In 2023, a total of 1.1 million people acquired citizenship of a European Union country, marking an increase of 6.1% on the previous year, according to recent data from Eurostat, the continent’s statistical office responsible for providing reliable and comparable statistical data within the European Union.
This increase – some 60,200 new EU citizens – reflects a trend towards growth in naturalizations in EU member states.
The countries granting the highest number of citizenships were Spain, Italy and Germany. Spain leads the way with 240,200 new citizenships, representing 22.9% of the EU total, followed by Italy (213,600, or 20.3%) and Germany (199,800, or 19%). These three countries largely dominate the figures, which can be attributed to their relatively open immigration policies and high numbers of foreign residents.
A two-faceted dynamic
The increase in naturalizations in 2023 reflects not only a more open migration policy in some European countries, but also a response to the demographic needs of these states. Access to citizenship enables immigrants to integrate better, while supporting the workforce and contributing to the economy. However, these trends also raise the question of how to manage immigration and integration processes in a European context sometimes marked by debates on national sovereignty and socio-economic challenges.
Flory Musiswa