Statistical data from the federal government and the federal states

Official statistics are produced on the Federal Government's Recognition procedure. The legal basis is Section 17 of the Federal Professional qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG). The statistics are produced by the statistical offices of the federal government and federal states. The Federal Statistical Office publishes new results from the statistics on a yearly basis. The reference date in each case is 31 December of the previous year. The Federal Institute for Vocational education and training (BIBB) evaluates the data from the federal statistics.

Since the Federal Government’s Recognition Act entered into force on 1 April 2012, 443,004 applications for recognition of a professional or Vocational qualification have been reported within federal statistics (reference date: 31 December 2025)

The results for 2025 in brief:

• 59,751 applications reported, of which:
  • Top 3 Reference occupations: general nurse (21,504 applications), medical practitioner (12,882 applications) and physiotherapist (2,205 applications)
  • 88 percent were for vocational qualifications from third countries (in particular Turkey, Syria and Ukraine)
  • 46 percent of applications were made from abroad (foreign applications)
• 73,569 procedures: decision made:
  • 44 percent with full Equivalence
  • 10 percent with partial equivalence
  • 45 percent with the “requirement” of a Compensation measure (not yet completed as of 31 December 2025).
  • 2 percent negative

Official statistics are also produced on the federal state recognition procedures. In addition to the Federal Statistical Office, the statistical offices of the federal states also produce figures on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications.

The following links will take you to the statistical data for the respective federal state.