European emigration is the successiveemigration waves from the European continent to other continents. The origins of the various Europeandiasporas can be traced to the people who left the European nation states or stateless ethnic communities on the European continent. From 1500 to the mid-20th century, 60–65 million people left Europe, of which less than 9% went to tropical areas (theCaribbean,Asia, andAfrica).^[1]

From 1815 to 1932, 65 million people left Europe, primarily to areas of European settlement inNorth andSouth America, with the largest numbers going to theUnited States,Canada,Cuba,Brazil,Argentina, andUruguay,^[2][3] in addition toAustralia,^[4]New Zealand,South Africa, andSiberia.^[5] These populations also multiplied rapidly in their new habitat; much more so than the populations of Africa andAsia. As a result, on the eve ofWorld War I, 38% of the world's total population was of European ancestry.^[5] Most European emigrants to theAmericas came fromItaly,Germany,France,Ireland,United Kingdom,Spain,Portugal,Poland,Greece,Hungary,Netherlands,Austria,Norway,Sweden,Denmark,Armenia,Lithuania,Russia, andUkraine.

More contemporary, European emigration can also refer to emigration from one European country to another, especially in the context of the internal mobility in the European Union (intra-EU mobility) or mobility within theEurasian Union.

InArchaic Greece, trading and colonizing activities of the Greek tribes from theBlack Sea,Southern Italy (the so-called "Magna Graecia") andAsia Minor propagatedGreek culture, religion andlanguage around the Mediterranean andBlack Sea basins. Greekcity-states were established in Southern Europe, northernLibya and the Black Sea coast, and the Greeks founded over 400 colonies in these areas.^[6]Alexander the Great's conquest of theAchaemenid Empire marked the beginning of theHellenistic period, which was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization in Asia and Africa; the Greek ruling classes established their presence inEgypt,southwest Asia, andNorthwest India.^[7]Many Greeks migrated to the new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as geographically dispersed asUzbekistan^[8] andKuwait.^[9]

The European continent has been a central part of a complex migration system, which included swaths of North Africa, the Middle East andAsia Minor well before themodern era. Yet, only the population growth of the lateMiddle Ages allowed for larger population movements, inside and outside of the continent.^[10] TheEuropean explorationof the Americas stimulated a steady stream of voluntary migration from Europe.

Roughly one and a half million Europeans settled in the New World during the period of 1500 and 1800.^[3]

About 200,000Spaniards settled in their American provinces prior to 1600, a small settlement compared to the 3 to 4 millionAmerindians who lived inSpanish territory in the Americas.

During the 1500s, Spain and Portugal sent a steady flow ofgovernment and church officials, members of the lessernobility, people from the working classes and their families averaging roughly three-thousand people per year from a population of around eight million. A total of around 437,000 left Spain in the 150-year period from 1500 to 1650 mainly toNew Spain,^[11]Peru inSouth America, and theCaribbean Islands. It has been estimated that over 1.86 million Spaniards emigrated to the Americas in the period between 1492 and 1824, one million in the 18th century (during this century, immigration was encouraged by the newBourbon dynasty in Spain), with millions more continuing to immigrate following independence.^[12]

Between 1500 and 1700, 100,000Portuguese crossed the Atlantic to settle inBrazil. However, with the discovery of numerous highly productive gold mines in the Minas Gerais region, the Portuguese emigration to Brazil increased by fivefold. From 1500, when the Portuguese reached Brazil, until its independence in 1822, from 500,000 to 700,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil, with 600,000 in the 1700s.^[13]Though not usually studied, this represented one of the largest movements of European populations to their colonies to the Americas during the colonial times. According to historianLeslie Bethell, "In 1700 Portugal had a population of about two million people." During the 18th century hundreds of thousands left for thePortuguese Colony of Brazil, despite efforts by the crown to place severe restrictions on emigration.^[14]

In the 18th century, thanks to the gold rush, the capital of the province ofMinas Gerais, the town of Vila Rica (today,Ouro Preto) became for a time one of the most populous cities in the New World. This massive influx of Portuguese immigration and influence created a city which remains to this day, one of the best examples of 18th century European architecture in the Americas.^[3] The2022 Brazilian census showed that 41.1% of Minas Gerais state identified aswhite Brazilian of European descent with the rest possibly having mixed Portuguese origins.^[15]However, the development of the mining economy in the 18th century raised wages and employment opportunities in the Portuguese colony and emigration increased: in the 18th century alone, about 600,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil.^[13][16]

Between one-half and two-thirds of European immigrants to theThirteen Colonies between the 1630s and theAmerican Revolution came under indentures.^[17] The practice was sufficiently common that theHabeas Corpus Act 1679, in part, prevented imprisonments overseas; it also made provisions for those with existing transportation contracts and those "praying to be transported" in lieu of remaining in prison upon conviction.^[18] In any case, while half the European immigrants to theThirteen Colonies had been indentured servants, at any one time they were outnumbered by workers who had never been indentured, or whose indenture had expired. Free wage labor was more common for Europeans in the colonies.^[19]

Indentured persons were numerically important, mostly in the region fromVirginia north toNew Jersey. Other colonies saw far fewer of them. The total number of European immigrants to all 13 colonies before 1775 was about 500,000–550,000; of these, 55,000 wereinvoluntary prisoners. Of the 450,000 or so European arrivals who came voluntarily, Tomlins estimates that 48% wereindentured.^[20] About 75% were under the age of 25. The age of legal adulthood for men was 24 years; those over 24 generally came on contracts lasting about 3 years.^[20] Regarding the children who came, Gary Nash reports that, "many of the servants were actually nephews, nieces, cousins and children of friends of emigratingEnglishmen, who paid their passage in return for their labour once in America."^[21]

Figures for immigration in the Spanish Empire in 1650–1800 and in Brazil in 1700–1800 are not given in the table. Of the 322,000 from Britain, 190,000–250,000 were Scottish and Irish.^[3]

InNorth America, immigration was dominated byBritish,German,Irish and other Northern Europeans.^[22] Emigration toNew France laid the origins of modernCanada, with important early immigration of colonists from Northern France.^[16]

From 1760 to 1820, the final phase of colonial immigration became dominated by free settlers and was marked by a huge increase in British immigrants to North America and the United States in particular. In that period, 871,000 Europeans immigrated to the Americas, of which over 70% were British (including Irish in that category). Many independent farmers and tenants emigrated to establish farms and plantations, as well ascraftsmen.^[23]

There was mass European emigration to theAmericas,Australia,New Zealand, andSouth Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries, as a result of a dramaticdemographic transition in 19th-century Europe, subsequent wars and political changes on the continent. From the end of theNapoleonic Wars in 1815 to the end ofWorld War I in 1918, millions of Europeans emigrated. Of these, 71% went toNorth America, 21% toCentral andSouth America and 7% to Australia. About 11 million of these people went to Latin America, of whom 38% were Italians, 28% were Spaniards and 11% were Portuguese.^[24]

In Brazil, the proportion of immigrants in the national population was much smaller. Immigrants tended to be concentrated in the central and southern parts of the country. The proportion of foreigners in Brazil peaked in 1920, at just 7 percent or 2 million people, mostly Portuguese and Italians. However, the influx of 4 million European immigrants between 1870 and 1920 significantly altered the racial composition of the country.^[22] From 1901 to 1920, immigration was responsible for only 7 percent of Brazilian population growth, but in the years of high immigration, from 1891 to 1900, the share was as high as 30 percent (higher than Argentina's 26 percent in the 1880s).^[26]

The countries in the Americas that received a major wave of European immigrants from 1820s to the early 1930s were: theUnited States (32.5 million),Argentina (6.5 million),Canada (5 million),Brazil (4.5 million),Cuba (1.4 million),Chile (728,000),Uruguay (713,000).^[27]

Other countries that received a more modest immigration flow (accounting for less than 10 percent of total European emigration toLatin America) were:Mexico (326,000),Colombia (126,000),Puerto Rico (62,000),Peru (30,000), andParaguay (21,000).^[27][26]

Destination	Years	Arrivals	Ref(s)
United States	1821–1932	32,244,000	[2]
Argentina	1856–1932	6,405,000	[2]
Canada	1831–1932	5,206,000	[2]
Brazil	1818–1932	4,431,000	[2]
Australia	1821–1932	2,913,000	[2]
Cuba	1901–1931	857,000	[2]
South Africa	1881–1932	852,000	[2]
Chile	1882–1932	726,000	[2]
Uruguay	1836–1932	713,000	[2]
New Zealand	1821–1932	594,000	[2]
Mexico	1901–1931	326,000	[2]

After theAge of Discovery, different ethnic European communities began to emigrate out ofEurope with particular concentrations inAustralia,New Zealand, theUnited States,Canada,Argentina,Uruguay,Colombia,Venezuela,Cuba,Costa Rica,Brazil,Chile, andPuerto Rico where they came to constitute a European-descended majority population.^{[25][28][29][30]} It is important to note, however, that these statistics rely on identification with a European ethnic group in censuses, and as such are subjective (especially in the case of mixed origins). Nations and regions outside Europe with significant populations:^[31]

In thefirst Canadian census in 1871, 98.5% chose a European origin with it slightly decreasing to 96.3% declared in 1971.^[32][33] In the2016 census, 19,683,320 self-identified with aEuropean ethnic origin, the largest being of British Isles origins (11,211,850). Individually, they areEnglish (6,320,085),Scottish (4,799,005),French (4,680,820),Irish (4,627,000),German (3,322,405),Italian (1,587,965).^[34] As of the2021 Census, 67.4% of Canadians self-identify as white.

As of the 2020 census, 61.6% of Americans identify as white alone. The 2020United States census data revealed thatEnglish Americans 46.5 million (19.8%),German Americans 45m (19.1%),Irish Americans 38.6m (16.4%) andItalian Americans 16.8m (7.1%) were the four largest self-reported European ancestry groups at 62.4% of the white alone or in combination population, reflecting the early settlement.^[35]At the time of the first U.S. census in 1790, 80.7% of theAmerican people self-identified as White, where it remained above that level, even reaching as high as 90% prior to the passage of theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965. However, numerically it increased from 3.17 million (1790) to 199.6 million (1990) two hundred years later.^[36]

Mexico is a multi-ethnic country where a large majority of the population have at least some European ancestry.Britannica estimates that around three-fifths areMestizo, which includes people with mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, whileWhite Mexicans are the largest part of the remainder.^[37][38][39] Skin color palettes have been used as a primary criteria to estimate the ethnoracial groups withinLatin America. A summary published by theLatin American Public Opinion Project has described this as more accurate than self-identification particularly, where the different discourses that exist in regards to national identity have rendered previous attempts to estimate ethnic groups unreliable.^[40] If the criterion used is the presence of blond hair, it is 18%^[41][42] - 23%.^{[43][non-primary source needed]}

According to the2012 census,white Cubans make up 64.1% or 7,160,399 of the population.^[44][45]Cubans of European origin (predominantlySpanish) reached its highest proportion during the early to mid twentieth century. In 1943 the census showed 74.3% or 3,553,312 werewhite.^[46][47]

InCosta Rica 83.7% of the population is White and Mestizo.^[48] Other sources estimate different results between whites and mestizos. The White population is around 60-65%.^[49][50][51] Most are of Spanish and Italian descent,^[52] however there are also German,^[53] Polish^[54] and French communities. During the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it welcomed more than 30,000 Europeans.^[55] Costa Rica had the greatest European migratory impact in Central America. When Costa Rica became independent, the population was barely 60,000 inhabitants.^[56]

The2022 Dominican census showed 1,611,752 people or 18.7% of those 12 years old aswhite, 731,855 males and 879,897 females.^[57]

InEl Salvador 12.7% of the population identifies as "white", and 86.3% of the population were mestizo or people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry.^[58] The majority being Spanish descendants fromGalicia andAsturias. In El Salvador, settlement peaked between 1920 and 1930, when 8,152 European and Arab immigrants entered the country, the Europeans being mostly Italians, Spanish and Germans.^[59]

InGuatemala, 5% of the population is of European descent, primarily of either Spanish and German origins. Many German, Italian and Spanish Families arrived in Guatemala, the Germans for their part were the largest group,^[60] Immigration had a massive character.^[61][56]

Uruguay andArgentina are the South American countries with the highest proportion of European ancestry, both estimated to exceed 85%.^[49][63][64] The most significant immigrant groups came from Italy and Spain, followed by France, Germany and Switzerland.^[65][66] These European immigrants played a fundamental role in shaping the cultural fabric and societal development of both nations.^[67]

InBrazil, according to the2022 census, 88.8% (180 million) of Brazilians are of full or partial European descent with 43.46% or 88 million self-identifying asWhite of European descent.^[68]45.34% (92 million) are descendants of Europeans mixed with Africans or indigenous people and declare themselves asPardo.^[68]

TheFalkland Islanders are mainly of European descent, especiallyBritish, and can trace their heritage back 9 generations or 200 years. In 2016, the census showed that 42.9 percent were native born and 27.4 percent were born in the U.K. (the second largest birthplace) for a total of more than 70 percent.^[69] The Falkland Islands were entirely unoccupied and were first claimed by Britain in 1765.^[70] Settlers largely from the United Kingdom, especially Scotland and Wales arrived after the 1830s. The total population of then islands grew from a 287 estimate in 1851 to 3,200 in the most recent 2016 census.^[71][72] TheOrigins of Falkland Islanders historically had aGaucho presence.

