How many people found staying illegally in European countries are ordered to leave, and how many actually leave?

In 2025, EU countries recorded 719,395 third-country nationals found to be illegally present, 486,705 ordered to leave and 156,000 returned following an order to leave, a number equal to 32.05% of that year's orders (the people returned are not necessarily those ordered to leave that year); among the 26 countries with at least 1,000 orders to leave in 2025, the share was 4.52% in Portugal and 97.71% in Malta.

All countries

Show each source

% returned, of people ordered to leave in the same year (Eurostat). one year, not an average. Sort by any column.

Austria	72.06	72.06	–	2025	71 Moderate
Belgium	20.7	20.7	–	2025	63 Moderate
Bulgaria	31.06	31.06	–	2025	71 Moderate
Croatia	58.43	58.43	–	2025	71 Moderate
Cyprus	70	70	–	2025	71 Moderate
Czechia	62	62	–	2025	71 Moderate
Denmark	42.76	42.76	–	2025	71 Moderate
Estonia	100	100	–	2025	71 Moderate
European Union (27 countries)	32.05	32.05	(20)	2025	63 Moderate
Finland	37.77	37.77	–	2025	71 Moderate
France	13.76	13.76	–	2025	63 Moderate
Germany	65.31	65.31	–	2025	71 Moderate
Greece	19.07	19.07	–	2025	71 Moderate
Hungary	47.74	47.74	–	2025	71 Moderate
Iceland	63.16	63.16	–	2019	65 Moderate
Ireland	32.75	32.75	–	2025	71 Moderate
Italy	22.45	22.45	–	2025	63 Moderate
Latvia	86.36	86.36	–	2025	71 Moderate
Liechtenstein	100	100	–	2025	71 Moderate
Lithuania	92.96	92.96	–	2025	71 Moderate
Luxembourg	29.1	29.1	–	2025	71 Moderate
Malta	97.71	97.71	–	2025	71 Moderate
Montenegro	88.27	88.27	–	2025	71 Moderate
Netherlands	15.91	15.91	–	2025	63 Moderate
Norway	29.7	29.7	–	2025	71 Moderate
Poland	65.72	65.72	–	2025	71 Moderate
Portugal	4.52	4.52	–	2025	71 Moderate
Romania	62.94	62.94	–	2025	71 Moderate
Slovakia	85	85	–	2025	71 Moderate
Slovenia	55.68	55.68	–	2025	71 Moderate
Spain	10.62	10.62	–	2025	71 Moderate
Sweden	76.28	76.28	–	2025	71 Moderate
United Kingdom	136.23	136.23	–	2019	57 Low

Each source's value links to its publisher; point at it for the source and year. A value in brackets is shown but doesn't count, and pointing at it says why. Retrieved 2026-10-27.

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Returned as a share of orders to leave, European Union (27 countries)

32.05

% of orders to leave in the same year, 2025

Moderate trust, 63 of 100 Only Eurostat counts, so it cannot be checked against another source. The other source shown does not count; "Where the number comes from" says why.

Each source by year: % of orders to leave in the same year

Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.

Show the data as a table

Year	Eurostat, returned (migr_eirtn) as a share of ordered to leave (migr_eiord)
2013	43.14
2014	35.94
2015	38.42
2016	47.6
2017	38.87
2018	35.79
2019	33.5
2020	25.06
2021	27.79
2022	21.42
2023	23.11
2024	27.34
2025	32.05

What this number counts

Counts: Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave in a year, as a percentage of third-country nationals ordered to leave in the same year
Where: European Union (27 countries)
When: Calendar year 2025 (latest year with both counts); series 2013-2025 (the whole period combined, not one year)

The figure from Eurostat, the only source that counts here.

Where the number comes from (2 sources)

