Migration and asylum in Europe – 2024 edition
Migration and asylum in Europe – 2024 edition 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.
In 2023, 9% of the people living in EU countries were non-nationals. 3% were citizens of another EU country and 6% of a non-EU country.
Migration to and from the EU
In 2022, 5.1 million came to the EU from non-EU countries. This is more than double compared with 2.4 million in 2021.
In all EU countries, except Luxembourg and Slovakia, 50% or more immigrants came from outside the EU in 2022. The largest shares were observed in Czechia (95% of all its immigrants), Lithuania (91%), Latvia (89%) and Slovenia (87%).
In absolute numbers, the most popular countries of destination for immigrants from outside the EU in 2022 were:
- Germany (1.6 million people or 31% of all immigrants who came to the EU from non-EU countries)
- Spain (860 000 or 17%)
- Italy (334 000 or 7%)
- Czechia (331 000 or 6%)
- France (317 000 or 6%)
People who migrated to these 5 EU members represented 67% of all immigrants who entered the EU from non-EU countries in 2022.
In the same year, nearly 1.0 million people from the EU to a non-EU country, which remains close to the 2021 value.
In 8 out of 27 EU countries, more than 50% of emigrants moved to a country outside the EU in 2022. The largest share of people who emigrated to a non-EU country was recorded in Cyprus (62% of all its emigrants) and Slovenia (61%), while the lowest share was observed in Luxembourg (17% of all its emigrants).
In absolute terms, the largest number of emigrants to a country outside the EU was recorded in:
- Germany (160 000 or 16% of all emigrants to a non-EU country)
- France (139 000 or 14%)
- Spain (99 000 or 10%)
- Poland (92 000 or 9%)
Emigrants from these 4 EU members made up 50% of all emigrants leaving the EU countries in 2022.
At EU level, the difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants resulted in a positive net migration in 2022, meaning that over 4 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 2022, 1.5 million people moved from one EU country to another. This is an increase of 7% compared with 2021.
An analysis by place of previous residence reveals that in 2022 Germany was the country with the largest number of immigrants from other EU members (332 000 or 22% of all immigrants from other EU countries), followed by Spain (148 000 or 10%), Romania (115 000 or 8%), France (114 000 or 8%) and the Netherlands (113 000 or 8%).
In relative terms, Luxembourg recorded the largest share of immigrants coming from another EU country (75% of all its immigrants in 2022), followed by Slovakia (66%), Denmark and Belgium (both 40%).
Citizenships in the EU
In 2023, whilst most people in the EU lived in their country of citizenship, 9% (41 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 6% (27 million) of a non-EU country. Additionally, the EU population included 51 000 stateless people and 86 000 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 (25%), Cyprus (20%), Austria (19%) and Estonia (17%).
In contrast, non-nationals represented around 1% of the population in Romania, Slovakia, Poland and Bulgaria.
Looking specifically at citizens from other EU members, the largest share was recorded in Luxembourg (37%) followed by Cyprus and Austria (both 10%). The proportion of citizens from outside the EU was largest in Malta (18%),
In the EU countries, non-nationals are younger than nationals
On 1 January 2023, 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 28% 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.
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 .
In 2023, all the EU countries combined issued over 3.7 million to non-EU citizens. This is an increase of nearly 5% compared with 2022, and the highest number recorded to date.
Poland granted the highest number of permits (643 000 or 17% of total permits issued in the EU), followed by Germany (586 000 or 16%), Spain (549 000 or 15%), Italy (390 000 or 10%) and France (335 000 or 9%).
Most of the first-residence permits were granted to citizens of Ukraine (307 000 or 8% of all permits), Belarus (281 000 or 8%) and India (208 000 or 6%).
Work was the main reason for residence permits in 2023
The reasons for granting these residence permits in 2023 were:
- work: 1.3 million or 34% of all first residence permits issued
- family reasons: 986 000 or 26%
- education: 535 000 or 14%
The remaining 26% of residence permits (957 000) were granted for other reasons such as international protection.
The situation varies across the EU. In 2023, the share of permits issued for work reasons was largest in Croatia (95% of all first residence permits granted), ahead of Lithuania (84%) and Romania (78%). Family was the main reason in Luxembourg (48%), Sweden (46%) and Belgium (45%), while education had the biggest share in Ireland (45%), France (33%) and Latvia (32%). The share of other reasons was highest in Greece (58%).
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.
In 2023, the EU countries granted protection status to 410 000 asylum seekers, up by 7% compared with 2022 (384 000).
Asylum applicants
In 2023, around 1.0 million people applied for in the EU countries for the , an increase of 20% compared with 2022. After a significant drop in 2020, the number of first-time asylum seekers increased for 3 consecutive years and almost reached the peaks recorded in 2015 and 2016 during the war in Syria.
