Citizens of European countries account for the majority of the foreign population in EU-27 in 2008

The population of the European Union (EU) has increased significantly in recent years. This trend is mainly due to a relatively high net migration rate, which in 2008 was almost three times higher than the rate of natural population growth. Migration plays a significant role in population dynamics of European societies, so quantifying the non-national population residing in the countries of the EU is important. This issue presents the latest available figures on the foreign population usually resident in the EU-27 and EFTA Member States, broken down by country of citizenship.