Source	Figure and year	Definition	Quality	Counts for
Eurostat, returned (migr_eirtn) as a share of ordered to leave (migr_eiord)Eurostat · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (API)	32.052025	Third-country nationals who left European Union (27 countries) following an order to leave in 2025 (156,000), as a percentage of third-country nationals ordered to leave in 2025 (486,705). Each person is counted once per year in each table. Returns include forced returns and assisted voluntary returns; Eurostat says "Unassisted voluntary returns are included where these are reliably recorded". Of those returned, 139,270 (89.28%) went to a country outside the EU (Eurostat's "returned to a third country", reported on a voluntary basis before 2021). Eurostat's metadata: "Persons who left the territory within the year may have been subject to an obligation to leave in a previous year", so the people returned are not necessarily the people ordered to leave that year, and the share can pass 100%. Eurostat rounds national counts to the nearest 5; the share is calculated here from those rounded counts. Raw files: migr_eirtn.json (c_dest TOTAL; Eurostat update 2026-09-25) and migr_eiord.json (Eurostat update 2026-09-30, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/migr_eiord?format=JSON&lang=en&citizen=TOTAL&sex=T&age=TOTAL); geo EU27_2020. Eurostat publishes both counts; it does not publish this share as its own indicator.	4 of 5 checks Yes: Method and definitions published. Eurostat's metadata (migr_eil_esms) defines each category and how persons are counted. Yes: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. Official EU statistics supplied by national authorities under Regulation (EC) No 862/2007. Yes: Full count or representative sample. A count of every person recorded in national administrative systems, not a sample. Yes: Raw data downloadable. Free download from the Eurostat database (JSON, CSV or TSV). No: No known break or quality problem. The EU total includes every member's series, so the breaks Eurostat notes for single countries (such as Belgium and Italy from 2025) also run through it.	100%
European Commission press release IP/25/724, "return rates"European Commission · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27	202025	The Commission's press release of 2025-03-11 proposing a Common European System for Returns says return rates across the EU are "currently standing at only 20 percent". It does not give the reference year, the counts used or how the rate is calculated; the year shown here is the year of the press release. Raw file: ip_25_724.json from the Commission press corner API (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=IP/25/724&language=en).	0 of 5 checks No: Method and definitions published. The press release gives no definition or method for the rate. No: Official statistics or peer-reviewed. A policy press release, not a statistical publication. No: Full count or representative sample. The press release does not say which counts the figure is based on. No: Raw data downloadable. No data file accompanies the figure. No: No known break or quality problem. A rounded figure with no reference year.	Not counted

Better and more direct sources count for more. A source that only copies another does not count.

Eurostat 100%

Eurostat100%

Shown but not counted: EU Commission (its weight is 0).

How the trust score was worked out

Quality32 / 40: How well the sources are made
Agreement15 / 30: Unknown with one source, so set to half
Independence6 / 20: How many separate ways the number was measured
Freshness10 / 10: How recent the newest data is

How the score works

Who reports it, and since when

Which kinds of source measure this number, which years each one published, and where the reporting stops or has holes.

Administrative records · 2

No source of these kinds: population register, model-based estimate.

Single source: nothing to check it against
Eurostat, 2014: From reference year 2014 Eurostat began collecting, on a voluntary basis, statistics on people who left by type of return (voluntary or forced), assistance received, agreement procedure and destination (tables migr_eirt_vol, migr_eirt_ass, migr_eirt_agr, migr_eirt_des). Eurostat calls this a pilot data collection whose figures may be inconsistent with migr_eirtn. source
Eurostat, 2021: Regulation (EU) 2020/851, amending Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, applies from reference year 2021: return statistics became quarterly and mandatory for all Member States, with more breakdowns for people found to be illegally present and returned (type of return, destination, unaccompanied minors). Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/431 granted some Member States derogations for 2021 to 2023. source

Years each source has a figure here

'13'15'20'25EurostatEU Commission

figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change

Third-country nationals found to be illegally present per 1,000 residents (Eurostat), 2008-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

France

Germany

Spain

Netherlands

Greece

Belgium

Italy

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
France	2.31	2025	63 Moderate
Germany	2.01	2025	71 Moderate
Spain	1.2	2025	71 Moderate
Netherlands	0.22	2025	63 Moderate
Greece	5.86	2025	71 Moderate
Belgium	0.79	2025	71 Moderate
Italy	1.4	2025	71 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	France	Germany	Spain	Netherlands	Greece	Belgium	Italy
2008	1.74	0.65	2.03	0.46	9.65	1.29	1.16
2009	1.19	0.6	1.96	0.46	9.76	1.27	0.9
2010	0.87	0.61	1.51	0.46	10.4	1.12	0.79
2011	0.89	0.7	1.47	0.37	7.99	1.23	0.49
2012	0.76	0.81	1.12	0.24	6.53	1.36	0.49
2013	0.75	1.07	0.99	0.16	3.87	1.35	0.4
2014	1.46	1.59	1.03	0.16	6.74	1.39	0.42
2015	1.65	4.64	0.92	0.19	83.94	1.45	0.45
2016	1.38	4.51	0.8	0.16	18.99	1.71	0.54
2017	1.72	1.9	0.96	0.12	6.33	1.61	0.6
2018	1.58	1.62	1.68	0.16	8.69	1.68	0.45
2019	1.79	1.61	1.34	0.21	11.47	1.53	0.45
2020	1.54	1.42	1.53	0.21	4.41	1	0.38
2021	1.73	1.45	0.65	0.29	3.56	0.94	1.55
2022	1.69	2.38	1.43	0.31	4.69	0.94	2.34
2023	1.74	3.17	1.89	0.37	6.92	0.92	3.3
2024	2.08	2.99	1.74	0.22	7.41	0.86	1.85
2025	2.31	2.01	1.2	0.22	5.86	0.79	1.4

Third-country nationals ordered to leave (persons, Eurostat), 2008-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

France

Germany

Spain

Netherlands

Greece

Belgium

Italy

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
France	137,550	2025	71 Moderate
Germany	55,240	2025	71 Moderate
Spain	53,700	2025	71 Moderate
Netherlands	31,230	2025	63 Moderate
Greece	26,635	2025	71 Moderate
Belgium	25,340	2025	71 Moderate
Italy	21,295	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	France	Germany	Spain	Netherlands	Greece	Belgium	Italy
2008	97,515	11,985	82,940	33,200	146,335	28,545	68,175
2009	88,565	14,595	103,010	35,575	126,140	24,035	53,440
2010	76,590	19,190	78,920	29,870	132,525	22,865	46,955
2011	83,440	17,550	73,220	29,500	88,820	36,885	29,505
2012	77,600	20,000	60,880	27,265	84,705	50,890	29,345
2013	84,890	25,380	32,915	32,435	43,150	47,465	23,945
2014	86,955	34,255	42,150	33,735	73,670	35,245	25,300
2015	79,950	54,080	33,495	19,015	104,575	31,045	27,305
2016	81,000	70,005	27,845	25,310	33,790	33,020	32,365
2017	84,675	97,165	27,340	20,750	45,765	32,235	36,240
2018	105,560	52,930	59,255	17,935	58,325	24,160	27,070
2019	123,845	47,530	37,890	25,435	78,880	22,010	26,900
2020	108,395	36,330	50,285	21,100	38,540	20,320	22,785
2021	125,450	31,515	7,865	17,300	28,815	19,105	11,095
2022	135,645	32,865	45,960	15,750	33,500	19,275	28,185
2023	136,685	44,620	64,260	21,270	29,825	24,475	26,460
2024	128,740	57,075	62,930	19,100	31,565	24,660	27,970
2025	137,550	55,240	53,700	31,230	26,635	25,340	21,295

Third-country nationals returned following an order to leave (persons, Eurostat), 2008-2025

Each line is the source that counts most for that group.

France

Germany

Spain

Netherlands

Greece

Belgium

Italy

Group	Figure	Year	Trust
France	18,930	2025	63 Moderate
Germany	36,075	2025	71 Moderate
Spain	5,705	2025	71 Moderate
Netherlands	4,970	2025	63 Moderate
Greece	5,080	2025	71 Moderate
Belgium	5,245	2025	63 Moderate
Italy	4,780	2025	63 Moderate

Show every year as a table

Year	France	Germany	Spain	Netherlands	Greece	Belgium	Italy
2008	19,470	14,295	29,785	9,350	68,565	3,965	7,140
2009	18,400	11,900	28,865	8,980	62,850	4,060	5,315
2010	17,045	13,895	21,955	10,355	51,785	4,415	4,890
2011	20,425	14,075	23,350	9,475	10,585	5,890	6,180
2012	22,760	13,855	18,865	9,635	16,650	7,840	7,365
2013	20,140	19,180	17,285	8,010	25,465	7,170	5,860
2014	19,525	21,895	15,150	7,995	27,055	5,575	5,310
2015	18,245	55,340	13,315	8,630	14,390	5,835	4,670
2016	14,065	75,815	10,185	12,430	19,055	7,355	5,715
2017	15,665	47,240	10,785	8,390	18,765	6,315	7,045
2018	17,935	32,140	12,560	8,980	12,490	4,940	5,615
2019	17,705	28,185	12,370	11,185	9,700	4,245	6,470
2020	8,445	15,455	5,265	8,870	7,005	2,900	2,815
2021	8,210	10,785	4,755	3,200	6,875	2,890	975
2022	10,205	13,130	3,790	3,410	7,020	2,220	2,790
2023	12,165	15,445	5,995	5,745	5,845	2,275	3,275
2024	16,665	22,005	6,105	4,260	5,445	2,915	4,480
2025	18,930	36,075	5,705	4,970	5,080	5,245	4,780

