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.
Sub-Saharan immigrants in the United States are also more highly educated than the U.S. native born population.
Nearly 13 million Syrians are displaced after seven years of conflict in their country. No nation in recent decades has had such a large percentage of its population displaced.
About half of those who applied for asylum in Europe during the refugee surge of 2015 and 2016 were still waiting to learn their fate as of the end of last year.
Roughly 20 million people who were born in a country now a part of the European Union have moved from their birth country and now live in another EU nation.
Millions of people around the world have migrated to the U.S. and other countries in recent years – some voluntarily, others to flee political turmoil, persecution or war.
With the number of displaced people in the world at more than 60 million in 2015, the plight of refugees has gained new prominence.
The UK has the fifth-largest immigrant population in the world, at 8.5 million.
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