Community
Germany (Somali diaspora)
About 47,500 people born in Somalia lived in Germany in 2020, most of them arriving as asylum seekers in recent years. It is a young and scattered community, and many families depend on court rulings and asylum decisions for their future.
Who lives there
Germany's Federal Statistical Office counted 47,495 residents born in Somalia in 2020, and about 33,900 Somali citizens in 2021 (Somalis in Germany, citing Destatis). That means about two in three Somalia-born residents were still Somali citizens, so status and papers matter a great deal.
- Where: Kassel has the highest share and a Somali cultural association. There are smaller communities in Berlin and Frankfurt.
- Resettlement: in March 2019 Germany began resettling refugees from Ethiopia with IOM. The first 154 Somali refugees arrived in October 2019.
Work and money
We have not found checked figures for Somali jobs, wages or benefits in Germany. Many people are still in asylum procedures, language courses or their first jobs.
Who serves the community
The federal government and the Bundestag. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decides asylum claims. The states (Länder) and towns run housing, schools and job centres, and the courts review decisions.
What the community faces now
Resettlement through the courts. In October 2025 the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Regional Court ruled that Germany had to keep its resettlement promises to Somalis waiting in Ethiopia. In December 2025, 143 people from Somalia, Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan were admitted after two Somali families went to court with support from the group Pro Asyl (Somalis in Germany).
Turned back at the border. In June 2025 a Berlin court ruled that German police acted unlawfully when they turned back three Somali asylum seekers at the Polish border in May. The court said Germany must examine their claims (Al Jazeera).
Top needs
- Secure status, papers and documents.
- The German language and a first paid job.
- A trusted, legal, open way to send help home.
- Help for family members still waiting abroad.
- Links between people in a new and scattered community.
What we don't know yet
Figures after 2021, job and language data for Somalis, and communities in Hamburg, Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia. If you know, use "Fix this page".
Sources
- Somalis in Germany · en.wikipedia.org
- Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com
Gathered in our research record “Community profiles”. Wikipedia is used only as a backup.
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