Muslims who have already lived in Germany for a while are better integrated than Muslims in other European countries, according to a study released by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Thursday. But the study revealed some weaknesses in integration, too.
The study called “Integrated, but not accepted?” compared the situations of Muslims who came to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Great Britain before 2010. Categories for assessment included language skills, education, work and social contact.
Germany came out on top in a few categories, including the integration of Muslim immigrants into the labour market and low unemployment.
About 60 percent of Germany’s 4.7 million Muslims are in full time employment, in line with the national average. The unemployment rate among German Muslims (including part-time jobs) is actually better than for the rest of the population. While the Bertelsmann Foundation found that 5 percent of Muslims were unemployed, it recorded that 7 percent of the rest of the population had no job.
Regarding language skills, only 46 percent of Muslims surveyed learned to speak German as a first language as children. In France, the percent of Muslims who learned the local language as children is 74 percent, and in Britain 59 percent. [The Local] Read more
