EU countries by foreign-born population

Germany had the highest foreign-born population of 27 EU countries in 2024, at 16.88 million. Malta had the lowest, at 173,781. The median was 935,897. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest16,881,323Germany
Lowest173,781Malta
Median935,89727 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2024

Austria: 2,023,431 personsBelgium: 2,324,053 personsBulgaria: 211,839 personsCyprus: 259,939 personsCzechia: 1,069,593 personsGermany: 16,881,323 personsDenmark: 832,354 personsEstonia: 244,422 personsSpain: 8,838,234 personsFinland: 520,119 personsFrance: 9,362,105 personsGreece: 1,144,701 personsCroatia: 519,916 personsHungary: 677,036 personsIreland: 1,211,883 personsItaly: 6,673,604 personsLithuania: 268,299 personsLuxembourg: 342,943 personsLatvia: 225,320 personsMalta: 173,781 personsNetherlands: 2,914,939 personsPoland: 935,897 personsPortugal: 1,703,848 personsRomania: 1,080,457 personsSweden: 2,169,296 personsSlovenia: 319,914 personsSlovakia: 214,037 persons
  • Under 300K
  • 300K to 600K
  • 600K to 1.1M
  • 1.1M to 2.3M
  • 2.3M and over
persons, 2024. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2024

Germany: 16,881,323 personsGermany16,881,323France: 9,362,105 personsFrance9,362,105Spain: 8,838,234 personsSpain8,838,234Italy: 6,673,604 personsItaly6,673,604Netherlands: 2,914,939 personsNetherlands2,914,939Belgium: 2,324,053 personsBelgium2,324,053Sweden: 2,169,296 personsSweden2,169,296Austria: 2,023,431 personsAustria2,023,431Portugal: 1,703,848 personsPortugal1,703,848Ireland: 1,211,883 personsIreland1,211,883Greece: 1,144,701 personsGreece1,144,701Romania: 1,080,457 personsRomania1,080,457Czechia: 1,069,593 personsCzechia1,069,593Poland: 935,897 personsPoland935,897Denmark: 832,354 personsDenmark832,354Hungary: 677,036 personsHungary677,036Finland: 520,119 personsFinland520,119Croatia: 519,916 personsCroatia519,916Luxembourg: 342,943 personsLuxembourg342,943Slovenia: 319,914 personsSlovenia319,914Lithuania: 268,299 personsLithuania268,299Cyprus: 259,939 personsCyprus259,939Estonia: 244,422 personsEstonia244,422Latvia: 225,320 personsLatvia225,320Slovakia: 214,037 personsSlovakia214,037Bulgaria: 211,839 personsBulgaria211,839Malta: 173,781 personsMalta173,781Germany: 16,881,323 personsGermany16,881,323France: 9,362,105 personsFrance9,362,105Spain: 8,838,234 personsSpain8,838,234Italy: 6,673,604 personsItaly6,673,604Netherlands: 2,914,939 personsNetherlands2,914,939Belgium: 2,324,053 personsBelgium2,324,053Sweden: 2,169,296 personsSweden2,169,296Austria: 2,023,431 personsAustria2,023,431Portugal: 1,703,848 personsPortugal1,703,848Ireland: 1,211,883 personsIreland1,211,883Greece: 1,144,701 personsGreece1,144,701Romania: 1,080,457 personsRomania1,080,457Czechia: 1,069,593 personsCzechia1,069,593Poland: 935,897 personsPoland935,897Denmark: 832,354 personsDenmark832,354Hungary: 677,036 personsHungary677,036Finland: 520,119 personsFinland520,119Croatia: 519,916 personsCroatia519,916Luxembourg: 342,943 personsLuxembourg342,943Slovenia: 319,914 personsSlovenia319,914Lithuania: 268,299 personsLithuania268,299Cyprus: 259,939 personsCyprus259,939Estonia: 244,422 personsEstonia244,422Latvia: 225,320 personsLatvia225,320Slovakia: 214,037 personsSlovakia214,037Bulgaria: 211,839 personsBulgaria211,839Malta: 173,781 personsMalta173,781
persons. Source: Eurostat, Population on 1 January by group of country of birth, foreign country (migr_pop4ctb). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2024
persons
Change on 2023
1Germany Estimated16,881,323+3.2%
2France Provisional9,362,105+4.4%
3Spain8,838,234+7.7%
4Italy6,673,604+4%
5Netherlands2,914,939+5%
6Belgium2,324,053+3.4%
7Sweden2,169,296+1.2%
8Austria2,023,431+3.1%
9Portugal1,703,848-1.7%
10Ireland1,211,883+5.3%
11Greece1,144,701-1.7%
12Romania Estimated1,080,457+10.1%
13Czechia1,069,593+8%
14Poland Estimated935,897+0.3%
15Denmark832,354+3.5%
16Hungary677,036+5%
17Finland520,119+12.8%
18Croatia519,916+6%
19Luxembourg342,943+3%
20Slovenia319,914+3.4%
21Lithuania268,299+15.7%
22Cyprus259,939+5.1%
23Estonia244,422+4.1%
24Latvia225,320-4.1%
25Slovakia214,037+0.4%
26Bulgaria211,839+25.6%
27Malta173,781+13.3%

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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_foreign_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/foreign-born-population-number/eu-countries?period=2024.
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 16.88 million in 2024, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign-born population?

Malta, with 173,781 in 2024.

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