Migrant surge drives European big increases in immigrant share for several European countries Percentage point change in share of population that is Joreign born, 2015 to 2016
Recent migrants added to already substantial foreign-born populations living in Sweden, Norway and Austria – all nations in which the foreign born make up 15% or more of the population in 2016. Sweden had the greatest increase, rising from about 16.8% in 2015 to 18.3% in 2016, a 1.5-percentage-point increase. The foreign-born shares in Norway (15.3% in 2016) and Austria (18.5% in 2016) increased by about 1 point over the same period.
Countries with smaller immigrant populations like Hungary and Finland also saw their foreign-born shares increase significantly due to the 2015-2016 migration surge. Hungary’s foreign-born share rose from 4.6% in 2015 to 5.8% in 2016, a 1.3-point increase. In Finland, the share of foreign born rose an estimated 0.8 points, from 5.7% to 6.5%.
Several European countries, however, saw little change in their percent foreign born between 2015 and 2016. The United Kingdom and France – countries with significant immigrant populations – received far fewer asylum applicants relative to their population size in 2015-16 than other countries, and each saw a relatively modest 0.2-percentage-point increase in their foreign-born shares (to 13.4% in the UK and 12.3% in France for 2016).
Migrant surge drives European big increases in immigrant  | share for several European countries  | Percentage point change in share of population that is Joreign  | born, 2015 to 2016  | 2015 2016 point  | percentage change point  | change  | Finland  | Norway)  | +1.0 to +1.5  | Sweden  | +0.5 +0.9  | Estonia  | +0.1 to +0.4  | Latvia  | Denm  | Lithuania  | .0.5 to 0.1  | Ireland  | Netherlands  | UK  | Poland  | Germany  | Czech  | Siovakia  | Republic  | Belgium  | Hunga  | Austriaf  | France  | Romania  | ovenia  | Switzerland  | Croatia  | Bulgaria  | Portuga  | Spain  | Greece  | Cyprus  | Malta  | 20115-2016  | 2016  | percent  | percentage  | point change  | foreign born  | Sweden  | 1.5  | 18 3%  | Hungary  | 1.3  | 5.8  | Austria  | 18.  | Norway  | 15.3  | Finland  | 0.8  | 6.5  | Switzerland  | 0.8  | 30.1  | Belgium  | 13. (  | 0.8  | Germany  | 15.6  | 0.  | Malta  | 0.  | 10.5  | Denmark  | 10.6  | Q.5  | Netherlands  | 0.3  | 12.0  | All countries  | 11.3  | 0.3  | Bulgaria  | 1.8  | 0.3  | UK  | 13.4  | 0.2  | France  |  | 12.3  | Portugal  | 8.3  | 0.2  | Cyprus  | 17.0  | 0.1  | Italy  | 9.8  |  | Slovakia  | 3.4  | 0.1  | Greece  | 11.4  | 0.1  | Romania  | 1.2  | 0.1  | 13.7  | Croatia  | Q.1  | Czech Republic  | 3.9  | Ireland  | 15.9 1.6  | Poland  | 15.9 1.6  | Lithuania  | 4.6  | --0.1  | 12.6  | Spain  | -0  | Slovenia  | 11.3  | 0.1  | Estonia  | 15.3  | 0.2  | 13.0  | Latvia  | 0.3  | 1.5  | 1.0  | Notes: Percentage point change based on differences between 2015 and 2016  | percent immigrant each country. Numerator for immigrant percentages in 2016  | based on total international migrant population estimated by the UN in 2015  | plus number asylum applications from July 2015 through May 2016 (number  | asylum seekers for April through May 2016 unava ilable for many countries).  | Annua increase, decrease non-asylum seeker migrants based on change in  | total number of international migrants from 2010-15 was also added change to the  | numerator Denominator based on the UN 2016 population estimate without  | migration plus newly arrived migrants estimated in the numerator. Estimates are  | midyear. Shading reflects rounded numbers; rankings for the bar chart are based  | on unrounded numbers.  | Source: Pew Research Center estimates based on analysis of United Nations data  | and Eurostat data accessed June 13. 2016  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 