A new Eurostat release shows that in 2012, 818,000 persons acquired the citizenship of an EU28 Member State, an increase of 4% compared to 2011. The main contribution to the increase in persons acquiring EU Member State citizenship came from:
- UK (an increase of 16,300 from 2011)
- Ireland (an increase of 14,300)[1]
- Sweden (an increase 13,500)
The Member States with the highest number of persons granted citizenship were:
- United Kingdom (193,900 persons or 23.7% of all citizenships granted in the EU28 in 2012)
- Germany (114,600 or 14%)
- France (96,100 or 12%)
- Spain (94,100 or 12%)
- Italy (65,400 or 8%) and
- Sweden (50,200 or 6%)
Ireland granted citizenship to 25,000 persons in 2012, which represents an increase of 57 per cent on 2011 figures (10,700 persons).
When compared with the total population of each Member State, the highest rates of citizenship granted were recorded in:
- Luxembourg (8.7 per thousand persons)
- Ireland (5.5)
- Sweden (5.3)
- Belgium (3.5)
- United Kingdom (3.0)
In 2012, the largest groups that acquired citizenship of an EU28 Member State were citizens of:
- Moroccans (59 300 or 7%)
- Turks (53 800 or 7%)
- Indians (36 900 or 5%)
- Ecuadorians (28 900 or 4%)
- Iraqis (27 500 or 3%)
- Albanians (25 400 or 3%)
- Pakistanis (25 300 or 3%)
In Ireland, the largest groups that acquired citizenship in the same period were citizens of:
- Nigeria (5,700 or 24%)
- Philippines (3,800 or 16%)
- India (2,600 or 11 %)
- Pakistan (1,300 or 6%)
- Ukraine (800 or 4%)
For more information:
[1] The increase in Ireland is partly a consequence of the efforts in the past two years to reduce the backlog of citizenship applications.
