Almost every fifth person in Germany either immigrated themselve or comes from a first-, second- or third-generation migrant background. In children and adolescents, this figure is even higher at around 30%.

The availability of data on the health of people with migration backgrounds is still inadequate in Germany. Often, there is a lack of detailed information, for example for certain countries of origin or age groups. However, the available data shows that the health, health-related behaviour and utilisation of healthcare services of people with a migration background differ in some cases from those without a migration background.

In the framework of the health monitoring programme, Robert Koch Institute regularly collects data on the health of people with migration backgrounds. Special efforts were made and methods and standards developed in order to encourage people with a migration background to participate in health surveys in line with their proportion in the population.