Migrant integration statistics - active citizenship

Data from 18 December 2025.

Planned article update: November 2026.

Highlights

In 2023, 3.5% of non-EU citizens acquired the citizenship of the EU country of their usual residence.

At the end of 2024, long-term residence permits represented almost 50% of all residency rights held by non-EU citizens having their usual residence in the EU.

Map 1: Naturalisation rate of non-EU citizens, 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_acqs)

Active citizenship covers civic and political participation by migrants and the acquisition of equal rights and responsibilities by migrants. This article presents information for two key indicators. Both are indications of migrant integration and they form part of a set of Zaragoza indicators that were agreed by European Union (EU) countries in April 2010. More specifically, the article presents statistics on:

the naturalisation rate, calculated as the ratio of the total number of citizenships granted during the year over the stock of non-national population in a country at the beginning of the year
the share of non-EU citizens having long-term residency status, calculated as the number of long-term (at least 5 years) residents who are non-EU citizens at the end of the year relative to the total number of non-EU citizens holding residency rights at the same time

This article forms part of an online Eurostat publication – Migrant integration statistics - facts and figures.

Naturalisation rate

The category of non-nationals who acquired the citizenship can be divided in two sub-categories depending on the prior citizenship: prior citizens of one of the EU countries and prior non-EU citizens. Figure 1 shows the naturalisation rates of non-nationals in the EU between 2019 and 2023, broken down by broad groups of prior citizenship. The trend indicates an increase in the naturalisation rate of foreign citizens from 2020 to 2022 (from 2.0% to 2.6%), driven by the rising naturalisation of non-EU citizens (from 2.8% to 3.5%). This was followed by a stabilization in 2023, with non-EU citizens consistently exhibiting the highest naturalisation rates.

Figure 1

The acquisition of citizenship represents evidence of effective migrant integration and recognition in host countries, offering fully active citizenship rights. In 2023, the share of non-EU citizens residing in EU countries who acquired the citizenship of an EU country was 3.5%. In the same year, some EU citizens also obtained the citizenship of another EU country, corresponding to 0.8% of all EU citizens residing in an EU country other than the one of their citizenship.

Among the EU countries, the highest naturalisation rate for non-EU citizens in 2023 was observed in Sweden (9.6%), followed by Romania (7.9%) and the Netherlands (7.3%). By contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Lithuania (0.1%), Latvia (0.4%), Czechia and Estonia (0.5% each). For EU citizens acquiring the citizenship of another EU country, the highest shares were recorded in Sweden (4.2%), Hungary (1.9%) and Belgium (1.5%).

Figure 2

Long-term residence permits for non-EU citizens

The data presented in this part of the article refer solely to non-EU citizens. The focus is on non-EU citizens who received a long-term residence permit for a minimum period of at least 5 years validity, thereby providing them with a more robust level of stability as regards their status.

Figure 3 shows a steady decline in the share of long-term residence permits in the EU from 2020 to 2024, calculated over all non-EU citizens holding any residence permit. The share decreased from close to 60% in 2020 to 48% in 2024, marking a continuous downward trend. A decreasing trend was observed across all EU countries.

Figure 3

Figure 4 shows significant differences across European countries in the share of non-EU citizens holding long-term residence permits in 2024. The highest proportions were observed in Latvia, Spain and Estonia, where more than 80% of non-EU residents held a long-term status. Values above the EU average were also recorded in Bulgaria, Sweden, France, Austria and Italy. The lowest shares were found in Portugal, Romania, Croatia, Malta and Ireland, where long-term residence permits accounted for less than 20% of all permits held by non-EU citizens. Overall, the results point to substantial variation across countries, reflecting different demographic structures and national residence permit regulations.

Figure 4

Data sources

The data presented in this article are provided to Eurostat by the reporting countries on an annual basis. Note that the indicators are based on different reference periods and that the reference population varies. For example, the naturalisation rate is based on all non-nationals (including citizens of another EU country), while the data for long-term residency rights refer only to non-EU citizens.

Acquisition of citizenship data for the naturalisation rate

Data on the acquisition of citizenship, available from 1998 onwards, are collected from EU countries, EFTA and candidate countries, and cover persons who were previously citizens of another country or who were stateless. From 2008 onwards, acquisition of citizenship data analysed by sex, age group and previous citizenship are collected under Article 3 of EU regulation 862/2007. For the calculation of the naturalisation rate for the reference year 2020 for EU and non-EU citizens, the broad groups of former citizenship are based on EU-28 and non-EU28 groups of citizenship (with the EU-28 including the current 27 EU countries plus the United Kingdom), to ensure time-series completeness, even though the United Kingdom had left the EU on 31 January 2020. From 2021 onwards, the broad groups of citizenship are based on the current EU-27 and non-EU27 categories. Conditions for acquiring the citizenship of an EU country differ between countries, but often the requirements concern a period of (legally registered) residence combined with other factors such as evidence of social and economic integration, or an aptitude to speak the national language(s). The online metadata related to this data collection provides more information.

