In 2014, nearly 890,000 persons acquired citizenship of an EU Member State, a decrease of 9% compared to 2013 (981,000 persons).
The most new citizenships were granted in:
- Spain (205,900 persons, or 23% of all citizenships granted in the EU in 2014)
- Italy (129,900 or 15%)
- United Kingdom (125,600 or 14%)
- Germany (110,600 or 12%) and
- France (105,600 or 12%)
Ireland granted citizenship to 21,104 persons in 2014, which was a slight decrease on 2013 figures (24,263 persons).
In 2014, the largest groups that acquired citizenship of an EU Member State were citizens of:
- Moroccans (92,700 or 10.4%)
- Albanians (41,700 or 4.6%)
- Turks (37,000 or 4.2%)
- Indians (35,300 or 4%)
- Ecuador (34,800 or 3.9%)
- Colombia (27,800 or 3.1%
- Pakistan (25,100 or 2.8%)
The two largest groups of EU citizens acquiring citizenship of another EU Member State for this period were:
- Romanians (24,300 persons) and
- Poles (16,100)
In Ireland, the largest groups that acquired citizenship in 2014 were citizens of:
- Nigeria (3,300 or 18.1%)
- India (2,900 or 16.2%)
- Philippines (2,200 or 12%)
- Pakistan (1,200 or 6.8%)
- China (600 or 3.2%)
When compared with the total population of each Member State, the highest rates of citizenships granted per inhabitants:
- Luxembourg (5.8 citizenships granted)
- Ireland (4.6)
- Sweden (4.5)
- Spain (4.4)
For more information:
See: Eurostat News Release – 113/2016