The EU countries that received the highest number of first-time applications in 2023 were:
- Germany (329 000 or 31% of all first-time asylum applications in the EU)
- Spain (160 000 or 15%)
- France (145 000 or 14%)
- Italy (131 000 or 12%)
These 4 EU countries together accounted for 73% 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 2023 was recorded in Cyprus (13 first-time applicants per 1 000 people), ahead of Austria and Greece (each 6).
Syrians, Afghans and Turks lodged the most asylum applications in the EU
In 2023, 43% of the first-time asylum applicants had Asian citizenship, 23% African citizenship, 16% European citizenship (non-EU) and 17% had North or South American citizenship. The share of persons who were stateless or with unknown citizenship was 1%.
Syria was the main country of citizenship of asylum seekers (183 000 first-time applications or 17% of all first-time applications in the EU), ahead of Afghanistan (101 000 or 10%) and Türkiye (90 000 or 9%).
Asylum decisions
In 2023, around 869 000 on asylum applications were taken by the EU countries. Of these, 678 000 decisions were taken at and 191 000 were final decisions taken upon appeal or review of first instance decisions.
Looking at first instance decisions taken by the EU countries, 22% or 152 000 granted refugee status, 19% or 130 000 subsidiary protection, and 11% or 76 000 humanitarian protection.
Among asylum applicants who received at first instance in the EU, 34% were Syrians, followed by Afghans (19%) and Venezuelans (12%).
Looking at final decisions, 12% or 24 000 granted refugee status, 7% or 13 000 subsidiary protection and 8% or 15 000 humanitarian protection.
The main beneficiaries of protection status for final decisions were Syrians (16% of all asylum applicants granted protection status by final decisions in the EU), followed by Afghans (12%) and Nigerians (7%).
In 2023, over 50% of first instance decisions granted protection status
To better understand who is granted 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 2023, at EU level, the recognition rate for first instance decisions stood at 53%, meaning that there were 358 000 positive decisions out of 678 000 total decisions
The rate was highest in Estonia (97%), Ireland (83%) and the Netherlands (81%), while it was lowest in Romania (16%) and Sweden (27%).
As regards final decisions following an appeal or review, the recognition rate was 27%, representing 51 000 positive decisions out of 192 000.
Among the EU countries, Slovakia recorded a 100% recognition rate, meaning that all final decisions were positive. It was followed by Bulgaria (78%), Italy (76%) and Ireland (73%). At the opposite end of the scale, the rate was equal to zero in Portugal, meaning that no positive final decisions were taken, and it was lowest in Cyprus (1%), Malta, Slovenia, Poland and Estonia (each 2%).
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 2023, around 4.3 million non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine had benefited from temporary protection status in the EU. Around 98% of them had Ukrainian citizenship.
The main EU countries where people fleeing Ukraine stayed in 2023 were Germany
(1.3 million or 29% of the total) and Poland (955 000 or 22%).
Compared with the population of each EU country, the highest number of temporary protection beneficiaries at the end of 2023 was recorded in Czechia (34.5 beneficiaries per 1 000 people), followed by Bulgaria (26.5), Estonia (26.3) and Lithuania (26.2). In contrast, the lowest numbers were observed in France (1.0 per 1 000 people), Greece (2.6) and Italy (2.7). At EU level, there were 9.6 beneficiaries of temporary protection for every 1 000 people.
Children under international protection
In 2023, 272 000 asylum applicants were less than 18 years old, accounting for 24% of all applicants in the EU. Of these, around 40 000 or 15% were
Most of the asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in 2023 were lodged either by Syrians (14 000 people or 35% of all unaccompanied minor asylum applicants) or Afghans (13 000 or 31%).
The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in 2023 was Germany (15 000), followed by the Netherlands (6 000) and Austria (5 000).
Over 80% of first instance decisions on applications of unaccompanied minors were favourable
In 2023, the EU countries took 15 700 on asylum applications from unaccompanied minors. Of these, 12 900 or 82% were positive, meaning that they granted a . Thus, the for unaccompanied minors at first instance was higher than the overall recognition rate (53%).
Across the EU countries, Germany issued the most positive decisions on applications from unaccompanied minors (5 700 or 44% of the EU total), followed by the Netherlands (1 900 or 14%) and Greece (1 200 or 9%).
For more information
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.
In 2023, 123 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU, 1.3 million were found to be illegally present, 484 000 were ordered to leave an EU country and 91 000 were returned to a country outside the EU.
Irregular migration
In 2023, 123 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its , a decrease of 13% compared with 2022. Of these, 58% were stopped at external land borders, 39% at air borders and 3% at sea borders.