InPeru the official2017 census, 5.9% or (1.3 mil) 1,336,931 people 12 years of age and above self-identified their ancestors asWhite or of European descent.^[73]: 214 This was the first time a question on race or ancestors had been asked since the 1940 census.^[74] There were 619,402 (5.5%) males and 747,528 (6.3%) females. The region with the highest proportion of Peruvians with self-identified European or white origins was in theLa Libertad Region (10.5%),Tumbes Region andLambayeque Region (9.0%).^[73]: 214 Most are descendants of earlySpanish settlers with substantial numbers ofItalians andGermans.^[74]

Using data from the 2016 census, it was estimated that around 58% of the Australian population wereAnglo-Celtic Australians with 18% being of other European origins, a total of 76% for European ancestries as a whole.^[75] As of2016, the majority of Australians ofEuropean descent are ofEnglish (36.1%),Irish (11.0%),Scottish (9.3%),Italian (4.6%),German (4.5%),Greek (1.8%) andDutch (1.6%) ancestries. A large proportion —33.5%— chose to identify as 'Australian', however the census Bureau has stated that most of these are of old Anglo-Celtic colonial stock.^[76][77][78]

Europeans historically (especiallyAnglo-Celtic) and presently are still the largest ethnic group inNew Zealand. Their proportion of the total New Zealand population has been decreasing gradually since the1916 census where they formed 95.1 percent.^[79] The2018 official census had over 3 million people or 71.76% of the population were ethnic Europeans, with 64.1% choosing theNew Zealand European option alone.^[80]

In Asia, European-derived populations (specificallyRussians), predominate inNorth Asia and some parts of northernKazakhstan.^[82] They are also a significant minority inKyrgyzstan, predominantly in the northern part of the country (Chüy Region,Bishkek and theIssyk-Kul Region), where they constitute approximately 1/5 of the population. InJapan andChina, there's a sizeable community of ethnic Russians as well, which areRussians in Japan andRussians in China.

Approximately 5–7 million Muslim migrants from the Balkans (from Bulgaria 1.15 million-1.5 million; Greece 1.2 million; Romania, 400,000; Former Yugoslavia, 800,000), Russia (500,000), the Caucasus (900,000 of whom 2/3 remained the rest going to Syria, Jordan and Cyprus) and Syria (500,000 mostly as a result of the Syrian Civil War) arrived inOttomanAnatolia and modern Turkey from 1783 to 2016 of whom 4 million came by 1924, 1.3 million came post-1934 to 1945 and more than 1.2 million before the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. Today, between a third and a quarter of Turkey's population of almost 80 million have ancestry from these Muhacirs.^[83]

In thePhilippines, a genetic study by theNational Geographic, shows that about 5% of the ancestry of Filipinos comes from Southern Europe (mostlySpanish Filipinos)^[84] that had arrived during the Spanish colonisation of the archipelago, with the census data exactlycorroborating this statistic.^[85][86] Meanwhile, 2.33% of the population alsodescend from Mexicans,^[87][88] and Mexicans have diverse ancestries which includes:European Mexicans,Native American Mexicans, andMestizo Mexicans. Additionally, an estimated 250,000 FilipinoAmerasians descend from American servicemen stationed in the country.^[89][90]Furthermore, as of the year 2025, a recorded 750,000American citizens (of mostly European ancestry) live in the Philippines.^[91] Combined, theAmerican^[91] andAmerasian minority form 1% of the Philippines' population.

• Bosma, Ulbe; Lucassen, Jan; Oostindie, Gert (2012). "Introduction. Postcolonial Migrations and Identity Politics: Towards a Comparative Perspective".Postcolonial Migrants and Identity Politics: Europe, Russia, Japan and the United States in Comparison. Berghahn Books.ISBN 978-0857453273.
• Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R.; Skoggard, Ian, eds. (2005).Encyclopedia of Diasporas.doi:10.1007/978-0-387-29904-4.ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9.
• Marshall, Peter James (2001).The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-00254-7.

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