EU countries by foreign-born population

Germany had the highest foreign-born population of 27 EU countries in 2017, at 12.11 million. Malta had the lowest, at 69,437. The median was 513,649. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12,105,436Germany

Lowest69,437Malta

Median513,64927 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2017

Under 200K
200K to 400K
400K to 800K
800K to 1.9M
1.9M and over

persons, 2017. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2017

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	2017 persons	Change on 2016
1	Germany	12,105,436	+11%
2	France	8,098,872	+0.9%
3	Spain	6,014,708	+1.7%
4	Italy	5,770,263	+2%
5	Netherlands	2,137,234	+3.9%
6	Belgium	1,876,726	+1.7%
7	Sweden	1,783,179	+6.5%
8	Austria	1,649,008	+3.8%
9	Greece	1,224,836	-1%
10	Portugal	1,200,249	+2.6%
11	Ireland	936,883	+21.1%
12	Denmark	668,090	+4.9%
13	Poland Estimated	651,845	+4.1%
14	Hungary	513,649	+2%
15	Croatia	512,411	-2.6%
16	Czechia	465,056	+7.3%
17	Romania	419,238	+20.7%
18	Finland	348,986	+6%
19	Luxembourg Series break	270,010	+3.6%
20	Latvia	251,465	-2.9%
21	Slovenia	245,369	+1.7%
22	Estonia	192,535	-0.6%
23	Slovakia	186,217	+2.5%
24	Cyprus	185,500	+0.6%
25	Bulgaria	139,655	+5.9%
26	Lithuania	124,964	-1%
27	Malta	69,437	+12.9%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_foreign_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2017.
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 12.11 million in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign-born population?

Malta, with 69,437 in 2017.

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.