Migration between Hungary and Germany declined significantly in 2025, and for the first time in a long while, the net migration balance has shifted in Hungary’s favor, the website Németországi magyarok confirmed.
The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) publishes annual figures on how many people from other countries move to Germany and how many people leave Germany to move to other countries. Based on the latest analysis, 25,879 people moved from Hungary to Germany last year, while 26,535 took the opposite route.
This means that 656 more people moved from Germany to Hungary than from Hungary to Germany.
This data does not refer to nationality, but rather to the country of previous or next residence. This means that among those moving from Hungary to Germany, there may be Hungarian, German, or other nationals, and the same applies to emigration in the opposite direction.
This shift is noteworthy, as in recent years Germany has generally been the net recipient of migration between the two countries. The difference was particularly significant in 2023: At that time, more than 34,000 people moved from Hungary to Germany, while barely 27,000 moved in the opposite direction. At that time, the German balance showed a surplus of more than 7,500 people.
The primary reason for the turnaround in 2025 is not the increase in the number of immigrants from Germany to Hungary, but the dramatic decline in the number of those moving from Hungary to Germany.
While in 2024 nearly 30,000 people still chose Germany as their new place of residence, in 2025 the figure was just over 25,000. That is a decline of more than 4,000 people within a single year.
Emigration from Germany to Hungary, on the other hand, shows a much more stable picture. Over the past six years, the number of immigrants has ranged between 26,000 and 30,000 each year, so last year’s figure of 26,535 is not considered unusual.
The statistics thus suggest a decline in emigration to Germany.
Migration patterns among German citizens also paint an interesting picture. According to official figures, 1,817 German citizens moved from Germany to Hungary in 2025, while 772 German citizens moved from Hungary to Germany. However, this category may also include individuals with dual citizenship.
Long-term data clearly shows that emigration from Hungary to Germany was significantly higher in the first half and mid-2010s. Between 2013 and 2015, more than 55,000 people moved from Hungary to Germany annually, with the net balance showing a German surplus of several tens of thousands of people.
Via nemetorszagi-magyarok.de; Featured image: Pexels
