How European and U.S. unauthorized immigrant populations compare
The size of Europe’s unauthorized immigrant population in 2017 was less than half the number in the United States.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The size of Europe’s unauthorized immigrant population in 2017 was less than half the number in the United States.
The number of unauthorized immigrants living in Europe increased between 2014 and 2016, then leveled off to an estimated 3.9 million to 4.8 million in 2017, according to new estimates from Pew Research Center.
Most live in Germany, the UK, Italy and France, and about half had arrived in Europe in recent years. Overall, these migrants account for less than 1% of Europe’s total population.
In some EU nations, sizable minorities speak something other than their country’s national language in their household.
As the number of international migrants reaches new highs, people around the world show little appetite for more migration – both into and out of their countries.
A median of 23% in eight key countries in Western Europe name immigration as one of the top two problems facing their country.
Americans and Western Europeans have broadly similar views on certain social and political issues. For example, majorities of Americans and Western Europeans see immigrants as beneficial to their economies and support certain rights for gays and lesbians.
The differences over immigration policy between Germany’s Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union are also evident among backers of the parties.
People with populist views in Western Europe are more likely than those with mainstream views to distrust traditional institutions. While populist attitudes span the ideological spectrum in Western Europe, populist political parties are relatively unpopular in the region.
Sub-Saharan immigrants in the United States are also more highly educated than the U.S. native born population.
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