At the end of 2024, state accommodations for refugees in Schleswig-Holstein were less occupied than a year earlier, reflecting a broader trend across several German states where occupancy rates in refugee facilities declined. According to the State Office for Immigration and Refugees, as of December 17, a total of 4,473 people were staying in the state accommodations in Neumünster, Boostedt, Rendsburg, Bad Segeberg, Seeth, Glückstadt, and Kiel. This figure is fewer than the approximately 5,400 people who were staying in those accommodations a year ago, as reported by Stern.
In mid-December, the maximum capacity of the state accommodations in Schleswig-Holstein totaled 8,500 places, about 200 more than at the end of the previous year. Despite the available capacity, the decline in occupancy suggests a decrease in the number of refugees arriving in the region. The state government aims to relieve municipalities in deportations, with plans to make 150 places available in the state accommodations, according to Stern.
The state government has indicated that municipalities can independently accommodate people required to leave the country in state accommodations under certain conditions. A prerequisite is that the affected individuals come from countries where a return is legally and actually possible. According to Die Welt, the immigration authorities decide at their own discretion whether and who must go to a state accommodation.
Elsewhere in Germany, similar trends are observed. The occupancy of refugee accommodations in the federal states has decreased, with thousands of places free in some areas. In Lower Saxony, only about 4,250 out of approximately 11,650 places were occupied recently, including emergency accommodations, according to T-Online. Despite the current situation, Lower Saxony is committed to being able to increase its capacity within a few weeks to nearly 20,000 places if needed.
"Currently, it doesn't look like we will need to create these capacities in the foreseeable future, but we are preparing for it," said Daniela Behrens, SPD politician and Lower Saxony's Interior Minister, according to n-tv.
In Bavaria, the seven anchor centers had around 10,250 out of 12,900 places occupied recently, which is 1,250 fewer than a year earlier, as reported by Die Zeit. In Baden-Württemberg, the number of occupied places decreased in the past year from an average of 6,700 to 5,000, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine.
In eastern Germany, the number of refugees in the facilities of the federal states is also declining. "Thanks to decreased arrival numbers, we were able to adjust our capacities in the reception facilities, close tent locations, and temporarily take emergency accommodations out of operation," said Valerie Eckl, spokesperson for the State Directorate in Saxony, according to Die Zeit.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the occupancy rate decreased from more than 90 percent to 82 percent, even though several accommodations were closed, according to n-tv. Similarly, in Brandenburg, capacities were reduced, and the occupancy rate fell from 75 percent to 58 percent, as reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung.
In Thuringia, where nearly all places were occupied a year ago (97 percent), by mid-December, one in three beds was free, resulting in a 64 percent occupancy rate, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine. Berlin's reception facilities saw a slight decrease in occupancy. Approximately 14,000 people currently live there, including 3,700 on the site of the former Tegel Airport. A year ago, about 300 more places were occupied, as reported by Die Zeit. In Rhineland-Palatinate, about 3,700 of 6,430 places were occupied recently, according to Die Welt.
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the initial reception facilities are 80% occupied, with a 75% occupancy rate considered full to prevent conflicts, as reported by n-tv. Hesse recorded an increased occupancy rate. At the end of December, nearly 6,500 places were occupied, compared to nearly 3,700 a year earlier, as reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine. The spokesperson of the responsible government presidium in Gießen explained the increase in Hesse by stating that from autumn 2023, new arrivals were increasingly assigned to municipalities because the initial reception facility was nearly fully occupied at that time, according to Die Zeit. Despite the increase, nearly half of the approximately 11,650 available places in Hesse are still free.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees recorded 236,399 asylum applications by the end of November, of which nearly 217,000 were first applications. This corresponds to a year-on-year decrease of almost 29%, as reported by N-TV. The decrease in asylum applications may partly explain the reduced occupancy rates in many refugee accommodations across the country.
In Germany, those who want to apply for asylum are initially accommodated in the initial reception facilities of the federal states. From there, the people are distributed to the cities and municipalities, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq