German Economic Institute (IW)

The German Economic Institute (IW, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft) is Germany’s largest private economic research institute, based in Cologne. IW publishes skilled worker shortage analyses using a proprietary methodology, and produced a key June 2025 study on Opportunity Card visa uptake, which provided the most detailed publicly available statistics on who has received the card and the implementation challenges involved. IW data is used by the German government and employers to understand labour market dynamics.

Connections

• Germany Opportunity Card — published uptake statistics, [2025], source: https://www.iwkoeln.de/
• Germany — economic research context, [2025]