Moroccans accounted for 8% of the 1,177,232 citizenships granted across European Union countries in 2024, ranking as the second largest group of new citizens after Syrians, according to Eurostat.
Data published in the EU statistics office’s 2026 edition of Demography of Europe showed Syrians made up the largest share of naturalizations last year, with 110,083 people, or 9% of the total. Moroccans followed, ahead of Albanians, who represented 4% (48,042 people).
The ranking underscores a continuing trend in recent years. In 2023–2024, Syrians and Moroccans both surpassed Albanians.
From 2020 to 2022, Moroccans and Syrians consistently held the top two spots. Earlier, between 2016 and 2019, Moroccans and Albanians led the list, ahead of Turks through 2018 and Britons in 2019.
Overall, naturalizations in the EU rose by 12% in 2024 compared with the previous year, reaching more than 1.17 million.
Germany drove much of the increase in absolute terms, granting 88,900 more citizenships than in 2023. Spain recorded the second-largest rise, with an additional 12,300 naturalizations, followed by France with an increase of 6,400.
Eurostat’s figures highlight persistent migration-linked demographic changes across the bloc, as EU countries continue to process naturalization applications amid shifting migration patterns.
