EU countries by foreign-born population

Germany had the highest foreign-born population of 27 EU countries in 2019, at 14.88 million. Malta had the lowest, at 99,436. The median was 611,627. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest14,879,635Germany
Lowest99,436Malta
Median611,62727 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2019

Austria: 1,722,833 personsBelgium: 1,968,060 personsBulgaria: 162,346 personsCyprus: 200,418 personsCzechia: 507,051 personsGermany: 14,879,635 personsDenmark: 707,880 personsEstonia: 197,896 personsSpain: 6,549,309 personsFinland: 377,360 personsFrance: 8,368,280 personsGreece: 1,199,084 personsCroatia: 488,393 personsHungary: 564,761 personsIreland: 990,469 personsItaly: 6,069,000 personsLithuania: 148,679 personsLuxembourg: 290,644 personsLatvia: 241,754 personsMalta: 99,436 personsNetherlands: 2,298,705 personsPoland: 760,849 personsPortugal: 1,307,266 personsRomania: 611,627 personsSweden: 1,954,065 personsSlovenia: 265,072 personsSlovakia: 194,389 persons
  • Under 200K
  • 200K to 500K
  • 500K to 900K
  • 900K to 2M
  • 2M and over
persons, 2019. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2019

Germany: 14,879,635 personsGermany14,879,635France: 8,368,280 personsFrance8,368,280Spain: 6,549,309 personsSpain6,549,309Italy: 6,069,000 personsItaly6,069,000Netherlands: 2,298,705 personsNetherlands2,298,705Belgium: 1,968,060 personsBelgium1,968,060Sweden: 1,954,065 personsSweden1,954,065Austria: 1,722,833 personsAustria1,722,833Portugal: 1,307,266 personsPortugal1,307,266Greece: 1,199,084 personsGreece1,199,084Ireland: 990,469 personsIreland990,469Poland: 760,849 personsPoland760,849Denmark: 707,880 personsDenmark707,880Romania: 611,627 personsRomania611,627Hungary: 564,761 personsHungary564,761Czechia: 507,051 personsCzechia507,051Croatia: 488,393 personsCroatia488,393Finland: 377,360 personsFinland377,360Luxembourg: 290,644 personsLuxembourg290,644Slovenia: 265,072 personsSlovenia265,072Latvia: 241,754 personsLatvia241,754Cyprus: 200,418 personsCyprus200,418Estonia: 197,896 personsEstonia197,896Slovakia: 194,389 personsSlovakia194,389Bulgaria: 162,346 personsBulgaria162,346Lithuania: 148,679 personsLithuania148,679Malta: 99,436 personsMalta99,436Germany: 14,879,635 personsGermany14,879,635France: 8,368,280 personsFrance8,368,280Spain: 6,549,309 personsSpain6,549,309Italy: 6,069,000 personsItaly6,069,000Netherlands: 2,298,705 personsNetherlands2,298,705Belgium: 1,968,060 personsBelgium1,968,060Sweden: 1,954,065 personsSweden1,954,065Austria: 1,722,833 personsAustria1,722,833Portugal: 1,307,266 personsPortugal1,307,266Greece: 1,199,084 personsGreece1,199,084Ireland: 990,469 personsIreland990,469Poland: 760,849 personsPoland760,849Denmark: 707,880 personsDenmark707,880Romania: 611,627 personsRomania611,627Hungary: 564,761 personsHungary564,761Czechia: 507,051 personsCzechia507,051Croatia: 488,393 personsCroatia488,393Finland: 377,360 personsFinland377,360Luxembourg: 290,644 personsLuxembourg290,644Slovenia: 265,072 personsSlovenia265,072Latvia: 241,754 personsLatvia241,754Cyprus: 200,418 personsCyprus200,418Estonia: 197,896 personsEstonia197,896Slovakia: 194,389 personsSlovakia194,389Bulgaria: 162,346 personsBulgaria162,346Lithuania: 148,679 personsLithuania148,679Malta: 99,436 personsMalta99,436
persons. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2019
persons
Change on 2018
1Germany14,879,635+8.2%
2France8,368,280+2.1%
3Spain6,549,309+5.5%
4Italy Series break6,069,000+3.1%
5Netherlands2,298,705+3.7%
6Belgium1,968,060+2.7%
7Sweden1,954,065+4.2%
8Austria1,722,833+1.9%
9Portugal1,307,266+5.7%
10Greece1,199,084-0.9%
11Ireland990,469+3.4%
12Poland760,849+9.3%
13Denmark707,880+2.5%
14Romania611,627+19.8%
15Hungary564,761+5.3%
16Czechia507,051+8.4%
17Croatia488,393-1.6%
18Finland377,360+3.8%
19Luxembourg290,644+3.7%
20Slovenia265,072+5.9%
21Latvia241,754-1.7%
22Cyprus200,418+4.2%
23Estonia197,896+0.9%
24Slovakia194,389+2.1%
25Bulgaria162,346+8.9%
26Lithuania148,679+12.5%
27Malta99,436+19.4%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_foreign_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2019.
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 14.88 million in 2019, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign-born population?

Malta, with 99,436 in 2019.

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.

EU countries: more rankings