EU27 Member States granted citizenship to 735 000 persons in 2006
- EU Member States granted protection to 76 300 asylum seekers in 2008
- In 2006, about three million foreign immigrants settled in a country in the EU27
- Foreign citizens made up 6% of the EU27 population in 2008
- Malta has most asylum seekers per inhabitant in EU
- Employment rate in the EU27 rose to 65.4% in 2007 Rate for women rose to 58.3%
- Third of EU population could not afford unexpected expenditure in 2007
- Malta one of the worst countries in Europe for waste generation and recycling
- Slight decrease in nights spent in EU hotels in 2008
- EU total nights in hotels fell by 5% in 2009 & by non-residents by 9%
- EU statistics for International Women’s Day
- Around 600,000 prisoners in the EU27
- 17% of EU27 population at risk of poverty
- 64% of enterprises in the EU27 had a website and increased broadband access in 2008
- R&D expenditure in the EU27 stable at 1.85% of GDP in 2007
- Volume of retail trade down by 0.6% in euro area and by 1.0% in EU27
In 2006, 735 000 persons acquired citizenship of an EU27 Member State compared with 722 000 in 2005, 647 000 in 2003 and 483 000 in 1998. These new citizens in 2006 came mainly from non-EU27 Europe (27% of the total number of citizenships acquired), Africa (27%), Asia (22%) and North and South America (12%). Citizens of one EU27 Member State who acquired citizenship in another Member State accounted for 8% of the total.
This data on the acquisition of citizenship of the EU27 Member States is taken from a report issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
In many Member States, the citizenship of a child is determined by its parents’ citizenship, rather than its place of birth. Therefore acquisition of citizenship concerns not only migrants but also their descendents. The acquisition of citizenship can be considered as an important part of the migratory and integration processes.
Highest number of citizenships per resident foreigner granted in Sweden and Slovenia
In 2006, the highest number of citizenships were granted by the United Kingdom (154 000 persons), France (148 000) and Germany (125 000) Malta granted 474, which together accounted for nearly 60% of all citizenships granted by the EU27 Member States. The number of citizenships granted can be related to the number of resident foreigners i.e. non-nationals resident in the Member State. The highest rates were registered in Sweden (107 citizenships granted per 1 000 resident foreigners), Slovenia (65), the United Kingdom (45), Slovakia (44), Malta stood at 39.5, France, the Netherlands and Latvia (all 42). The lowest rates were recorded in Romania and Poland (1 each). The EU27 average was 26 citizenships granted per 1 000 resident foreigners.
When compared with the population of each Member State, the highest rates of citizenships granted were recorded in Latvia (8.3 citizenships granted per 1 000 inhabitants), Sweden (5.7), Cyprus (3.8), Estonia (3.6), Austria (3.1) and Belgium (3.0), Malta’s rate was 1.2. Eleven Member States granted less than one citizenship per 1 000 inhabitants, with the lowest rates observed in Lithuania, Poland and Romania. The EU27 average was 1.5 citizenships granted per 1 000 inhabitants.
Most citizenships acquired by Turks and Moroccans
In 2006, the largest groups acquiring citizenship of an EU27 Member State were citizens of Turkey (64 000 persons), Morocco (48 000), Iraq (23 000), Ecuador (21 000) and Serbia and Montenegro3 (20 000). For each of these five groups, a large proportion of the citizenships was granted by an individual Member State. Germany granted 52% of total EU27 citizenships acquired by Turks, France 46% of those acquired by Moroccans, Sweden 56% of those acquired by Iraqis, Spain 92% of those acquired by Ecuadorians and the United Kingdom 38% of those acquired by citizens of former Serbia and Montenegro.
In some Member States, a large proportion of those granted citizenship came from a single country. The Member States with the highest concentrations were Hungary (71% of the new citizens came from Romania), Slovenia (53% from Bosnia and Herzegovina), Bulgaria (44% from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and Poland (42% from Ukraine).
Loading ...