Net migration was strongly positive overall in 2024
Across comparable countries in the dataset, the combined net migration balance reached 2,498,815 in 2024.
Net migration across Europe
Migration balances and Europe’s changing population map
This page tracks net migration plus statistical adjustment across European countries from 2000 to 2024. The indicator shows the contribution of migration and statistical adjustment to population change in a given year.
The time series highlights how strongly migration can reshape national population trends. Across countries with data available for both 2000 and 2024, the combined net migration balance increased from 725,146 to 2,498,815. The latest year was dominated by large positive balances in Spain, Germany, Italy and France.
Explore the data
Key insights
Large countries shaped the latest balance
Spain, Germany, Italy and France recorded the largest positive net migration balances in 2024.
Long-term migration gains were highly concentrated
Spain, Germany, Italy and France together accounted for 72.7% of the combined net migration balance across comparable countries over the full period.
Key comparisons
Selected highlights from the net migration dataset, 2000–2024.
Extended analysis
1) Net migration became a major contributor to population change
Across countries with data available in both 2000 and 2024, the combined net migration balance increased from 725,146 to 2,498,815. This rise of 1,773,669 shows how strongly migration-related population change expanded over the full period.
The indicator used here is Eurostat’s net migration plus statistical adjustment. It is best read as the overall contribution of migration and statistical adjustment to population change, rather than as a direct count of recorded immigration minus recorded emigration.
2) The largest positive balances in 2024 were recorded in major destination countries
In 2024, the highest net migration balances in the dataset were recorded in Spain (624,658), Germany (451,736), Italy (255,399), France (195,393) and Portugal (143,641).
These countries show how migration can strongly affect population size in a single year. Large positive values reflect the overall migration-related contribution to population change after statistical adjustment.
3) Only a few countries recorded negative values in the latest year
The lowest net migration balances in 2024 were recorded in Latvia (-4,236), Liechtenstein (832), Estonia (1,374), Slovakia (2,399) and Hungary (4,086).
A negative value means that migration and statistical adjustment reduced the population in that year. Small positive values indicate only a limited contribution of migration to population growth.
4) Long-term cumulative gains were concentrated in a few large countries
Over the period 2000–2024, the largest cumulative net migration gains were recorded in Spain (+8.3M), Germany (+7.4M), Italy (+4.9M), France (+3.0M) and Switzerland (+1.5M).
The concentration of long-term gains reflects a combination of country size, labour-market attractiveness, migration systems, demographic pressures and wider European mobility patterns.
5) Some countries recorded cumulative net losses over the full period
The largest cumulative net migration losses between 2000 and 2024 were recorded in Romania (-1.9M), Poland (-878,912), Lithuania (-287,707), Latvia (-265,347) and Croatia (-134,916).
These cumulative figures show how migration can reinforce long-term population decline in some countries, especially when negative migration balances occur alongside natural decrease.
How to read this indicator
Net migration measures the difference between people moving into and out of a country. Eurostat publishes this indicator as net migration plus statistical adjustment, because migration records are not always complete or directly comparable across countries. Statistical adjustments help reconcile total population change with births, deaths and recorded migration.
Positive values indicate that migration and statistical adjustment increased the population during the year, while negative values indicate the opposite. Countries in the time series are ranked from the highest to the lowest net migration balance. This ranking does not imply that higher or lower values are inherently better, because migration reflects demographic, economic, political and statistical factors.
Data for Bulgaria are available from 2001 onwards. Comparisons covering the full 2000–2024 period therefore include only countries with data available for both the first and last year of the period. Bulgaria is excluded from rankings and averages covering the full period.