Nationals who moved abroad versus nationals who moved back — EU and EFTA, 2023–2024 (fallback when 2024 unpublished). Foreign residents are not counted.
Each point is a reporting country. X = nationals who emigrated that year, per 1,000 nationals living there on 1 January. Y = nationals who immigrated (returned) that year, per 1,000. Bubble area scales with the absolute number who left. Points above the diagonal had more nationals come back than leave; points below had more leave than return. Foreign residents are not counted.
* Outside the EU (EFTA). Foreign residents are not counted.
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The diagonal is equal leave and return rates. Romania sits near both axes at once: high churn, roughly balanced. Luxembourg shows high leave relative to return. Large Western European countries cluster near the origin — low rates of citizen emigration and return, even when absolute numbers are large (bubble size).
Eurostat codes nationals as “reporting country” (citizen = NAT). Population is nationals on 1 January; flows are annual. Prefer 2024; fall back one or two years when a series is still unpublished (Portugal in this pack uses 2023).
Related: migration hub · immigrant fiscal balance · workers vs retirees