Migration and asylum in Europe – 2023 edition

Migration and asylum in Europe – 2023 interactive publication provides key data and trends on migration and asylum. It looks at topics such as people migrating to the EU, within the EU and from the EU, international protection of non-EU nationals, and irregular migration.

This publication allows you to explore, visualise and compare indicators on migration and asylum at EU and country level.

Population diversity

Learn more about the main destination countries of migrants, the reasons why non-EU citizens move to the EU, and the demography of nationals and non-nationals in the EU countries. This section presents statistics on immigration and emigration, citizenship, and residence permits for non-EU citizens.

Migration to and from the EU

In 2021, 2.3 million immigrants came to the EU from non-EU countries. This is an increase of nearly 18% compared with 1.9 million in 2020, but still below the pre-COVID-19 level of 2.7 million in 2019.

In 21 out of 27 EU countries, 50% or more immigrants came from outside the EU in 2021. The largest shares were observed in Lithuania (81% of all its immigrants), Spain (80%) and Slovenia (79%). In contrast, the lowest share was recorded in Luxembourg, where immigrants from outside the EU made up 9% of all its immigrants.

In absolute numbers, the most popular countries of destination for immigrants from outside the EU in 2021 were Germany (439 000 persons or 19% of all immigrants who came to the EU from non-EU countries) and Spain (421 000 or 19%), ahead of Italy (248 000 or 11%) and France (238 000 or 11%). People who migrated to these 4 EU members represented 60% of all immigrants who entered the EU from non-EU countries in 2021.

In the same year, about 1.1 million people emigrated from the EU to a non-EU country. This is also an increase compared with 956 000 people in 2020, and almost back to the pre-COVID-19 level of 1.2 million.

In 8 out of 27 EU countries, more than 50% of emigrants went to a country outside the EU in 2021. The largest share of people who emigrated to a non-EU country was recorded in France (68% of all its emigrants), followed by Slovenia (65%), Lithuania (64%) and Spain (63%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were observed in Slovakia (18% of all its emigrants) and Luxembourg (16%).

In absolute terms, the largest number of emigrants was recorded in Spain (239 000 or 21% of all emigrants to a non-EU country), followed by Germany (158 000 or 14%) and France (120 000 or 11%). Emigrants from these 3 EU members made up 46% of all emigrants leaving the EU countries in 2021. 

At EU level, the difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants resulted in a positive net migration in 2021, meaning that over 1 million more people moved to the EU than moved out.

Free movement of people in the EU

EU citizens have the right to free movement in the EU and to establish their residence in any EU country. In 2021, 1.4 million people moved from one EU country to another. This is an increase of 10% compared with 2020, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An analysis by place of previous residence reveals that in 2021 Germany was the country with the largest number of immigrants from other EU members (328 000 or 24% of all immigrants from other EU countries), followed by Poland (111 000 or 8%), Spain (108 000 or 8%), the Netherlands (106 000 or 8%) and Romania (104 000 or 8%).

In relative terms, Luxembourg recorded the largest share of immigrants coming from another EU country (91% of all its immigrants in 2021), followed by Slovakia (68%) and Austria (56%).

Citizenships in the EU

In 2022, whilst most people in the EU lived in their country of citizenship, 8% (37 million) of the EU population were citizens of another country than their country of residence. 3% (14 million) were citizens of another EU country and 5% (24 million) of a non-EU country. Additionally, the EU population included 53 000 stateless people and 303 000 who were of unknown citizenship. 

Luxembourg topped the list of countries with the highest share of non-nationals in their population (47%), ahead of Malta (21%), Cyprus (19%), Austria (18%), and Estonia (15%). 

Looking specifically at citizens from other EU members, the largest share was recorded in Luxembourg (38%) followed by Cyprus (10%). The proportion of citizens from outside the EU was largest in Estonia (14%), Latvia (13%), and Malta (12%).

In contrast, non-nationals represented less than 1% of the population in Romania (0.3%) and Croatia (0.9%).

In the EU countries, non-nationals are younger than nationals

As on 1 January 2022, across the EU countries, people who were non-nationals in the respective EU country were younger than the national population. 

The distribution by age group shows that, compared with nationals, the non-national population has a greater proportion of relatively young working age adults aged 20 to 49. This is the case for both men and women. One can see that:

• men aged 20 to 49 accounted for 29% of the non-national population, compared with 18% of the national population;
• women aged 20 to 49 accounted for 27% of the non-national population, compared with 18% of the national population. 

