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Immigration to Europe

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Europe is a target of immigration. Luxembourg with 37% immigrant population (out of 0.48 million) and Switzerland with 23% (out of 7.5 million total) have fractions of immigrants only exceeded in Europe's microstates.[1] Immigrant populations between 10% and 20% are found in Latvia (19%), Estonia (15%), Austria (15%), Ukraine (15%), Croatia (15%), Ireland (14%), Moldova (13%), Germany (12%), Sweden (12%), Belarus (12%), Spain (11%), France (10%) and the Netherlands (10%).[2]

Immigrants fall into the categories of migrant/foreign workers (both legal and illegal) and refugees.

The European countries with the smallest proportion of immigrants are also the Europe's poorest, themselves the origin, not the target, of migrant workers: Romania (0.5%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1%), Bulgaria (1%), Poland (2%), Albania (2%), Hungary (3%).

Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Russia, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom show an intermediate percentage of immigrants between 5% and 10%. Italy's percentage of immigrants is just over 4%. Until the 1970's Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal were primarily a place of origin of emigrants (notably to France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium). This trend has reversed and these countries are now a target for immigrants (most notably from Albania, Asia and Romania to Italy, and from Romania and Latin America to Spain and Portugal).

History

Further information: historical migration and genetic history of Europe

Prehistorical and historical migrations to Europe include the first colonisation of Europe by Homo sapiens (Cro Magnon) in the Upper Paleolithic, migrations in the wake of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Neolithic Revolution, the Bronze Age Indo-European expansion, the Iron Age Celtic expansion, the Great Migrations of the early centuries AD (Germanic and Slavic expansions), the Turkic, Magyar and Mongol expansions of the High Middle Ages, the arrival of the Romani people in the Late Middle Ages, and in more recent times the population movements due to World War II.

Migration within Europe

The European Union allows free travel between member states with the appropriate papers. Most immigrants are from former eastern bloc states to the developed western European states, especially to Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain. Noticeably, some countries seemed to be favoured by these new EU member nationals than others. For example, there are large numbers of Poles who have moved to the UK, Ireland and Netherlands, while Romanians have chosen Italy and Spain.[3] While France and Germany put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration, the UK (along with Ireland) did not impose restrictions.

Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it is estimated that by the start of 2007 375,000 Poles have registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK is believed to be 750,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number are likely to move back and forth including between Ireland and other EU Western nations.[4]

British emigration towards Southern Europe is of special relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of special interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the real population of UK citizens living in Spain is much larger than Spanish official figures suggest, establishing them at about 1,000,000, about 800,000 being permanent residents. According to the Financial Times, Spain is the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering to move from their own country and seek jobs elsewhere in the EU.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Immigration from outside of Europe

According to Eurostat,[12] Some EU member states are currently receiving large-scale immigration: for instance Spain, where the economy has created more than half of all the new jobs in the EU over the past five years.[13] The EU, in 2005, had an overall net gain from international migration of +1.8 million people. This accounts for almost 85% of Europe's total population growth in 2005.[14] In 2004, total 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe.[15] In 2005, immigration fell slightly to 135,890.[16] In recent years, immigration has accounted for more than half of Norway's population growth. In 2006, Statistics Norway's (SSB) counted a record 45,800 immigrants arriving in Norway — 30% higher than 2005.[17] At the beginning of 2007, there were 415,300 persons in Norway with an immigrant background (i.e. immigrants, or born of immigrant parents), comprising 8.3 per cent of the total population.[18]

In 2004 the number of people who became British citizens rose to a record 140,795 - a rise of 12% on the previous year. This number had risen dramatically since 2000. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from Africa (32%) and Asia (40%), the largest three groups being people from Pakistan, India and Somalia.[19] In 2005, an estimated 565,000 migrants arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, most of the migrants were people from Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Africa,[20] while 380,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more, with Australia, Spain and France most popular destinations.[21]

Since 2000, Spain has absorbed around 4 million immigrants, adding 10% to its population. Immigrant population now tops over 4.5 million. According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000 were Moroccan, another 500,000 were Ecuadorian, more than 200,000 were Romanian, and 260,000 were Colombian. In 2005 alone, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people.[22][23][24][25][26]

Opposition

Main article: Opposition to immigration
Further information: Xenophobia, Überfremdung, and Right-wing populism

Opposition to immigration in Europe is visible, and the issue is among the central political issues in several countries, and increasingly also at European Union level. The anti-immigration perspective is predominantly nationalist and cultural, rather than economic or environmentalist. The issue is complicated by the fact that so many immigrants in western Europe are Muslims from Turkey and Northern Africa. Prominent populist European opponents of immigration include Jörg Haider (Austria), Jean-Marie Le Pen (France), and the assassinated Pim Fortuyn (Netherlands). Extreme anti-immigration views are often considered criminal offenses under anti-discrimination statutes and there are frequent calls for stiffer sentences for xenophobia in many European countries and by the European Union as a reaction to anti-immigration statements by nationalists.

