The number of foreign born people living in the European Union rose to a record 64.2 million in 2025, confirming a sustained increase in migration across the bloc, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The figure compares with around 40 million in 2010 and represents growth of approximately 2.1 million compared with 2024. The findings are contained in a report by the Centre for Research and Analysis on Migration at RFBerlin, based on data from Eurostat and the UN Refugee Agency.
Germany remains the main host country
Germany continues to host the largest immigrant population in the European Union in absolute terms. Nearly 18 million foreign born people were living in the country in 2025, up from around 10 million in 2010, representing an increase of roughly 70 per cent.
Immigrants now account for 21.2 per cent of Germany’s population, with 72 per cent of them of working age. Between 2024 and 2025, the number of foreign born residents in Germany grew by about 300,000, an increase of 1.7 per cent, around half the EU average growth rate of 3.4 per cent.
Germany also hosts the largest refugee population in absolute numbers, with an estimated 2.7 million refugees.
Spain recorded the fastest recent growth among large member states, with its foreign born population increasing by around 700,000 during 2024 to reach 9.5 million in 2025. This corresponds to an annual rise of 8 per cent, more than double the EU average.
Smaller states show higher population shares
Although Germany leads in total numbers, several smaller EU member states have significantly higher proportions of foreign born residents relative to their population.
Luxembourg records the highest share, with immigrants accounting for around 52 per cent of its population, well above the EU average of approximately 14 per cent. It is followed by Malta, where foreign born residents represent about 32 per cent of the population, and Cyprus at 28 per cent.
Ireland and Austria also report relatively high shares, with immigrants making up around 23 per cent of the population in each country. In contrast, Lithuania, Hungary and Romania have foreign born populations below 10 per cent, while Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland record the lowest levels, each below 5 per cent.
Asylum applications fall sharply
Despite the overall rise in the EU’s foreign born population, the number of asylum applications declined markedly in 2025.
A total of 669,365 asylum applications were submitted across the EU, a decrease of 26.6 per cent compared with 2024. Spain, Italy, France and Germany together accounted for nearly three quarters of all applications.
While Germany hosts the largest refugee population in absolute terms, Cyprus records the highest share of refugees relative to its population, at 4.8 per cent. This compares with 3.2 per cent in Germany and 0.5 per cent in Italy, the EU country with the lowest relative share.
Source: Dw