Emigrants are often considered a loss for their country of origin but they can also play an important role for fostering trade and economic development, notably because of the skills and contacts they have acquired abroad. If they choose to return their re-integration in the labour market and in society will be facilitated by the fact that they speak the local language, have specific social capital and possess local qualifications that employers readily recognise.

A sizeable pool of German emigrants can be found in OECD countries: in 2010/11, it comprised 3.4 million persons aged 15 and above. This number appears large when compared with other emigrant populations: Germany ranks third among OECD origin countries and fifth worldwide. On the other hand, compared with the extraordinary increases in other countries’ emigrant populations, the growth of this pool of emigrants has been slow: 250 000 between 2000/01 and 2010/11, or 8%.

This chapter establishes the total size of the German diaspora in the OECD area at 3.4 million and draws comparisons with other large diasporas worldwide. The composition of the German emigrant population is determined with regards to sex, age and duration of stay. The main destination countries of German emigrants are identified, and by comparing changes in levels over the last decade, the chapter documents a shift towards European destination countries. It also explores how developments in recent years have changed the number and composition of the German emigrants in these main destination countries.

This chapter examines the potential that German emigrants in OECD countries represent for the labour supply in Germany. It considers the educational composition of the German diaspora, identifies the number of active German emigrants across destination countries, specifies their occupations with a focus on certain shortage occupations, and draws on a variety of indicators to characterise their career prospects. It emerges that German emigrants offer a large skill pool at both the high- and the mediumskill level, and indeed are more likely than their counterparts in Germany to work in high-skill occupations. Substantial numbers of German-born health professionals, engineers and technicians are present in some OECD countries.

Based on internationally comparable survey data, this chapter explores the motives and determinants for German-born individuals to move abroad or return from abroad. While 15% of the native-born population in Germany indicate a preference to move abroad, few actually realise those intentions. Career prospects and family reasons appear to drive the decisions of many who do emigrate. The self-reported well-being of German emigrants improves following their emigration, but remains on average below the well-being of those who stay in the country. While many consider returning, fewer German citizens have returned than have left in recent years. The chapter provides estimates suggesting that the composition of the two groups differs: those who return are less likely to be highly educated and to be active on the labour market prior to moving than those who leave.

This chapter establishes that students from Germany not only exhibit aboveaverage mobility, but also have become the largest group of international students in the OECD area from any member country. In several host countries, they represent a significant share of the entire student population. Marked differences between international students from Germany and the students who remain in Germany are identified with respect to subjects studied. While the available data on internationally mobile researchers from Germany are scarce, this chapter identifies their number in key destination countries and discusses the evidence on their motivation to move abroad and to return. Measures of scientific impact based on publications suggest that many of the more influential researchers move abroad permanently.