It Was Just Your Imagination

There are a lot of Muslims in European countries and there are many more who have been forced from war zones like Syria and are looking for a new place to call home. But how many? It turns out that the perception is a lot different than the reality. Many Europeans dramatically overstate the Muslim population in their home countries: “The average French estimate was that 31% of the population was Muslim — almost one in three residents. According to Pew Research, France’s Muslim population actually stood at 7.5% in 2010, or one in 13 people … Italian, German and Belgian respondents all guessed that more than a fifth of the resident population was Muslim, while in reality the figure ranges from 3.7% in Italy to 7% in Belgium.”

+ Brits also vastly overestimated their Muslim population (by about three to one), and those surveyed “overestimated the 2020 population by an even greater margin (22% versus an actual projection of 6%).” And get this: A study of 3 Million Brexit Tweets revealed that Brexit ‘leave’ voters talked about immigration more than anything else.

+ None of this is intended to suggest that migration is not an enormous story in 2016 (especially for those who have been displaced). Reuters has a solid series on the topic. The Migration Machine: Millions of people, billions of dollars – and Europe’s struggle to cope.