In France, the National Front opposes immigration. Major media, political parties, and a large share of the public see the possibility of anti-immigrant sentiment due to the 2005 civil unrest in France. A major anti-immigrant political organization in Germany is the National Democratic Party. Anti-immigrant perspectives in the United Kingdom have to do with the many South Asians, particularly Pakistanis and Indians, who have moved there in recent decades. Current concerns also involve Africans, Eastern Europeans, East Asians, Middle Easterners, and numerous others who have become part of the estimated 4.3 million of the UK's population that is foreign-born (see BBC piece, "Analysis: Britain's Modern Face").

Switzerland has a history of anti-immigrant right-wing populism reaching back to the early 1970s and the campaigns of James Schwarzenbach. Since the 1990s, the topic has been dominated by the populist Swiss People's Party led by Christoph Blocher and associated far right groups like the AUNS.

By country

By migrant population

Further information: Islam in Europe, Muslims in Western Europe, Hinduism in Europe, and Buddhism in Europe

Populations of non-European origin in Europe (approx. 25 - 30+ million, or approx. 3.42 - 4.11+% [depending on definition of non-European origin], out of a total population of approx. 730 million):

  • Turks: approx. 5 million, mostly in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria
  • North Africans (Arabs and Berbers): approx. 5 million, mostly in France, the Netherlands and Sweden
  • Sub-Saharan Africans (many ethnicities, including Afro-Caribbeans and others by descent): approx. 5 million, mostly in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Germany [27]
  • Latin Americans (mainly Mestizos): approx. 2.2 million, with the largest groups in Spain and Italy[28]
  • South Asians (many ethnicities): approx. 4 million, mostly in the UK
  • Armenians (sometimes considered European): approx. 1.5 million
  • Kurds: approx. 1.5 million, mostly in Germany
  • Chinese: approx. 1 million, mostly in France, the UK and the Netherlands
  • Filipinos: approx. 500,000, mostly in the UK, France and Germany
  • Assyrians: approx. 130,000
  • Japanese: ca. 100,000, mostly in the UK

References

  1. ^ Andorra 77% out of 82,000, Liechtenstein 35% out of 34,000, Monaco 70% out of 32,000, San Marino 32% out of 29,000
  2. ^ UN statistics as of 2005, see list of countries by immigrant population.
  3. ^ BBC Europe diary: Romanian emigration
  4. ^ 750,000 and rising: how Polish workers have built a home in Britain.
  5. ^ BBC article: Brits Abroad
  6. ^ BBC article: Btits Abroad Country by Country
  7. ^ Guardian article: Spain attracts record levels of immigrants seeking jobs and sun
  8. ^ Bye Bye Blighty article: British Immigrants Swamping Spanish Villages?
  9. ^ Guardian article: An Englishman's home is his casa as thousands go south
  10. ^ BCC article: 5.5m Britons 'opt to live abroad'
  11. ^ BBC article: More Britons consider move abroad
  12. ^ Eurostat News Release on Immigration in EU
  13. ^ Guardian Article on Spanish Immigration
  14. ^ Europe: Population and Migration in 2005
  15. ^ Inflow of third-country nationals by country of nationality
  16. ^ Immigration and the 2007 French Presidential Elections
  17. ^ Immigration to Norway increasing
  18. ^ Immigrant population
  19. ^ BBC Thousands in UK citizenship queue
  20. ^ 1,500 immigrants arrive in Britain daily, report says
  21. ^ Indians largest group among new immigrants to UK
  22. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística: Avance del Padrón Municipal a 1 de enero de 2006. Datos provisionales
  23. ^ Immigration Shift: Many Latin Americans Choosing Spain Over U.S.
  24. ^ Spain: Immigrants Welcome
  25. ^ Immigrants Fuel Europe's Civilization Clash
  26. ^ Spanish youth clash with immigrant gangs
  27. ^ France's blacks stand up to be counted
  28. ^ Latin American Immigration to Southern Europe

See also

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