Naturalisation is one of the most common ways of acquiring citizenship. It is a formal act of granting citizenship to a non-national who applies to be a citizen. International law does not set out detailed rules on naturalisation but recognises the competence of every state to naturalise non-nationals.

The naturalisation rate is defined as the total number of non-national citizens resident in each EU country who acquired citizenship of that country during the calendar year, expressed as a ratio between the number of persons who acquired the citizenship of a country during a calendar year and the stock of non-national residents in the same country at the beginning of the year. Note this rate should be analysed with some caution, as its numerator includes all modes of acquisition (and not just the naturalisation of eligible residing non-nationals), while the denominator includes all resident non-nationals (and not just resident non-nationals who are eligible for naturalisation).

Share of long-term residence permits

Long-term residence status refers to permits issued under EU directive 2003/109 concerning the status of non-EU citizens who are long-term residents. The definition concerns non-EU citizens who legally reside in an EU country for a period of at least 5 years; this is often combined with a series of other conditions that must be met.

From the 2008 reference year, data on residence permits are collected under Article 6 of EU regulation 862/2007, which refers to statistics on residence permits for non-EU citizens. Data are available for the EU and EFTA countries. These data refer exclusively to non-EU citizens (rather than citizens of other EU countries) who were issued with a residence permit. The statistics relate to the stock (total number) of non-EU citizens in possession of a long-term residence permit. More information is presented in the online metadata for this data collection.

Note for Ireland

The flag in Irish residence permit data highlights limited data quality reported by the Irish authorities. For the process of generating resident permits data that involves both the Irish Police and the Department of Justice an old information system is currently being used. The current system's limitations, which misses unique identifier of persons, require manual data checks, which may lead to potential quality issues. According to Irish authorities a comprehensive modernization programme of the information systems to ensure more accurate data management is in progress.

Context

The EU is a relatively diverse area and several of its Member States have traditionally been a destination for migrants, whether from elsewhere within the EU or elsewhere in the world. The flow of migrants can lead to a range of new skills and talents being introduced into local labour markets and can increase cultural diversity, while also raising concerns about integration.

Immigrant integration policies are a national competence across the EU. However, since the signature of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, European institutions have the mandate to 'provide incentives and support for the action of Member States with a view to promoting the integration of third-country nationals'. In June 2016, the European Commission launched an action plan for the integration of non-EU citizens. Among other actions, the plan seeks to address active participation and social inclusion in order to promote intercultural dialogue, cultural diversity and social inclusion.

In November 2020, an action plan on integration and inclusion 2021–2027 (COM(2016) 377 final) was adopted. It seeks to detail targeted and tailored support to reflect the individual characteristics that may present specific challenges to people with a migrant background, such as gender or religious background.

Recent developments for the EU's overall immigration policy can be found in the Pact on Migration and Asylum that entered into force in June 2024 and will enter into application in June 2026. The aim is to provide tools for faster and more integrated procedures, a better management of the Schengen area and borders, as well as flexibility and crisis resilience. The new pact on migration and asylum sets out what is intended to be a fairer, more European approach to managing migration and asylum. It aims to put in place a comprehensive and sustainable policy, providing a humane and effective long-term response to the current challenges of irregular migration, developing legal migration pathways, better integrating refugees and other newcomers, and deepening migration partnerships with countries of origin and transit for mutual benefit.

This article presents EU statistics in the area of active citizenship, covering the acquisition and exercising of equal rights/responsibilities for migrants, which are recognised as positive indications of migrant integration. The information presented is based on: a set of Council conclusions from 2010 on migrant integration; a subsequent study Indicators of immigrant integration – a pilot study from 2011; a report Using EU indicators of immigrant integration from 2013; and more recent data collection exercises, focusing on the naturalisation rate and the share of non-EU citizens having long-term residency status. The first of these indicators allows an analysis of migrant integration and/or recognition of the magnitude of the role that migrants play in host economies, while the second may be used to analyse the share of the migrant population living with a more protected residence status, with similar socioeconomic rights and responsibilities to those enjoyed by citizens of the host country.

Explore further

Database

Migrant integration (mii), see:

Active citizenship (mii_actctz)

Residents who acquired citizenship as a share of resident non-citizens by former citizenship and sex (migr_acqs)

Long-term residents among all non-EU citizens holding residence permits by citizenship on 31 December (%) (migr_resshare)

Thematic section

Publications

Methodology

Acquisition and loss of citizenship (ESMS metadata file – migr_acqn_esms)
Population (national level) (demo_pop) (ESMS metadata file – demo_pop_esms)
Residence permits (ESMS metadata file – migr_res_esms)

External links

Legislation