daily life.
In addition to these standard benefits, special assistance can also be granted, for example in the event of pregnancy or illness. This was the case for 171,050 foreigners in 2021.
Of the people supported in 2021, 61% were male. More than a third of all beneficiaries were minors. The most common countries of origin were Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