About this data

Every source on this page (5)

Who is behind the sources

100% International body

Each publisher, its funding and its own description

Eurostat · International bodyFunding: EU budget; Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The gender-based violence survey was run with the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), also EU-funded. sourceIn its own words: “Our mission is to provide high-quality statistics and data on Europe.” source, retrieved 2026-10-27
European Commission · International bodyFunding: EU budget, funded mainly by member states' contributions and customs duties; the Commission manages it. sourceIn its own words: “The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union.” source, retrieved 2026-10-27

Eurostat, returned (migr_eirtn) as a share of ordered to leave (migr_eiord)Eurostat (international body) · Administrative recordsUsed for 33 countries; counts toward 33. Years 2019 to 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page Data (API)
Eurostat, migr_eilpopEurostat (international body) · Administrative recordsUsed for 7 countries; counts toward 7. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page Data (API)
Eurostat, migr_eiordEurostat (international body) · Administrative recordsUsed for 7 countries; counts toward 7. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page Data (API)
Eurostat, migr_eirtnEurostat (international body) · Administrative recordsUsed for 7 countries; counts toward 7. Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Open the publisher's page Data (API)
European Commission press release IP/25/724, "return rates"European Commission (international body) · Administrative recordsUsed for 1 country; counts toward 0 (shown only). Years 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-27.Not counted where: its weight is 0.Open the publisher's page

Why the numbers differ (5)

Different people in one year: the share divides returns in a year by orders to leave in the same year. Eurostat's quarterly article says the number of persons returned "shall not be directly related to the number of persons ordered to leave in the same reference period"; someone ordered to leave in December may leave in January. Where returns run ahead of orders, the share can pass one hundred percent.
All returns or returns outside the EU: the rows count every return, including people who went to another European country. Counting only returns to a third country, the EU figure for 2025 is 139,270 returns, 28.61% of orders to leave; for 2024 it is 114,530, 24.64%. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
The European Commission's "20 percent" (press release, 2025-03-11) gives no year or method, so it cannot be matched to a Eurostat year; it is shown on the EU row but carries no weight. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Revisions: Eurostat's annual article (data extracted 29 April 2026) gives 491,950 orders to leave and 155,110 returns for the EU in 2025; the database was updated later, and this page uses the later figures. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
National rules differ: Eurostat says comparability between Member States is limited by national rules and procedures, and countries differ in whether people who leave on their own are recorded.

Common mistakes (4)

Reading the share as the proportion of the people ordered to leave who later left. It compares two counts of the same year, not a group of people followed over time. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Treating "found to be illegally present" as the number of people living in a country without permission. It counts only people detected by the authorities in the year, and the same person can be counted in more than one country. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Treating an unrecorded departure as a stay. Eurostat counts unassisted voluntary departures only where they are reliably recorded, so some people who leave on their own are not in the returns. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Adding up country rows to get an EU total. Eurostat rounds national counts to the nearest 5 and computes the EU total from unrounded figures, so the sum of the rows can differ from the EU row. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

Context (4)

Sources considered and not used (6)

Eurostat quarterly returns tables (migr_eiord1, migr_eirtn1): Quarterly series start in 2021 for all countries; the annual tables cover the same counts back to 2008, and Eurostat says quarterly and annual figures can differ until revised. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Eurostat returns by type, assistance, agreement and destination (migr_eirt_vol, migr_eirt_ass, migr_eirt_agr, migr_eirt_des): A pilot collection from reference year 2014 that Eurostat says may be inconsistent with the main return table; it splits returns rather than counting them. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Frontex: Frontex's public data cover detections of illegal border crossings by route, not orders to leave or returns by reporting country, so it measures a different number. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Switzerland, returns as a share of orders to leave: Eurostat notes that Switzerland's "orders to leave data are limited to those issued within the asylum procedure; data on returns include third-country nationals returned following an order to leave from both asylum and irregular migrants' procedures since 2023", so the two counts do not cover the same people and no share is shown. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
European Commission, country return rates: No country-by-country return rate from the Commission was found; its EU-wide figure is on the EU row. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Eurostat EU aggregate before 2013: Eurostat publishes no EU-27 total for orders to leave and returns before 2013, so the EU row starts in 2013 while most country rows start in 2008. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)

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Cite as: RealStats, “How many people found staying illegally in European countries are ordered to leave, and how many actually leave?”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page. Scores use formula version 1.0.
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