German Exodus Reaches 250,000 Annually: "I Left Because of Envy"

The German exodus is accelerating: 250,000 people are leaving the country each year.

Nearly **270,000 Germans** abandoned the country in **2024**, most of them highly qualified. Social envy and the feeling of being an adversary to the state push many to seek opportunities abroad.

The exodus of qualified Germans has become a worrying trend. Around **270,000 people** left Germany in **2024**, a figure that has remained stable above the quarter-million mark annually for years. What is most alarming is that the vast majority of those leaving are professionals with university degrees, **75%** of the total.

## Brain Drain and "Social Envy"

The phenomenon is not new; Germany's net migration balance has been negative for over two decades. However, it is the quality of those leaving that raises alarms. They are individuals with language skills, adaptability, and job alternatives in other countries. The author **Alexander Steffen**, in his book "Goodbye Deutschland," notes that these individuals are "needed elsewhere and do not depend on Germany."

Steffen argues that when the most qualified "mentally resign," it is not due to a character flaw, but rather the price a country pays for squeezing those who perform, giving them lessons on their freedom and viewing their success with suspicion. Social envy appears to be a key factor. An **Ipsos MORI** survey reveals that Germany records higher levels of social envy than countries like Poland, surpassed only by France. In other words, others' success generates more suspicion than admiration.

## The Weight of Bureaucracy and Lack of Recognition

The reasons cited by those who decide to pack up are varied, but a common denominator is the feeling that the state demands much and gives little in return. **Florian**, from **Hamburg**, who plans to move to **Doha**, recounts how the excessive regulation and bureaucratic requirements in his sector—chemicals and construction—made him feel "treated like a delinquent." A hefty fine for an irrelevant labeling error, incomparable to the reward of success, made him realize that "the incentives are completely reversed."

**Tobias**, who emigrated to **Switzerland** for an internship and stayed, works longer hours but with double the net salary and covered living expenses. Beyond the figures, what he values is the "feeling" that working there is "more pleasant." He perceives "much more recognition, not only from his employer but from society as a whole," something he does not associate with Germany.

**Jan**, from **Bavaria**, now residing in **Bulgaria** with a tax burden of **10%**, did not flee solely because of taxes. His main motivation was the "deep distrust that plays out almost automatically in Germany every time someone dares to build something of their own." The tax bill was merely the tangible manifestation of a "feeling of alienation" he had already been experiencing.

## The Swedish Mirror and the Feeling of Being an Adversary

This picture recalls **Sweden** in the 1960s and 1970s, when the tax burden became unbearable and envy towards business owners and wealthy individuals spread. The writer **Hans Magnus Enzensberger** described how the rich Swedes felt "superfluous, despised, and excluded."

Steffen's conversations with self-employed and small German business owners boil down to this: they do not fail because of form complexity, but because they feel the state treats them as "adversaries instead of people contributing to fund the entire system." There comes a point where people stop fighting that feeling and seek alternatives. A successful tennis player now living in the **United States** corroborates this idea, stating that there he experienced for the first time that success "is not something to be ashamed of," unlike in Germany, where one questions if they are "wanting too much."

The personal experience confirms this trend. A German friend of Turkish origin, highly qualified, moved to Switzerland to start a new business, unable to imagine doing it in Germany. Another friend, a successful investor, lives in **Abu Dhabi** and states emphatically: "I didn't leave because of taxes; I left because of envy."

* **269,986** Germans abandoned the country in **2024**.
* **75%** of emigrants possess a university degree.
* Germany records a level of social envy surpassed only by **France** in an **Ipsos MORI** survey.
* The tax burden in **Bulgaria** is around **10%**.
* Germany's net migration balance has been negative for over **two decades**.