In contrast, the shares of people who are over 50 years were smaller for non-nationals than nationals. For example:

• men aged over 50 accounted for 12% of the non-national population, compared with 20% for nationals; 
• women aged over 50 accounted for 13% of the non-national population, compared with 24% of the national population. 

Romanians are the largest group of EU citizens residing in other EU countries

Citizens of EU countries have the right to live and work in any other EU country.

In 2022, Romania was the country with the largest number of its own nationals living in other EU members (3.1 million people or 24% of all EU citizens living in another EU country as non-nationals), ahead of Poland and Italy (both 1.5 million or 11%).

Residence permits

People from abroad move to the EU for different reasons, for example to work, to join their family, or to study. Non-EU citizens can stay in the EU if they obtain a residence permit.

In 2022, all the EU countries combined issued almost 3.5 million first residence permits to non-EU citizens. This is an increase of 18% compared with 2021 and of 14% compared with the pre-COVID-19 level in 2019.

Poland granted the highest number of permits (700  000 or 20% of total permits issued in the EU), followed by Germany (539  000 or 16%), Spain (467  000 or 14%), Italy (338  000 or 10%) and France (324  000 or 9%).

Most of the first-residence permits were granted to citizens from Ukraine (374  000 or 11% of all permits), Belarus (310  000 or 9%) and India (183  000 or 5%).

Work was the main reason for residence permits in 2022

The reasons for granting these residence permits in 2022 were:

• work: 1.2 million or 36% of all first residence permits issued 
• family reasons: 896  000 or 26%
• education: 457  000 or 13%

The remaining 25% of residence permits (861  000) were granted for other reasons such as international protection. 

The situation varies across the EU. In 2022, the share of permits issued for work reasons was largest in Croatia (93% of all first residence permits granted for employment reasons), ahead of Romania (74%) and Malta (73%). Family was the main reason in Belgium (49%), Luxembourg and Greece (both 45%), while education had the biggest share in Ireland (48%) and France (32%). The share of other reasons was highest in Austria (50%).

Protection and asylum

There are many reasons why people migrate, including seeking protection from conflict, persecution, and human rights violations. This section presents statistics on asylum seekers, including children, and the different forms of protection given by the EU countries.

Asylum applicants

In 2022, 875  000 people applied for international protection in the EU countries for the first time. This is an increase of 63% compared with 2021 and is the highest number since the peaks recorded during the refugee crisis related to the war in Syria in 2015 and 2016.

The EU countries that received the highest number of first-time applications in 2022 were Germany (218 000 or 25% of all first-time asylum applications in the EU) and France (138 000 or 16%), followed by Spain (116 000 or 13%), Austria (110 000 or 13%) and Italy (77 000 or 9%). These 5 EU countries together accounted for 75% of all first-time asylum applications in the EU.

Compared with the population of each EU country, the highest rate of first-time applicants in 2022 was recorded in Cyprus (24  000 applicants per million people), ahead of Austria (12  000) and Luxembourg (4  000). By contrast, the lowest rate was observed in Slovakia (90 per million people) and Hungary (5).

Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, and Turks lodged the most asylum applications in the EU

Almost half (47%) of the first-time asylum applicants in 2022 had Asian citizenship, 22% African citizenship, 16% European citizenship (non-EU) and 14% had North or South American citizenship. The share of persons who were stateless or with unknown citizenship was 1%.

In 2022, Syria was the main country of citizenship of asylum seekers (132 000 first-time applications or 15% of all first-time applications in the EU), ahead of Afghanistan (114 000 or 13%), Venezuela (50 000 or 6%) and Türkiye (49 000 or 6%).

Asylum decisions

In 2022, around 850 000 decisions on asylum applications were taken by the EU countries. Of these, 632 000 decisions were taken at first instance and 217 000 were final decisions taken upon appeal or review of first instance decisions.

First instance decisions granted protection status to 311 000 asylum seekers, an increase of 54% compared with 2021. Through final decisions, the EU members granted protection status to 73 000 asylum seekers, a situation almost unchanged compared with 2021.

In 2022, nearly half of asylum applicants received protection in first instance decisions

To better understand who is granted protection in the EU, the recognition rate can be used. This rate represents the number of positive decisions as a percentage of the total number of decisions on applications for protection status.

In 2022, the recognition rate stood at 49% for first instance decisions, meaning there were 311 000 positive decisions out of 632 000 total decisions, and at 34% for final decisions in appeal or review, representing 73 000 positive decisions out of 217 000.

Among the EU countries, the recognition rate at first instance was highest in Estonia (96%), Bulgaria (91%) and the Netherlands (87%). In contrast, it was lowest in Cyprus (6%) and Malta (15%).

