EU countries by foreign-born population

Germany had the highest foreign-born population of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 10.91 million. Malta had the lowest, at 61,525. The median was 526,279. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest10,908,255Germany

Lowest61,525Malta

Median526,27927 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2016

Under 200K
200K to 400K
400K to 700K
700K to 1.8M
1.8M and over

persons, 2016. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2016

persons. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2016 persons	Change on 2015
1	Germany	10,908,255	+6.7%
2	France	8,028,227	+1.4%
3	Spain	5,913,165	+0.5%
4	Italy	5,656,510	+5.1%
5	Netherlands	2,056,520	+3%
6	Belgium	1,845,631	+3.5%
7	Sweden	1,675,116	+4.5%
8	Austria	1,588,209	+7.1%
9	Greece	1,236,855	-1.4%
10	Portugal	1,170,320	+0.8%
11	Ireland	773,649	+1.9%
12	Denmark	636,666	+6.8%
13	Poland Provisional	626,396	+2.4%
14	Croatia	526,279	-3.5%
15	Hungary	503,787	+5.9%
16	Czechia	433,290	+4%
17	Romania	347,344	+23.6%
18	Finland	329,219	+4.6%
19	Luxembourg	260,573	+4.7%
20	Latvia	258,889	-2.5%
21	Slovenia	241,203	+1.5%
22	Estonia	193,754	+0.5%
23	Cyprus	184,385	-0.8%
24	Slovakia	181,642	+2.3%
25	Bulgaria	131,924	+9.4%
26	Lithuania	126,264	-4.3%
27	Malta	61,525	+17.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents on 1 January whose country of birth is not the reporting country, all ages and both sexes (Eurostat migr_pop4ctb, country of birth FOR).

Based on country of birth, not citizenship: people born abroad who hold the nationality of the reporting country are counted, and foreign nationals born in the country are not. People born in another EU country count as foreign born. For the share of the population use foreign_born_share.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb) (EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table

MLA 9

Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb), EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016. Eurostat, European Commission, 25 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb), EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_foreign_2016,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr\_pop4ctb): EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr\_pop4ctb). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr\_pop4ctb/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb): EU countries by foreign-born population, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/25
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop4ctb/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest foreign-born population?

Germany, with 10.91 million in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign-born population?

Malta, with 61,525 in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Retrieved 2026-10-12.