Income Gap Between Foreign and German Employees
In Germany, foreign full-time employees earn, on average, more than €1,000 less per month than their German counterparts. As of December 31, 2025, the median income gap stood at €1,038, with German workers reporting a median gross monthly wage of €4,396, compared to €3,358 for foreign employees. This represents a disparity of 23.6 percent. Remarkably, this gap has widened over the past year; at the end of 2024, the median wages were €4,177 for Germans and €3,204 for foreign nationals, resulting in a difference of €973 or 23.3 percent. These figures were derived from the employment statistics compiled by the Federal Employment Agency and were disclosed by the government in response to a minor inquiry from the AfD parliamentary group.
Furthermore, the discrepancy is even more pronounced when considering the proportion of employees earning low incomes. Out of approximately 3.81 million foreign full-time workers in the examined core group, around 1.17 million earned less than €2,811 gross per month, translating to 30.6 percent of this demographic. In contrast, among German employees, only 12.3 percent fell into this low-income category. Out of roughly 17.82 million full-time employees with German nationality, about 2.19 million were classified as earning low wages. The Federal Employment Agency defines this low-income threshold as less than two-thirds of the median wage for all full-time employees considered in the study. It is crucial to note that this statistic accounts for socially insured full-time workers within a specific core group, excluding trainees and those subject to special statutory regulations. Additionally, the figures pertain to nationality rather than birthplace or potential migration background.
Variations in Wages Among Different Nationalities
Behind the average earnings of foreign employees lie significant disparities among different nationalities. Particularly, employees with Indian nationality achieved the highest median gross monthly income in 2025, amounting to €5,445, which is €1,049 or 23.9 percent more than their German colleagues. Workers from China and Taiwan also surpassed the German median, earning €5,065 and €5,395, respectively. Conversely, employees from countries such as Romania, Vietnam, and Ukraine earned considerably less, with median wages of €2,912, €2,928, and €2,825, respectively. For Ukrainian nationals, the wage gap compared to Germans was €1,571 or 35.7 percent.
Income discrepancies are also evident among African employees. The median wage for full-time workers from five North African countries—Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Algeria—stood at €3,800, which is €596 or 13.6 percent lower than that of German employees. Notably, Egyptian nationals earned a median wage of €4,563, surpassing the German median by €167. Tunisians earned €3,995, while Moroccans, Algerians, and Libyans had median wages of €3,464, €3,445, and €3,622, respectively.
In stark contrast, employees from several sub-Saharan African countries, identified by the German government as key non-European asylum countries, reported significantly lower incomes. Somali nationals earned a median wage of €2,798, which is €1,598 or 36.4 percent below the median of German workers. Nigerians recorded a median of €2,964, a gap of €1,432 or 32.6 percent, while Eritrean nationals earned €2,980, which is €1,416 less than their German counterparts. The proportion of low-income earners in these groups is notably high, with 50.9 percent of Somali full-time employees earning below the low-income threshold by the end of 2025, followed by 42.2 percent of Nigerians and 39.7 percent of Eritreans. Among Syrian employees, the percentage stands at 49.4.
In comparison, the share of low-income earners among North African nationals is significantly lower, at 21.5 percent. For Moroccans, the statistic is 27.2 percent, while it stands at 28.2 percent for Algerians, 31.4 percent for Libyans, 17.9 percent for Egyptians, and 15.4 percent for Tunisians. The income disparities do not entirely vanish when examining employees based on their job requirements. Among foreign full-time workers classified as skilled labor, around 1.3 million—or 70 percent—earned less than the median wage for German skilled workers, which is €4,009. Similarly, the same percentage applies to foreign employees in helper roles. Among foreign workers categorized as specialists, 58 percent earned below the German median of their group, and this percentage also holds for experts.
The presented data, however, does not reveal wage differences between Germans and foreigners performing identical jobs, possessing the same qualifications, experience, and tenure. The statistics compare median wages by nationality and across various statistical groups, and therefore, it is not possible to ascertain from these numbers alone what proportion of the differences can be attributed to industry, occupation, qualifications, experience, or other factors.
As reported by fokus-afrika.de.