As regards final decisions, Bulgaria recorded a 100% recognition rate, meaning that all final decisions were positive. It was followed by Italy (72%), Austria and the Netherlands (each 67%). At the opposite end of the scale, the rate was equal to zero in Estonia and Portugal, meaning that no positive final decisions were taken in these countries, and it was almost zero in Cyprus and Poland.

Among the top 10 citizenships that received first instance decisions in 2022, Syrians (94%), Afghans (85%) and Venezuelans (76%) had the highest recognition rates. Among the top 10 citizenships that received final instance decisions after an appeal or review in 2022, the citizenships with the highest recognition rates were Syrian (79%), Afghan (74%) and Iranian (44%).

Temporary protection

Temporary protection is an exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced people from non-EU countries and those who are unable to return to their country of origin. 

Since Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine started in February 2022, the EU countries have granted temporary protection to people fleeing Ukraine.

By 31 December 2022, around 3.8 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine had received temporary protection status in the EU. Around 98% of them had Ukrainian citizenship.

The main EU countries where people fleeing Ukraine stayed in 2022 were Germany
(968 000 or 25% of the total), Poland (961 000 or 25%) and Czechia (432 000 or 11%).

Compared with the population of each EU country, the highest numbers of temporary protection beneficiaries at the end of 2022 were recorded in Czechia (41.1 beneficiaries per 1 000 people), followed by Estonia (28.8) and Poland (25.5). In contrast, the lowest numbers were observed in France (1.0 per 1 000 people), Greece (2.1), and Italy (2.5). At EU level, there were 8.6 beneficiaries of temporary protection for every 1 000 people.

Children under international protection

In 2022, 236 000 asylum applicants were less than 18 years old, accounting for 25% of all applicants in the EU. Of these, around 40 000 or 17% were unaccompanied minors.

Compared with 2021, the number of asylum applications lodged by unaccompanied minors rose by 57%.

Most of the asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in 2022 were lodged either by Afghans (18 000 people or 45% of all first-time asylum applicants) or Syrians (10 000 or 24%).

The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in 2022 were Austria (13 000) and Germany (7 000), followed by the Netherlands (4 000) and Bulgaria (3 000).

2 in 3 first instance decisions on applications of unaccompanied minors were favourable

In 2022, the EU countries took 11 300 first instance decisions on asylum applications from unaccompanied minors. Of these, 8 400 or 74% were positive, meaning that they granted a protection status. Thus, the recognition rate for unaccompanied minors at first instance was higher than for adults (42%).

Across the EU countries, Germany issued the most positive decisions on applications from unaccompanied minors (2 900 or 34% of the EU total), followed by the Netherlands (1 400 or 17%), Italy and Greece (each 1 000 or 12%).

Irregular migration and return

Irregular migration is when non-EU citizens attempt to enter or stay in the EU territory without complying with the legal requirements. This section presents data on people who were refused entry to the EU, who are illegally present in the EU, and people who were returned.  

Irregular migration

In 2022, 143 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its external borders. Of these, 62% were stopped at external land borders, 34% at air borders and 4% at sea borders.

The main grounds for refusing entry to the EU were either that the purpose and conditions of stay were not justified (24% of all refusals) or that the people refused entry did not have a valid visa or residence permit (23%).

The situation varies across the EU countries. Some EU members do not have external EU borders, as they are either landlocked or only have an internal land border within the Schengen area.

In 2022, Poland reported the largest number of refusals (23 000 or 16% of the EU total), ahead of Hungary (16 000 or 11%) and Croatia (12 000 or 8%). Most of the refusals at land borders were recorded in Poland, at sea borders in Italy and at air borders in Ireland.

Ukrainians accounted for the largest number of people refused entry to the EU in 2022 (29 000 people), followed by Albanians (16 000) and Russians (12 000).

In 2022, around 1.1 million non-EU citizens were found to be illegally present in the EU. This is an increase of 65% compared with 2021. Among the EU countries, the largest number of illegally present people was found in Hungary (223 000 or 20% of the EU total), Germany (198 000 or 18%) and Italy (138 000 or 12%).

Syrians were the biggest group of people found to be illegally present in the EU (197 000 people), ahead of Afghans (114 000) and Moroccans (60 000).

Orders to leave and returns 

In 2022, a total of 431 000 non-EU citizens received an order to leave the EU country they were staying in. This is an increase of 27% compared with 2021. Among the EU countries, France issued the most return decisions (136 000 or 31% of all orders to leave issued in the EU), followed by Germany (44 000 or 10%), Croatia (41 000 or 9%), and Greece (34 000 or 8%).

