Is Germany facing a ‘confidence drain’ among young people?

Young people aren’t leaving the country in droves—but more of them are questioning whether they should stay.

Dear Reader,

Drawn in by its economic opportunities, relative stability and central location in Europe—Germany remains the world’s second-largest destination for migrants.

In response to growing demand, the country is expanding its infrastructure for immigration. Alongside nearly 550 immigration offices, the Bundesrepublik is preparing to launch a fully digital “Work-and-Stay Agency” designed to make it easier and faster for non-EU nationals to settle in the country.

At the same time, many younger Germans themselves seem increasingly open to leaving.

A recent “Youth in Germany” trend study found that 40 percent of Germans aged 14 to 29 can imagine moving abroad, with around one in five saying they have concrete plans to do so. The figures don’t exactly point to a mass exodus. But they do raise an important question: whether Germany is beginning to lose not its people, but their confidence in building a future at home.

Emigration from Germany is by no means a new phenomenon, with “brain drain” common among skilled professionals. Neighbouring countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands have long lured German doctors, engineers and academics with higher wages and lower taxes. Over the past two decades, Germany has recorded sustained net emigration among its own citizens, with hundreds of thousands leaving annually and many also returning.

Photo by Donald Merrill on Unsplash

What appears to be shifting is not mobility itself, but the mindset behind it. This “confidence drain” reflects not only pull factors abroad, but also push factors at home — or a growing unease about whether life in Germany will still offer the stability and opportunities many once took for granted.

“For many young people, a fundamental openness to mobility has been part of their life plan for years. What is new, however, is that this openness is increasingly linked to concrete concerns about the future,” study co-author Dr. Nina Kolleck of the University of Potsdam told us.

The prospect of moving abroad as a serious alternative is driven by rising living costs, uncertain job prospects, or concerns about pensions and poverty in old age.

This gap between imagination and action may also reflect what Kolleck described as a “latent potential”: a group that might not be packing their bags just yet, but could do so if conditions deteriorate further.

“Thoughts about emigrating should not be understood primarily as an expression of concrete plans to leave, but rather, in many cases, as a reaction to a perceived lack of future prospects and as a desire for better living conditions,” said Kolleck.

“Pull factors abroad then tend to reinforce this tendency.”

‘One option among several’

Not all of this necessarily reflects dissatisfaction. Many young people simply enjoy broadening their horizons in a place that isn’t Germany. The country sends more students abroad than any other country in Europe, and German citizens are among the most frequent travellers globally. Throughout their lifetimes, younger people have increasingly benefitted from their -- or their parents’ -- 30 days of annual leave.

Wherever people are, the grass can appear greener on the other side of the border. But for some younger Germans, hopping out of their Heimat is no longer just a temporary phase or career step, but an increasingly viable long-term choice.

Germany, as Kolleck noted, is becoming “one option among several.”

Migration of German Citizens by Age (2024)

Destatis/LBBW. Republished with permission from LBBW.

Sebastian, a young IT professional in Berlin, told us he’s toying with a move abroad next year. His time studying in New York in his early twenties left a lasting impression—not only because of the relative absence of bureaucracy, but also what he described as the “refreshing” can-do attitude of his peers.

He now feels stuck in a job that offers limited flexibility and barely allows him to cover rising rent. He is also uncertain about the long-term stability of Germany’s pension system. He has begun looking at countries where he believes he could save more and “actually be appreciated for having a start-up mentality.”

Tanja Schneider, originally from Weimar and now living in Japan, told us that she initially planned to return to Germany to open a Japanese bathhouse and hotel. But realising she was happier in her new home abroad, decided to stay put and plant roots there instead.

Schneider, who just turned 30, said she felt the urge to move abroad was typical of her age group. “Most of my friends and acquaintances are unsatisfied with life in Germany…And I have two friends who have said, ‘give me maximum five or ten years and then I will live somewhere else.’”

‘Toll on young people’

Beyond wages and housing, the study points to broader strains on young people. Nearly a third report needing psychological support, while confidence in future career prospects has declined significantly amid economic uncertainty and the rise of AI. Combined with rising debt and housing costs, these pressures are feeding a wider sense of instability.

“The pressures of recent years are taking a toll on young people—in the form of stress, exhaustion, and a growing sense of hopelessness,” said its director Simon Schnetzer.

While some concerns have eased slightly compared to the study’s results in 2024, worries about the pension system have risen marginally, with 45 percent now naming it as a major issue (compared to 44 percent previously). Young Germans also listed war in Europe and the Middle East, climate change and even Donald Trump as president of the US as some of their top worries.

Some of the top youth worries, according to the Youth in Germany 2026 study. Republished with permission from University of Potsdam.

With the baby-boomer generation set to retire in large numbers, concerns about intergenerational pressure are also intensifying. “It is more urgent than ever for Germany to stem the exodus,” wrote Dr. Moritz Kraemer, Chief Economist at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, in a recent essay on emigration trends from Germany.

He warned that shifting pension costs onto younger generations, as recently decided by the Bundestag, risks sending the wrong signal. “This is hardly a helpful idea in seducing the young to stay put,” he said.

Dr. Kraemer told us that the conditions for young families, already on the minds of twentysomethings, also needed to be improved. “My own experience, having worked in several countries while having small children, is that combining career and family life can be quite challenging in Germany,” he said.

“It starts but does not end with care facilities. Improving the quality of primary and secondary education would also remove one push factor from emigrating young families,” he added, echoing a common concern.

A shifting relationship with the future

As these multiple pressures converge, young Germans are not necessarily turning their backs on the Bundesrepublik—but increasingly approaching it as one option among several.

Whether that openness turns into sustained emigration will depend less on opportunities abroad than on whether life at home feels worth committing to.

For now, Germany continues to attract people from around the world. But for some of its own young citizens, the question is no longer whether they can build a future there—but whether they want to.

As Kolleck puts it: “These emigration considerations can also be understood as a kind of signal that young people want more opportunities to shape their own lives—and more reliable prospects within the country.”

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