About 1% of the Population in Bulgaria are Citizens of non-EU Countries

Society | March 18, 2019, Monday // 13:52
Bulgaria: About 1% of the Population in Bulgaria are Citizens of non-EU Countries

As of January 1, 2018, around 71,000 citizens from non-EU countries resided in Bulgaria, accounting for about 1 percent of the Bulgarian population of 7,050,000 at that date. This shows data from a Eurostat analysis of migration processes in the countries of the Community as of 1 January 2018.

At the same time, some 13,000 citizens from EU-28 countries resided in the country, which accounts for only 0.2 per cent of the Bulgarian population. There are also 1 870 foreigners who have stayed without a nationality in Bulgaria, shows European statistics.

According to the analysis in the top 5 of the countries that had the largest number of residents residing here - the largest group was Russia - about 22 thousand people. The following groups are represented by Turkey and Syria - about 12,800 people, Ukraine - about 6,000 people and other countries.

At the same time, Bulgaria has been among the countries in the community with relatively low migratory pressures over the past one or two years - in 2018 a total of 2,536 people have sought protection, with only 317 being granted refugee status, and 1 362 people did not get such status.

For the first month of this year, only 147 sought protection, 26 of whom were granted refugee status.

A total of 4.4 million people emigrated to one of the EU-28 Member States in 2017, according to Eurostat data. Of these 4.4 million migrants in 2017, there were approximately 2.1 million non-EU nationals. Another 2.3 million citizens with EU citizenship have internally migrated to one of the countries in the community.

Germany reports the largest number of emigrants in 2017 - 560 thousand, followed by Spain - 369 thousand, Great Britain - 359 thousand and France - 312 thousand.

In absolute terms, the largest number of foreigners living in one of the EU Member States on 1 January 2018 are Germany - 9.7 million, the UK - 6.3 million, Italy 5.1 million, France - 4.7 million, and Spain - 4.6 million.

The number of persons who acquired citizenship in an EU Member State in 2017 was approximately 825,000, down 17% from 2016.

Italy had the largest number of people who acquired citizenship in 2017 - nearly 147,000 or 18 percent of the EU-28 total. The next highest levels of citizenship acquisition are registered in the UK - 123 thousand, Germany - 115 thousand, France - 114 thousand and Sweden - 69 thousand.

In relative terms, the EU Member State with the highest share of foreign nationals was Luxembourg, as foreigners account for about 48 per cent of the total population.

At the other end, there are several countries where foreigners account for about one percent or more of their population - Poland and Romania - 0.6 percent in both countries, Lithuania - 0.9 percent, Bulgaria - about 1.2 percent.

Free movement of people in the EU potentially increases social and cultural interactions within the community and closer ties between EU citizens.

In addition, mutual economic benefits for businesses and consumers are created, and an opportunity for refugees to reach Europe through legal and safe ways ensures that the responsibility for relocation is fairly shared between Member States, Eurostat reports.

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