Migrants: in 2024, the EU welcomed 4.2 million people, but those born abroad face greater discrimination: Eurostat data

Brussels – In 2024, the European Union remained a key destination for global migration flows, but data from the European Statistical Office, Eurostat, reveal that real integration faces an obstacle course of differing perceptions and unequal treatment. The 2024 demographic picture shows a continent that mainly welcomes people from outside its borders: of the over 5.7 million new arrivals, 4.2 million come from non-EU countries, while 1.5 million people previously residing in an EU country have emigrated to another EU country. These two figures do not include asylum seekers and/or refugees from Ukraine who benefit from temporary protection in certain countries. In addition, around 3.2 million people emigrated to another EU country or to a country outside the EU. Of these, around 1.6 million people left an EU country to migrate to a non-EU country. By way of comparison, in 2023, an estimated 4.4 million immigrants from non-EU countries arrived in the EU, and 1.5 million people previously residing in an EU country emigrated to another EU country. In 2023, approximately 1.5 million people emigrated from the EU to a country outside the Union. 

However, the migratory push of 2024 is not evenly distributed. While smaller countries such as Malta (60 immigrants per thousand people), Cyprus (42 immigrants per thousand people) and Luxembourg (38 immigrants per thousand people) have the highest immigration rates in relation to their resident populations, large countries such as Italy and France have a lower density of arrivals (approximately 8 and 6 immigrants per thousand residents, respectively), despite being among the countries with the highest number of immigrants. Spain recorded the highest total number of arrivals (1,288,600), followed by Germany (1,078,500), Italy (451,600), and France (438,600). In particular, in almost all EU countries, the total number of immigrants from non-EU countries in 2024 was higher than the number of immigrants from other EU countries. The only exceptions were Luxembourg (with 85.5% of immigrants coming from other EU countries) and Romania (56.0%). The highest percentages of immigrants from non-EU countries were recorded in the Czech Republic (87.0%), Italy (86.2%) and Spain (84.5%). 

However, Spain and Germany also recorded the highest number of emigrants in 2024 (662,300 and 584,200, respectively), followed by France (263,200). In 2024, all EU countries with available data, except Latvia, reported more immigration than emigration. The highest relative decreases between 2023 and 2024 were observed in Estonia (-29.4 per cent), Lithuania (-22.3 per cent), and Latvia (-21.4 per cent), while the largest increases were observed in Sweden (22.9 per cent), Slovakia (15.2 per cent), and Greece (11.2 per cent).

Greater discrimination against people born abroad

Once they have settled in a new country, those born abroad find themselves confronted with a daily reality different from that of native-born citizens. The most striking difference emerges in the property market: 12.5 per cent of those born abroad say they have felt discriminated against when looking for a home, almost triple the 4.3 per cent recorded among those living in their country of birth. This suggests that access to housing is the main barrier for those seeking to settle in a new social context. Interaction with the bureaucratic machine and spaces of collective life also reflects this asymmetry. Almost one in ten immigrants (9.7 per cent) perceive unfair treatment by public services or administrative offices, while the percentage among natives was 4.5 per cent. A sense of exclusion in common places such as bars, shops or sports centres is felt by 7.8 per cent, which is 5 percentage points higher than the discrimination perceived by natives (2.8 per cent). On the contrary, the school environment appears to be the most protected and inclusive: here, the difference between the two groups’ perceptions narrows (4.3 per cent versus 2.3 per cent), indicating that educational institutions are better able to level out differences in origin.

Geographically, the phenomenon of perceived discrimination does not follow a linear distribution. Countries with advanced welfare systems, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland, paradoxically show the widest gaps: in these countries, those born abroad perceive a much higher level of discrimination in public spaces than locals, with differences exceeding 10 percentage points. In particular, when considering discrimination in public places specifically, the five countries with the highest percentages among those born abroad are also those with the largest gaps in self-perceived discrimination between foreigners and natives. The Netherlands ranked first, with 16.2 per cent among those born abroad compared to 5 per cent among natives (a difference of 11.2 percentage points), followed by Austria (13.9 per cent versus 6.1 per cent), Denmark (13.1 per cent versus 5.3 per cent), Finland (13.1 per cent versus 2.4 per cent), and Portugal (10.8 per cent versus 1.8 per cent). At the opposite end of the spectrum, countries such as Croatia (0.8 per cent for those born abroad compared to 0.7 per cent for native-born citizens) and Estonia (6.7 per cent compared to 6.4 per cent) show a situation of substantial parity in perceptions, with almost identical percentages between the two groups. Estonia (6.7 per cent versus 6.4 per cent) shows a substantial degree of parity in perceptions, with almost identical percentages between the two groups. The 2024 data paint a picture of a European Union capable of attracting millions of people, but where “place of birth” remains a determining factor in everyday life, profoundly influencing new citizens’ perceptions of welcome and equal treatment.