More than 1.2 million people acquired citizenship of a European Union country in 2024, including over 97,000 Moroccans, according to data released by Eurostat.
Moroccans accounted for about 8.2% of all new citizens, ranking second after Syrians, who topped the list with more than 110,000 naturalizations. Albanians followed in third place with around 48,000.
Spain was the leading destination for Moroccan applicants, granting citizenship to more than 44% of all Moroccans naturalized in the EU. Italy and France followed, accounting for 28.5% and 14.9%, respectively.
Most Syrians obtained citizenship in Germany, while more than half of Albanians were naturalized in Italy.
Overall, the number of people granted EU citizenship rose by 11.6% year-on-year in 2024, and by more than 54% compared with 2014, when the figure stood at about 762,000.
Germany granted the highest number of new citizenships, with more than 288,000, representing 24.5% of the EU total. Spain followed with over 252,000, then Italy with 217,000.
The vast majority of new citizens, about 88%, originated from non-EU countries, while EU citizens acquiring citizenship in another member state accounted for around 10.6%.
Sweden recorded the highest naturalization rate, granting 7.5 citizenships per 100 non-national residents. It was followed by Italy, Spain and Netherlands. The lowest rates were recorded in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Estonia.
Separate data showed that stateless individuals or those with unknown nationality accounted for about 1.8% of all new citizens.
Authorities in Hungary and Luxembourg granted the majority of their new citizenships to citizens of other EU countries.
Denmark recorded the largest increase in naturalizations, rising by 86.4%, followed by Slovakia at 59.2%, then Germany and Malta. The steepest declines were seen in Romania, down 67.9%, followed by Estonia and Hungary.
Women accounted for 50.9% of all newly granted citizenships across the EU, outnumbering men in most member states, except in 10 countries including Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Sweden.
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