Racial Discrimination Reports Increase in Germany

(MENAFN) Germany is witnessing a significant escalation in racially motivated discrimination, as indicated by newly released government data.

According to official statistics, the volume of reported incidents has surged more than threefold compared to 2019, pointing to a troubling trend.

In 2024, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency registered an unprecedented 11,405 grievances—the most ever recorded since the organization’s inception.

This milestone was disclosed in the agency’s yearly assessment, which was unveiled in Berlin by its head, Ferda Ataman.

Out of the total complaints, 3,858 were linked to "racism, antisemitism, or ethnic origin," a stark increase from the 1,167 similar complaints lodged five years earlier.

“We have a serious racism problem,” Ataman told journalists. “Millions of people are more concerned about their safety than ever before.”

The findings offer a bleak overview of bias affecting multiple spheres of everyday experience.

More than 3,000 incidents were tied to employment, while numerous others involved state services, educational settings, medical care, housing, and even interactions with law enforcement and the legal system.

In terms of other discrimination categories, mistreatment due to disability was the second most reported issue in 2024, totaling 2,476 cases.

This was followed by gender-related bias (2,133), age discrimination (1,091), and religious or ideological beliefs (626).

Ataman emphasized that 43 percent of the 9,057 grievances that fell within the scope of Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) concerned issues of "racism, antisemitism, or ethnic origin."

Nonetheless, she pointed out that more than 2,300 other cases—including many related to public authorities—were not covered under the current framework of the AGG, highlighting gaps in legal protection.

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