Cyprus ranked third in the European Union (E.U.) in 2021 for foreign-born citizens and migrant arrivals relative to its population, data released by Eurostat show.
According to the data, 27 migrants per 1000 people arrived in Cyprus from countries outside the E.U. in 2021.
Cyprus was also third in the E.U. for the number of citizens who were foreign-born, as more than a fifth of its population (22.7%) were born in other E.U. members or non-E.U. countries.
Also, Cyprus is the country with the second largest share of citizens born in other E.U. member states (10.6%) but is fifth regarding the share of citizens born in non-E.U. countries (12.2%).
In relative terms in 2021, there was an estimated 5 immigrants per 1000 people in the E.U. Relative to the size of the resident population, Luxembourg recorded the highest rate of immigration in 2021 (almost 40 immigrants per 1000 people), followed by Malta (35) and Cyprus (27).
In contrast, Slovakia registered the lowest rate of immigration, with 1 immigrant per 1000 people. This country was followed by Portugal and France, each with 5 immigrants per 1000 people.
In terms of population, on 1 January 2022, almost half (49.4%) of the population in Luxembourg was foreign-born. Luxembourg was followed by Malta (23.6%) and Cyprus (22.7%) as the EU members with the highest shares of foreign-born population.
In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in Romania (1.7%), Poland (2.5%) and Bulgaria (3.2%).
In absolute terms, the biggest populations of foreign-born citizens (from other E.U. members and non-E.U. countries) were registered in Germany (15.3 million people), France (8.7 million) and Spain (7.4 million).
In relative terms, Luxembourg had by far the biggest community of citizens born in another EU country, 33.8%, followed by Cyprus with 10.6% and Austria with 9.3%. Belgium and Malta also registered high shares of citizens born in other EU countries, with 7.9% each.
Poland and Lithuania, on the other hand, had the smallest shares of citizens born in other E.U. countries, with only 0.6% each. Bulgaria and Romania also recorded low values, with 1.0% each.
When it comes to citizens born in non-EU countries, the highest shares were recorded in Malta (15.7%), closely followed by Luxembourg (15.6%). These two EU members were followed by Sweden (14.9%), Estonia (13.1%) and Cyprus (12.2%).
Registering the lowest shares of non-EU-born citizens were Romania (0.7%), Slovakia (1.0%), Poland (1.9%), Bulgaria (2.2%) and Hungary (2.9%).
Some other interesting trends were observed: in Germany, France, Spain, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia, the number of non-E.U.-born citizens increased while the number of citizens born in other E.U. countries decreased.