Immigration to Europe has a long history, but increased substantially in the later 20th century. Especially Western European countries saw a high growth in immigration after World War II and many European nations today (particularly those of the EU-15) have sizeable immigrant populations, both of European and non-European origin. In contemporary globalization, migrations to Europe have accelerated in speed and scale. Over the last decades, there has been an increase in negative attitudes towards immigration, and many studies have emphasized marked differences in the strength of antiimmigrant attitudes among European countries.
Recent immigrants fall into the categories of migrant/foreign workers (both legal and illegal) and refugees.
Beginning in 2004, the European Union has granted EU citizens a freedom of movement and residence within the EU, and the term "immigrant" has since mostly been used to refer to extracomunitarian (i.e. non-EU) citizens. Between 2010 and 2013, around 1.4 million non-EU nationals, excluding asylum seekers and refugees, immigrated into the EU each year using regular means, with a slight decrease since 2010.