Living Conditions and Participation of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany: Findings from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees
Abstract
"Background to the study and data Basis: - The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a massive refugee movement since February 24, 2022, with mostly women and children fleeing to European countries, including Germany. Around one million people from Ukraine have now been living in Germany for some time. - A robust database is essential to gain a differentiated and well-founded understanding of the living situation of these people. High-quality, reliable data based on a carefully developed survey design are crucial to adequately analyze the challenges and needs of the refugees and to develop evidence-based measures. - The IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey meets these high standards. As an annual panel household survey, it has also included Ukrainian refugees since 2023, thus creating the basis for an empirically sound analysis of their realities of life. The study of two arrival cohorts (arrival from February to the end of May 2022 and arrival from June 2022) additionally allows for the analysis of changes in the composition of the group of Ukrainian refugees. - The survey, which took place between July 2023 and early January 2024, was conducted primarily face-to-face (77.2 percent of interviews), supplemented by computer-assisted self-interviews (CASI: 15.4 percent) and online interviews (CAWI: 7.4 percent). A total of 3,403 individuals from 2,219 households were interviewed. - The data includes both household and personal level information about living situation, language, employment situation, integration, and plans for remaining in Germany. Newcomers who were interviewed for the first time also answered a life history questionnaire. - Sampling and weighting procedures based on the AZR ensure that the data is representative of Ukrainian refugees during the survey period. - The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees is a joint project of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), the Research Center of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ), and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at DIW Berlin." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Cite article
Kosyakova, Y., Rother, N. & Zinn, S. (eds.); Bartig, S., Biddle, L., Büsche, M., Cardozo Silva, A., Cumming, P., Eckhard, J., Gatskova, K., Koch, T., Kosyakova, Y., Marchitto, A., Schwanhäuser, S., Siegert, M., Sommer, E., Süttmann, F., Tanis, K., Rother, N. & Zinn, S. (2025): Lebenssituation und Teilhabe ukrainischer Geflüchteter in Deutschland: Ergebnisse der IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung. (IAB-Forschungsbericht 05/2025), Nürnberg, 127 p. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FB.2505