Who leaves Europe
Three different things, often confused: return orders issued, returns actually carried out, and people who simply go and live elsewhere. The largest of the three has nothing to do with the other two.
Three numbers that do not add up
156,000 of 486,705 orders were carried out: 32 in every hundred.
2025 · EurostatEmigration is a different thing and does not add to returns: it is largely EU citizens moving between member states or going back to their country of origin. In 2024 it was 3,166,449 people, against 156,000 returns carried out — twenty times as many.
People entering and leaving the Union, by year
People who take up residence in an EU country each year coming from outside it, and those who leave in the same year. Both include EU citizens moving between member states.
The gap between the two lines is net migration: how much the Union’s population grows or shrinks through movement, before births and deaths. Neither line should be set against returns, which measure something else.
View the data as a table
| Period | people |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 2,901,962 |
| 2014 | 3,187,841 |
| 2015 | 4,097,244 |
| 2016 | 3,735,536 |
| 2017 | 3,766,413 |
| 2018 | 3,936,055 |
| 2019 | 4,206,293 |
| 2020 | 3,279,673 |
| 2021 | 4,132,213 |
| 2022 | 6,997,284 |
| 2023 | 6,011,360 |
| 2024 | 5,684,984 |
Country by country
| Country | Orders | Carried out | Emigrated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 53,700 | 5,705 | 662,294 |
| Germany | 55,240 | 36,075 | 584,230 |
| France | 137,550 | 18,930 | 263,233 |
| Romania | 2,860 | 1,800 | 215,191 |
| Poland | 14,760 | 9,700 | 205,869 |
| Italy | 21,295 | 4,780 | 188,903 |
| Netherlands | 31,230 | 4,970 | 140,087 |
| Belgium | 25,340 | 5,245 | 100,100 |
| Czechia | 5,250 | 3,255 | 88,379 |
| Sweden | 18,340 | 13,990 | 86,449 |
| Hungary | 9,080 | 4,335 | 84,286 |
| Austria | 11,165 | 8,045 | 81,477 |
| Greece | 26,635 | 5,080 | 78,014 |
| Denmark | 2,280 | 975 | 69,467 |
| Ireland | 6,260 | 2,050 | 58,077 |
| Croatia | 11,330 | 6,620 | 38,997 |
| Portugal | 18,245 | 825 | 33,916 |
| Lithuania | 4,900 | 4,555 | 28,705 |
| Cyprus | 15,185 | 10,630 | 26,883 |
| Malta | 1,090 | 1,065 | 23,419 |
| Slovenia | 880 | 490 | 21,491 |
| Latvia | 2,640 | 2,280 | 18,937 |
| Estonia | 660 | 660 | 17,260 |
| Finland | 5,070 | 1,915 | 16,914 |
| Luxembourg | 1,340 | 390 | 16,444 |
| Bulgaria | 3,880 | 1,205 | 13,002 |
| Slovakia | 500 | 425 | 4,425 |
For each EU country: return orders issued and carried out in 2025, and people who emigrated in 2024.
The two return columns must be read together: a country that issues many orders and carries out few is not a country with many returns. Emigration is from a different year because Eurostat publishes it later, and should not be compared with the first two.
View the data as a table
| Country | Emigrated |
|---|---|
| Spain | 662,294 |
| Germany | 584,230 |
| France | 263,233 |
| Romania | 215,191 |
| Poland | 205,869 |
| Italy | 188,903 |
| Netherlands | 140,087 |
| Belgium | 100,100 |
| Czechia | 88,379 |
| Sweden | 86,449 |
| Hungary | 84,286 |
| Austria | 81,477 |
| Greece | 78,014 |
| Denmark | 69,467 |
| Ireland | 58,077 |
| Croatia | 38,997 |
| Portugal | 33,916 |
| Lithuania | 28,705 |
| Cyprus | 26,883 |
| Malta | 23,419 |
| Slovenia | 21,491 |
| Latvia | 18,937 |
| Estonia | 17,260 |
| Finland | 16,914 |
| Luxembourg | 16,444 |
| Bulgaria | 13,002 |
| Slovakia | 4,425 |
Why this has a page of its own: the home page answers one question, how many arrive and from where. Those who leave matter just as much, but mixing both directions in the same screen forces you to explain two phenomena before either one is clear.