80% of Germans, 77% of Swedes believe that immigrants do not take jobs of native-born.

[pampango]

Of course, that leaves 20%+ who believe the opposite. That is about the percentage that the European far-right is polling these days. A minority but a rising minority which is making a lot of noise.

Do Europeans Really Fear Migrants?

Strikingly, the far right only has a faint heartbeat in those EU member states that have been the most proactive in managing migration and immigrant integration. Germany, Spain, Sweden, and Portugal, for example, have done more than most others to open legal channels for migration and invest in migrants’ integration. In fact, these countries’ citizens generally support legal migration and perceive integration efforts as being successful. In Germany, 62% of those surveyed by the German Marshall Fund view immigration as more of an opportunity than a problem; that number reaches 68% in Sweden. In Portugal, when asked if first-generation immigrants are well integrated, 79% of respondents said yes, as did 63% of those surveyed in Spain.

By speaking openly about migration and addressing voters’ legitimate concerns, politicians in these countries also have helped to ground public debate in reality. They frame immigration as a generally positive development that helps to mitigate the problems of aging populations and labor-market gaps. As a result, fear is muted: asked whether immigrants take away jobs from native-born citizens, 80% of Germans and 77% of Swedes said that they do not.

In places where the rhetoric surrounding immigration flies off the handle, as in the UK, perceptions are sometimes grossly distorted. The average Briton, for example, believes that 31% of the UK population was born abroad, whereas the actual number is 13%. Compare that to Sweden, where the difference between perception and reality is just three percentage points. Reality-based debate and policymaking can fundamentally transform the negative dynamics surrounding migration.

Europeans also have far fewer cultural concerns about migrants than media coverage might lead one to believe: 69% of Europeans believe that migrants do not pose a cultural threat. In fact, almost two-thirds – including 82% in Sweden and 71% in Germany – say that immigrants enrich their national culture.

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/peter-sutherland-argues-that-the-rise-of-right-wing-populism-reflects-governments--refusal-to-invest-in-integration

The point is that liberal governments that openly discuss immigration and have policies regarding the integration of immigrants do not have the level of right-wing populist anti-immigrant politics so present elsewhere in Europe.

Immigrants as a percent of total population: US - 14%, Germany - 12%, Sweden - 16%, Spain - 14%, Portugal - 9%, Norway - 14%, UK - 12%, France - 12%, Canada - 21%, Australia - 28%.

And Americans are even more uninformed than the British regarding what percentage of the population is immigrants. The perception is the 39% of US residents are immigrants. The actual figure is 14%.

[dipsydoodle]

1. That doesn't account for the issue of mobility of labour as opposed to mobility of benefits.

.

[pampango]

4. True. This article looked at the economic and cultural contributions of immigrants.

I doubt Europe's far-right wants to acknowledge any contributions that immigrants make in those areas.

[Rhinodawg]

2. Who did this poll ?

[pampango]

3. Certainly not the polling arm of the French National Front. The far-right will not be happy

with the results of this poll. Being anti-immigrant is a basic tenet of the far-right.

[Rhinodawg]

5. I have some family in Sweden

who are not far right or even right of center and I have great doubt about the findinds of this poll.