EU countries by foreign-born population

Germany had the highest foreign-born population of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 15.04 million. Malta had the lowest, at 118,994. The median was 715,936. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest15,040,708Germany

Lowest118,994Malta

Median715,93627 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2020

Under 200K
200K to 500K
500K to 1M
1M to 2M
2M and over

persons, 2020. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

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	2020 persons	Change on 2019
1	Germany	15,040,708	+1.1%
2	France	8,473,346	+1.3%
3	Spain	7,014,753	+7.1%
4	Italy	6,161,391	+1.5%
5	Netherlands	2,399,804	+4.4%
6	Belgium	2,026,370	+3%
7	Sweden	2,018,191	+3.3%
8	Austria	1,760,595	+2.2%
9	Portugal	1,416,498	+8.4%
10	Greece	1,187,514	-1%
11	Ireland	1,022,915	+3.3%
12	Poland Estimated	849,320	+11.6%
13	Romania Estimated	723,913	+18.4%
14	Denmark	715,936	+1.1%
15	Hungary	593,937	+5.2%
16	Czechia	533,639	+5.2%
17	Croatia	486,390	-0.4%
18	Finland	393,555	+4.3%
19	Luxembourg	301,688	+3.8%
20	Slovenia	281,621	+6.2%
21	Latvia	236,953	-2%
22	Cyprus	208,687	+4.1%
23	Slovakia	198,429	+2.1%
24	Estonia	198,254	+0.2%
25	Bulgaria	176,321	+8.6%
26	Lithuania	153,697	+3.4%
27	Malta	118,994	+19.7%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_foreign_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2020.
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 15.04 million in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign-born population?

Malta, with 118,994 in 2020.

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.