Five countries showed the largest increase in the number of new passports during the year:
– France — 43,900 more than in 2020;
– Germany — 18 800 more;
– Spain — 17 700 more;
– Sweden — 9 200 more;
– Austria — by 7 200 more.
Most of all decreased compared to 2020:
– Italy — 10,300 fewer foreigners received Italian citizenship;
– Portugal — 7 600 less;
– Greece — 3,200 less;
– Finland — 1 200 less
– Cyprus — 800 fewer.
In total, ten countries in the European Union saw a decrease in the number of foreigners who acquired citizenship.
Most — 85 percent — of those who acquired EU citizenship in 2021 were previously third-country nationals or stateless.
As of January 1, 2022, 94.6 percent of the EU population were citizens of the European Union.
According to Eurostat, the main recipients of EU citizenship in 2021 were citizens of Morocco, Syria and Albania.
The statement says: “In 2021, as in 2020, Moroccans were the largest group of new citizens of the European Union — 86,200 people. Of these, 71% acquired the citizenship of Spain or France.
In second place are the Syrians — 83 & nbsp; 500 people. 70% of them went to live in Sweden and the Netherlands. And out of 32,200 Albanians, 70% became Italian citizens.
Followed by: Romanians (28,600), Turks (25,700), Brazilians (20,400), Algerians (19,300), Ukrainians (18,200 ), Russians (17,300) and Pakistanis (16,600).
The Spanish authorities granted the largest number of citizenships in 2021 — 144,000 or 17% of the total in EU countries, followed by France — 130,400 or 16%, Italy — 121 500 or 15%, Sweden — 89400; eleven%.