Croatia ranks 6th in EU for immigration per capita
- by croatiaweek
- in News
Croatia remains among the European Union’s leading destinations for immigrants relative to its population, according to the latest data released by Eurostat.
In 2024, 70,400 people moved to Croatia, placing the country sixth in the EU in terms of immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants, Večernji list writes.
Across the EU, 4.2 million people migrated from outside the bloc in 2024, bringing the number of residents born outside the EU to 46.7 million, or 10.4% of the total population at the start of 2025.
Immigration Rate Higher Than EU Average
On average, nine immigrants per 1,000 residents moved to EU countries in 2024.
In Croatia, that figure was 18 immigrants per 1,000 residents, double the EU average.
Only five EU countries recorded higher rates:
• Malta – 60 immigrants per 1,000 residents
• Cyprus – 42
• Luxembourg – 38
• Spain – 26
• Ireland – 24
Large differences remain across the EU. Countries with the lowest immigration rates included Slovakia with just one immigrant per 1,000 residents, followed by France with 6.4, while Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria and Poland each recorded eight immigrants per 1,000 residents.
Who Is Moving to Croatia?
Of the 70,400 people who moved to Croatia in 2024:
• 13,300 were Croatian citizens returning or relocating
• Nearly 5,000 were EU citizens
• 52,300 were citizens of non-EU countries
The largest numbers of newcomers came from:
• Nepal
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Germany
• Serbia
• India
It is important to note that these figures do not include all foreign workers who received work and residence permits in 2024, as the statistics only count those who stayed in Croatia for at least one year and therefore become part of the permanent population statistics.
At the beginning of 2025, Croatia had just over 153,000 foreign citizens living in the country, representing around 4% of the population, with around 130,000 coming from outside the EU.
Spain and Germany Lead in Total Numbers
When looking at absolute numbers rather than rates, Spain recorded the highest number of immigrants in 2024 with 1.3 million arrivals, followed by Germany with 1.1 million.
They were followed by:
• Italy – 452,000 immigrants
• France – around 439,000 immigrants
However, Spain and Germany also recorded the largest number of emigrants, with 662,000 leaving Spain and 584,000 departing Germany.
Overall, immigration fell in two-thirds of EU member states compared with 2023, although nearly every country except Latvia still recorded more people arriving than leaving.
Majority of Immigrants Are Men
Across the EU, 55% of immigrants were men in 2024.
Croatia had the highest share of male immigrants in the EU, with 73.6% of arrivals being men.
It was followed by:
• Lithuania – 71.6% male immigrants
• Romania – nearly two-thirds male
In contrast, the highest share of female immigrants was recorded in:
• France – 52.3%
• Sweden – 51.7%
• Czech Republic – 50.3%
Romania ranked second in the EU, after Luxembourg, for the share of immigrants arriving from other EU countries, accounting for 56% of its arrivals.
In 2024, 1.5 million people migrated between EU countries.🛂
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) February 27, 2026
The highest share of immigrants in the EU from other EU countries was in: 🇱🇺Luxembourg (85.5% of immigrants from other EU countries).
Lowest in: 🇨🇿Czechia (87.0%).
Read more 👉https://t.co/dtdUftHx3v pic.twitter.com/EWPAvvzEE1
However, the majority were Romanian citizens returning home, highlighting a growing trend in recent years as the country’s economy improves.
Within the EU, around 1.5 million people moved from one member state to another in 2024.
Importantly, the 4.2 million immigrants recorded entering the EU in 2024 do not include Ukrainian refugees under temporary protection or asylum seekers, who are counted separately.
