The foreign population resident in Luxembourg currently numbers over 296,465, corresponding to 47.4% of the total population (compared to 13.2% in 1961). That means there are currently almost as many immigrants as there are native citizens. These immigrants are overwhelmingly nationals of EU countries (accounting for over 80%), by far the greater part of whom originally come from Portugal, Italy and the two neighbouring countries, France and Belgium. For some years, there has also been a large increase in the number of immigrants and asylum seekers from the countries of Eastern Europe, and especially the new republics to have emerged from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro). These immigrants include a considerable proportion of young people. Immigrants (especially asylum seekers) have a strong impact on the birth rate, accounting for nearly 50% of births in Luxembourg.