Algerians (34 000) were the largest group of non-EU citizens ordered to leave the territory of an EU country, followed by Moroccans (31 000) and Pakistanis (25 000).

74 000 people were returned to a country outside the EU in 2022

In 2022, around 74 000 non-EU citizens were returned outside the EU, following an order to leave the territory of a specific EU country. 

The highest number of returns was recorded in France and Sweden (each 8 600 or 12% of all returns to non-EU countries), and Germany (7 700 or 11%).

The biggest groups of people returned to a country outside the EU were Albanians (9 500), followed by Georgians (7 500) and Turks (4 000).

Skills of migrants

The European Year of Skills, held during 2023-2024, aims to promote a mindset of reskilling and upskilling, helping people to get the right skills for relevant quality jobs.

In addition to the residence permits described earlier, there are various types of authorisations that allow non-EU citizens to study and work in the EU countries, making full use of their skills and talent. This section presents statistics on the EU Blue Cards, authorisations for study and research, and intra-corporate transfers.  

Attracting skills and talent

EU Blue Card for highly qualified workers

The EU Blue Cards is a work and residence permit for highly qualified people from outside the EU.

In 2022, around 82 000 highly qualified non-EU workers received an EU Blue Card. Germany issued the largest number (63 000 or 77% of all EU Blue Cards), followed by Poland (5 000 or 6%), Lithuania and France (each 3 900 or 5%).

Citizens of India were granted the most EU Blue Cards in 2022 (20 000 or 24% of all Blue Cards issued in the EU), ahead of citizens of Russia (8 000 or 9%), Belarus (6 000 or 7%) and Türkiye (5 000 or 6%).

Permits for researchers and students

Non-EU citizens can also stay in the EU to study and do research. In total, in 2022, the EU countries issued 421 000 authorisations for study and research. Germany issued most authorisations (132 000 or 31% of all permits in the EU), followed by France (110 000 or 26%) and Spain (53 000 or 13%).

The main recipients were citizens from China (42 000 or 10% of all permits in the EU), India (40 000 or 10%), the United States (21 000 or 5%) and Morocco (20 000 or 5%).

Intra-corporate transfers of staff

Non-EU citizens can also apply for a so-called intra-corporate transfer residence permit to work in the EU. This means they can be posted from a company operating outside the EU to a branch in one of the EU countries. In 2022, the EU members issued in total 10 500 transfer permits, with the largest numbers in the Netherlands (3 300 or 31% of all permits), Germany (1 800 or 17%) and Hungary (1 600 or 15%).

Most of these permits were given to citizens from India (4 500 or 43% of all permits), China (1 200 or 11%) and South Korea (1 100 or 11%).

Overqualification of migrants

Looking at employed non-EU citizens aged 20-64 years with a degree, 39% of them were overqualified in 2022, meaning they were working in a low- or medium-skilled job position, for which a degree was not required. This compares with 32% for EU citizens living in another EU country and 21% for nationals living in their own country.

Across the EU countries, the over-qualification rate of non-EU citizens was highest in Greece (74%), Italy (68%) and Spain (58%). In contrast, it was lowest in Luxembourg (12%), the Netherlands (22%), and Finland (24%).

In comparison, the overqualification rate for employed EU citizens living in other EU countries was highest in Italy (49%), Cyprus (48%) and Spain (44%), while it was lowest in Luxembourg (7%), Czechia (11%) and Malta (16%).

About this publication

Migration and asylum in Europe is an interactive publication released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Information on data

The data displayed in the visualisations come directly from the Eurostat online database for the reference year(s) mentioned in the visualisation. The accompanying text is from January 2024 and reflects the data situation at that moment in time. The data displayed in the visualisation on first-time asylum applicants by citizenships are from March 2023. 

For more information

• Thematic section on migration and asylum
• Database on international migration, asylum, managed migration, children in migration and migrant integration
• Statistics Explained articles on migration and asylum

Contact

If you have questions on the data, please contact the Eurostat user support.

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© European Union, 2024

The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented based on Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence. This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated.

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Cover photo: © r.classen/Shutterstock.com
Population diversity: © fizkes/Shutterstock.com
Protection and asylum: © Halfpoint/Shutterstock.com
Irregular migration and return: © triple_v/Shutterstock.com
Skills of migrants: © Atitaph_StockPHoTo/Shutterstock.com

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Identifiers

Product code: KS-FW-23-004
ISBN 978-92-68-04508-4
ISSN 2600-3368
doi:10.2785/353399