https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The populations of certain countries in Europe are expected to grow by 2100, but there will be a big drop on average across Europe, new predictions reveal. So which countries will see a population growth? https://www.thelocal.com/20260425/revealed-the-countries-in-europe-that-will-buck-the-trend-and-grow-in-population Sat, 25 Apr 2026 11:32:03 +0200 revealed-the-countries-in-europe-that-will-buck-the-trend-and-grow-in-population The oldest application in Sweden's queue for citizenship has been waiting for a decision for nine years, possibly ten. Here are the numbers on Sweden's citizenship backlog. https://www.thelocal.com/20260330/in-data-which-are-the-oldest-cases-in-swedens-citizenship-backlog Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:46:59 +0200 in-data-which-are-the-oldest-cases-in-swedens-citizenship-backlog Three months after the Swedish Migration Agency aimed to clear its backlog of four-year-old cases, thousands of applicants from the period are still waiting to be assigned case officers. https://www.thelocal.com/20260324/swedish-migration-agency-struggles-to-clear-backlog-as-waiting-time-passes-1000-days Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:48:00 +0100 swedish-migration-agency-struggles-to-clear-backlog-as-waiting-time-passes-1000-days The number of people acquiring the citizenship of a European country has increased massively compared to a decade ago. Experts say that the trend has accelerated in recent years due various factors. https://www.thelocal.com/20260403/why-more-and-more-people-are-acquiring-citizenship-in-european-countries Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:09:12 +0200 why-more-and-more-people-are-acquiring-citizenship-in-european-countries In 2025, people born outside the European Union made up about 10 percent of the EU’s 450 million population. But which countries have the largest share of foreign-born residents? https://www.thelocal.com/20260324/which-countries-in-europe-have-the-biggest-share-of-foreign-residents Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:20:44 +0100 which-countries-in-europe-have-the-biggest-share-of-foreign-residents Six out of ten foreign doctoral students stay in Sweden at least three years after graduating, but they struggle to compete with their Swedish peers on the job market. https://www.thelocal.com/20260303/six-in-ten-foreign-doctoral-students-still-in-sweden-three-years-after-graduating Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:02:20 +0100 six-in-ten-foreign-doctoral-students-still-in-sweden-three-years-after-graduating Salaries are higher in Frankfurt while Munich has higher housing costs, according to a recent report. The Local looks at average salaries and apartment prices to get a sense of how affordable Germany’s big cities really are. https://www.thelocal.com/20250728/berlin-frankfurt-and-munich-how-expensive-is-life-in-germanys-big-cities Mon, 28 Jul 2025 14:45:31 +0200 berlin-frankfurt-and-munich-how-expensive-is-life-in-germanys-big-cities Switzerland is the only country in Europe that has four official languages. New data sheds light on who speaks what. https://www.thelocal.com/20250815/in-numbers-what-we-know-about-switzerlands-multilingual-population Fri, 15 Aug 2025 13:36:10 +0200 in-numbers-what-we-know-about-switzerlands-multilingual-population The population of the European Union has grown by over a million in the last year thanks to immigration. Here's a breakdown of how the population has grown or shrunk in different European countries. https://www.thelocal.com/20250727/in-numbers-how-the-populations-of-european-countries-have-changed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 13:36:44 +0200 in-numbers-how-the-populations-of-european-countries-have-changed After a freeze on new citizenships earlier this year, Sweden's Migration Agency is again processing cases. So what do the statistics say about which nationalities have received Swedish citizenship in the first half of 2025? https://www.thelocal.com/20250716/who-has-been-granted-swedish-citizenship-so-far-in-2025 Wed, 16 Jul 2025 17:40:28 +0200 who-has-been-granted-swedish-citizenship-so-far-in-2025 More than one-in-five people in Germany live by themselves, a rate which has surged in the past twenty years, according to new figures. https://www.thelocal.com/20250717/number-of-people-living-alone-in-germany-surges Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:17:20 +0200 number-of-people-living-alone-in-germany-surges New statistics reveal that the Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) is again approving Swedish citizenship applications, although still not at the same pace as before new security checks came into force. https://www.thelocal.com/20250715/how-many-people-were-granted-swedish-citizenship-in-june Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:32:35 +0200 how-many-people-were-granted-swedish-citizenship-in-june Capital cities across the Nordic countries were found to have the cleanest air among Europe's capitals, according to a new study. https://www.thelocal.com/20250710/nordic-capital-cities-top-europes-cleanest-air-rankings Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:34:16 +0200 nordic-capital-cities-top-europes-cleanest-air-rankings No more than 15 naturalisation applications were approved during Sweden’s recent citizenship freeze, statistics reveal. But the processing of cases is hopefully picking up pace. https://www.thelocal.com/20250624/how-many-people-were-granted-swedish-citizenship-in-may Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:30:35 +0200 how-many-people-were-granted-swedish-citizenship-in-may A new report from Sweden's National Institute of Economic Research (NIER) shows that people born outside of Sweden represent a greater net gain to the economy than those born in the country. But how do the figures differ based on country of origin? https://www.thelocal.com/20250613/which-immigrants-contribute-most-to-the-swedish-economy-and-why Fri, 13 Jun 2025 14:39:57 +0200 which-immigrants-contribute-most-to-the-swedish-economy-and-why New figures from Sweden’s National Institute of Economic Research (NIER, or Konjunkturinstitutet in Swedish) have revealed that people born outside of Sweden represent a greater net gain to the Swedish economy than those born in the country, with Indians topping the list. https://www.thelocal.com/20250612/immigrants-contribute-more-to-the-swedish-economy-than-people-born-in-sweden Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:19:54 +0200 immigrants-contribute-more-to-the-swedish-economy-than-people-born-in-sweden New security checks have left the Swedish Migration Agency unable to approve any standard citizenship applications for over a month. But which nationalities are the most affected? https://www.thelocal.com/20250516/what-nationalities-are-worst-affected-by-swedens-citizenship-freeze Fri, 16 May 2025 17:39:20 +0200 what-nationalities-are-worst-affected-by-swedens-citizenship-freeze Brand new figures from the Swedish Migration Agency suggest that the awarding of citizenships has slowed down radically since the government ordered it to impose stricter security checks on applicants at the start of April. https://www.thelocal.com/20250507/fresh-citizenship-statistics-reveal-impact-of-swedens-new-security-checks Wed, 07 May 2025 14:33:16 +0200 fresh-citizenship-statistics-reveal-impact-of-swedens-new-security-checks Europe's population is getting older and its set to shrink in many countries. One of the keys to sustaining societies and economies will be the integration of immigrants into the workforce, the author of a new study tells Claudia Delpero. https://www.thelocal.com/20250427/integrate-immigrants-how-europe-can-deal-with-its-population-challenge Sun, 27 Apr 2025 15:48:54 +0200 integrate-immigrants-how-europe-can-deal-with-its-population-challenge EU countries granted citizenship to more than a million residents in 12 months, so which countries are naturalising the most foreigners? https://www.thelocal.com/20250308/which-countries-in-europe-grant-more-citizenships Sat, 08 Mar 2025 15:42:25 +0100 which-countries-in-europe-grant-more-citizenships