700,000 People Gained EU Citizenship In 2019

In 2019, just over 706,000 people obtained citizenship of an EU Member State, an increase on the 672,800 applications granted in 2018. The majority were granted to citizens of non-EU countries and stateless individuals. 13 percent of the total number of citizenships acquired went to former citizens of other EU member states, according to Eurostat.

Moroccans were the main recipients of citizenship, with Spain, Italy and France the main member states who granted them citizenship. 66,800 Moroccans became EU citizens in 2019, along with 41,700 Albanians and interestingly considering Brexit, some 29,800 Britons.