The foreign‑born population of the EU grew to around 64 million in 2025. Germany remains the biggest host of immigrants in absolute terms, but some smaller nations have a much higher percentage of foreign-born residents.
https://p.dw.com/p/5CcftThe EU's immigrant population has grown to a record levelImage: Wolfgang Maria Weber/IMAGOAdvertisementThe number of foreign-born people living in the EU reached a record high of 64.2 million in 2025, according to a report released Wednesday.
That figure compares with 40 million in 2010 and represents a growth of about 2.1 million from 2024, according to the report by the Centre for Research and Analysis on Migration at RFBerlin.
The report draws on Eurostat and UN Refugee Agency data for its conclusions.
Germany still has the largest immigrant population in the EU, with nearly 18 million foreign-born people residing in the country, up from 10 million in 2010 — an increase of around 70%.
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Although Germany leads the way in absolute immigration figures, several smaller countries have larger relative exposures.
In 2025, the total number of asylum applications in the EU amounted to 669,365, a decrease of 26.6% compared with 2024.
