Foreigners make up over six percent of Czech population for first time

Some 660,849 foreigners were living legally in Czechia at the end of last year, making up over six percent of the total population for the first time, according to a government report on migration and integration of foreigners. Over the past three years, the number of registered foreigners in the country has increased by 100,000 people.

Slovaks continued to predominate among foreigners from EU countries, while two-thirds of foreigners with a residence permit were from countries outside the EU, mostly Ukraine, Vietnam and Russia. According to the report, the increase in the number of foreigners was mainly due to economic migration, with the state issuing 185,000 short-term visas for the purposes of employment alone.

After a decline the year before, the number of people who applied for international protection in Czechia last year increased by a fifth to 1,411 people. Ukrainians, Georgians and Afghans were the nationalities representing the biggest share of applicants.