While immigration continues to dominate public debate across Europe, another migration trend is unfolding alongside it. Across much of the continent, many native-born citizens are also choosing to leave their home countries, often moving elsewhere in Europe or beyond for work, education, family reasons or new opportunities.
New figures from Eurostat, analysed by DataPulse Research, show the net migration of native-born residents across selected European countries in 2024. The data measures the balance between native-born citizens returning home and those leaving. A positive figure means more citizens returned than departed, while a negative figure means more people left than came back.
Among the countries included in the dataset, only Lithuania and Bulgaria recorded net gains. The remaining countries all experienced net losses, highlighting a wider shift in where Europeans choose to build their lives and careers.
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Here are the top 10 countries featured in the data.
