(18 November 2014) – In 2012, 818 000 persons acquired citizenship of an EU28 Member State, up by 4% compared with 2011 and by 6% compared with 2009. Moroccans continue to be main recipients.
In 2012, the highest naturalisation rates were registered in Hungary (12.8 citizenships granted per 100 resident foreigners), Sweden (7.8) and Poland (6.6), and the lowest in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (both 0.4), Estonia (0.6) and Austria (0.7). On average, 2.4 citizenships were granted per 100 resident foreigners in the EU28.
In 2012, the largest groups acquiring citizenship of an EU28 Member State were citizens of Morocco (59 300 persons, of which 53% acquired citizenship of France or Italy), Turkey (53 800, 62% acquired German citizenship), India (36 900, 77% acquired British citizenship), Ecuador (28 900, 94% acquired Spanish citizenship) and Iraq (27 500, 61% acquired Swedish citizenship).
Romanians (25 200 persons) were the largest group of EU citizens acquiring citizenship of another EU Member State, followed by Poles (12 800) and Italians (7 900).