The main grounds for refusing entry to the EU were either that the people refused entry did not have a valid visa or residence permit (23% of all refusals) or that the purpose and conditions of stay were not justified (22%).
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 .
In 2023, Poland reported the largest number of refusals (15 000 or 12% of the EU total), ahead of Hungary (13 000 or 10%) and Croatia (11 000 or 9%). Most of the refusals at land borders were recorded in Poland, at sea borders in France and at air borders in Ireland.
Ukrainians accounted for the largest number of people refused entry to the EU in 2023 (18 000 people), followed by citizens from Albania (14 000) and Moldova (9 800).
In 2023, around 1.3 million non-EU citizens were found to be illegally present in the EU. This is an increase of 13% compared with 2022. Among the EU countries, the largest number of illegally present people was found in Germany (264 000 or 21% of the EU total), Italy (195 000 or 15%) and Hungary (160 000 or 13%).
Syrians were the biggest group of people found to be illegally present in the EU (253 000 people), ahead of Afghans (113 000) and Turks (84 000).
Orders to leave and returns
In 2023, a total of 484 000 non-EU citizens received an order to leave the EU country they were staying in, up by 4% compared with 2022. Among the EU countries, France issued the most return decisions (138 000 or 28% of all orders to leave issued in the EU), followed by Spain (64 000 or 13%) and Germany (45 000 or 9%).
Moroccans (49 000) were the largest group of non-EU citizens ordered to leave the territory of an EU country, followed by Algerians (38 000) and Afghans (23 000).
In 2023, the number of people returned to a country outside increased by 26%
In 2023, around 91 000 non-EU citizens were returned outside the EU, following an order to leave the territory of a specific EU country. This is an increase of 26% compared with 2022.
The highest number of returns to a country outside the EU were recorded in France (10 600 or 12% of all returns to non-EU countries), Germany (10 300 or 11%), Cyprus (7 800 or 9%) and Sweden (7 700 or 8%).
The biggest groups of people returned to a country outside the EU were Georgians (10 300), Albanians (7 800) and Turks (5 600).
Skills of migrants
This section presents statistics on various types of authorisations, in addition to the residence permits described earlier, that allow non-EU citizens to study and work in the EU countries: the EU Blue Cards, authorisations for study and research, and intra-corporate transfers. It also looks at the overqualification of migrants that can indicate a potential mismatch between their skills and job.
The EU countries issued 89 000 Blue Cards, 451 000 permits to study and research and 11 000 intra-corporate transfer permits to non-EU citizens in 2023.
Attracting skills and talent
EU Blue Card for highly qualified workers
The EU Blue Card is a work and residence permit for from outside the EU.
In 2023, around 89 000 highly qualified non-EU workers received an EU Blue Card. Germany issued the largest number (69 000 or 78% of all EU Blue Cards), followed by Poland (7 000 or 8%) and France (4 000 or 4%).
Citizens of India were granted the most EU Blue Cards in 2023 (21 000 or 24% of all Blue Cards issued in the EU), ahead of citizens of Russia (9 000 or 11%), Türkiye (6 000 or 7%) and Belarus (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 2023, the EU countries issued 451 000 authorisations for study and research. Germany issued most authorisations (144 000 or 32% of all permits in the EU), followed by France (117 000 or 26%) and Spain (55 000 or 12%).
The main recipients were citizens from India (50 000 or 11% of all permits in the EU), China (47 000 or 10%), Morocco (22 000 or 5%) and the United States (21 000 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 2023, the EU members issued in total 10 800 transfer permits, with the largest numbers in the Netherlands (2 700 or 25% of all permits), Germany and Hungary (both 1 900 or 18%), France (1 500 or 14%) and Spain (1 100 or 10%).
Most of these permits were given to citizens from India (3 900 or 36% of all permits), China (1 600 or 14%) and South Korea (1 300 or 12%).
Overqualification of migrants
Looking at employed non-EU citizens aged 20-64 years with a , 40% of them were overqualified in 2023, meaning they were working in a low- or medium-skilled job position, for which a degree was not required. This compares with 31% for EU citizens living in another EU country and 21% for nationals living in their own country.
Across the EU countries, the of non-EU citizens was highest in Greece (70%), Italy (64%) and Spain (56%). In contrast, it was lowest in the Netherlands (24%), Finland and Sweden (each 27%).
In comparison, the overqualification rate for employed EU citizens living in other EU countries was highest in Italy (45%), Spain and Cyprus (each 42%), while it was lowest in Luxembourg (6%).
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 December 2024 and reflects the data situation at that moment in time.
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.
Copyright and re-use policy
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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
Catalogue number: KS-FW-24-005-EN-Q
ISBN 978-92-68-19608-3
ISSN 2600-3368
doi:10.2785/43971
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