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Asylum applications in December 2025
EU received 4.2 million immigrants in 2024
In 2024, 4.2 million people immigrated to the EU from non-EU countries. This figure does not include asylum seekers and/or refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection for some countries (see the methodological note). Additionally, 1.5 million people migrated between EU countries.
This information comes from data on immigration published by Eurostat today. This article presents a selection of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on migration to and from the EU.
In total, there was an estimated 9.2 immigrants from non-EU countries per 1 000 residents in the EU in 2024.
Relative to the size of the resident population, Malta recorded the highest rate of immigration from EU and non-EU countries in 2024 (60 immigrants per 1 000 residents), followed by Cyprus (42) and Luxembourg (38).
By contrast, Slovakia registered the lowest rate of immigration, with 1 immigrant per 1 000 residents, followed by France (6), and Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria and Poland (all with 8).
Source datasets: migr_imm8 and demo_pjan
Highest share of immigrants from other EU countries in Luxembourg, lowest in Czechia
In nearly all EU countries, the total number of immigrants from outside the EU in 2024 was higher than the number of immigrants from other EU countries. The only exceptions were Luxembourg (with 85.5% of immigrants from other EU countries) and Romania (56.0%).
The highest proportions of immigrants from countries outside the EU were recorded in Czechia (87.0%), Italy (86.2%) and Spain (84.5%).
Source dataset: migr_imm5prv
For more information
- Statistics Explained article on migration to and from the EU
- Statistics Explained article on EU population diversity by citizenship and country of birth
- Thematic section on migration and asylum
- Thematic section on international migration and citizenship
- Thematic section on demography, population stock and balance
- Database on international migration and citizenship
- Migration and asylum in Europe – 2025 edition
- Demography of Europe – 2025 edition
Methodological notes
- Guidance on the inclusion of refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection in the EU in the usually resident population: persons from Ukraine granted temporary protection based on the Commission’s Temporary Protection Directive should be counted as part of the usually resident population. Based on this, those who arrived from Ukraine and were granted temporary protection during the year – and who are believed to still be present at the end of the year – should be counted as immigrants during the year and as part of the migrant stock at the end of the reference period.
- Poland and Slovakia did not include refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection in their population and migration statistics.
- Data for Portugal not available.
- For immigrants per 1 000 residents, provisional or estimated data for Germany, France, Poland and Romania.
- For distribution of immigrants by country of previous residence, provisional or estimated data for Germany, France and Poland.
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