New analysis shows rapid growth across Europe, with uneven distribution and rising policy debates over long-term impacts.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The number of foreign-born residents across the European Union has climbed to more than 64 million, representing roughly 14 percent of the bloc’s population in 2025, according to a report highlighted by The Epoch Times.
The findings are detailed in a study titled “The Immigrant Population in the European Union: Growth, Concentration and Dispersion,” authored by economists Tommaso Frattini and Camilla Piovesan and based on data from Eurostat and the United Nations refugee agency. The analysis documents a sustained rise in migration across the EU’s 27 member states, increasing from approximately 40 million foreign-born residents in 2010 to 64 million in 2025.
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The most recent figures show an increase of 2.1 million people between 2024 and 2025, following a larger jump of 2.6 million the year prior. Among those included in the data are approximately 4.35 million individuals from Ukraine granted temporary protection status within the EU as of December 2025.
Germany remains the largest host country in absolute terms, with its foreign-born population rising to nearly 18 million. France and Spain each report populations between 9.5 million and 9.6 million, while Italy stands at about 6.9 million.
Spain recorded the fastest growth rate among major EU countries, adding roughly 700,000 foreign-born residents in a single year—an increase of about 8 percent. That rise accounted for nearly one-third of the EU’s total annual increase. Earlier in April, Spain’s government approved plans to grant legal status to approximately 500,000 individuals without legal residency.
When measured as a share of national populations, smaller countries rank highest. Luxembourg leads with more than half its population born abroad, followed by Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, and Austria. Larger nations such as Germany and Spain also show elevated shares, while countries in Eastern Europe, including Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, remain below 5 percent.
Asylum applications are concentrated in a limited number of countries. In 2025, the EU recorded more than 669,000 first-time asylum claims, with Spain, Italy, France, and Germany accounting for roughly three-quarters of the total. Germany also hosts the largest refugee population in the EU, at approximately 2.7 million.
The report does not provide a detailed breakdown of countries of origin for the full foreign-born population. However, some analysts have pointed to migration flows from regions including the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Africa as major contributors to recent growth.
Additional estimates suggest that broader measures of population background, including individuals with immigrant parents, may be significantly higher than foreign-born figures alone. Data from Germany’s statistical office indicates that more than 26 percent of its population is either foreign-born or has two immigrant parents, while similar estimates in France place that figure near 30 percent over multiple generations.
Researchers note that the speed of demographic change, rather than its overall scale, is a defining characteristic of recent trends. Some countries have seen foreign-born population shares rise sharply within a single generation, including Portugal and Sweden.
The report also highlights challenges in measuring demographic shifts consistently across Europe, as some countries do not collect data on ethnicity or ancestry, limiting the ability to fully assess long-term population changes.
Analysts say the findings are likely to influence policy discussions across the EU, particularly as governments evaluate immigration levels, integration strategies, and long-term demographic impacts.
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