Net migration in France 2008-2022
The refugee’s crisis
Studies have shown that there were 215,000 immigrant arrivals in France in 2020, a number which is rising overall since 2014. The migrant crisis, which began in 2015 in Europe, had an impact on the migration entry flows not only in France but in all European countries. The number of illegal border-crossings to the EU over the Eastern Mediterranean route reached a record number of 885,386 crossings in 2015, compared to 24,799 two years before.
Immigration in France
Since the middle of the 19th century France has attracted immigrants, first from European countries (like Poland, Spain and Italy), and then from the former French colonies. In 2021, there were approximately 8.7 million people foreign-born in France. Most of them were living in the Ile-de-France region, which contains Paris, and in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in the Southeastern part of the country. In 2020, the majority of immigrants arriving in France were from Africa and Europe.