Every year, new information is released about Schengen travel data.
These data points, when looked at overall, independently, and alongside previous years, give us a snapshot of how Schengen travel is evolving and changing over time.
The 2024 numbers are in, and they provide detailed information about Schengen travel.
Key details
Growth in volumes
In 2025, 11,934,106 Schengen visa applications were submitted. That is only 1.8% higher than 2024's application volumes, meaning the post-pandemic tourism trend might be stabilizing.
This is compared to the previous year's growth, which was 13.5% higher than the volumes seen in 2023.
In 2024, 11,716,723 Schengen visa applications were submitted. That is 13.45% more than were submitted in 2023. Schengen travel is continuing to grow, overall.
The Schengen area comprises 29 European countries, including popular countries like France, Germany, and Spain. Some countries saw greater growth than others, and some even saw declines in numbers.
In 2025, France was the #1 destination
France sees more Schengen visa applications than any other country in the zone. This was proven true again in 2024, then again in 2025.
France received 3,105,356 applications, which is over a quarter of all of the Schengen applications received (for 29 countries). The numbers are relatively flat year over year, with only a 1.6% increase in application volumes.
China submits the most applications
Out of all of the countries in the world, the most Schengen visa applications came from China in 2025. Chinese residents were responsible for 15.1% of all applications submitted. Interestingly enough, the same was true for 2024. Chinese residents made up the highest volume of applications, and it was 15.1% of the total received.
Schengen visa rejection rates hold steady
After dropping 7.5% in 2024, Schengen visa rejection rates held steady year over year. In fact, rejection rates were flat at 14.8% (the exact same rate).
Still, rejection rates are significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic.
Schengen visa volumes: A 10-year evolution
The COVID-19 Pandemic threw a wrench in rising application numbers.
2019 saw a banner year in application volumes, but that dropped significantly in 2020.
Since 2022, Schengen visa application volumes have continued to recover, but still haven't met their pre-pandemic numbers. On top of that, growth rates seem to be decelerating. In 2025, they're nearly flat year over year.
When it comes to specific countries, some saw consistent growth rates this past year, while others saw a decline.
| Country | 2024 application volumes | 2025 application volumes | YOY growth / decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 262,017 | 250,112 | -4.5% |
| Belgium | 255,564 | 263,617 | 3.1% |
| Bulgaria | 122,229 | 179,402 | 46.9% |
| Croatia | 42,165 | 43,432 | 3.0% |
| Czechia | 150,269 | 172,788 | 14.9% |
| Denmark | 132,158 | 186,130 | 40.8% |
| Estonia | 12,125 | 11,828 | -2.4% |
| Finland | 90,463 | 90,611 | 0.1% |
| France | 3,072,728 | 3,105,356 | 1.0% |
| Germany | 1,512,675 | 1,497,619 | -0.9% |
| Greece | 710,024 | 704,973 | -0.7% |
| Hungary | 251,364 | 265,479 | 5.6% |
| Iceland | 35,413 | 67,380 | 90.2% |
| Italy | 1,233,316 | 1,059,956 | -14.0% |
| Latvia | 17,654 | 19,222 | 8.8% |
| Lithuania | 33,532 | 42,543 | 26.8% |
| Luxembourg | 13,007 | 13,889 | 6.7% |
| Malta | 45,578 | 54,037 | 18.5% |
| Netherlands | 728,656 | 746,011 | 2.3% |
| Norway | 149,988 | 181,112 | 20.7% |
| Poland | 111,538 | 109,483 | -1.8% |
| Portugal | 206,420 | 253,108 | 22.6% |
| Romania | 35,359 | 54,100 | 53.0% |
| Slovakia | 14,215 | 18,003 | 26.6% |
| Slovenia | 18,171 | 20,279 | 11.6% |
| Spain | 1,634,887 | 1,713,550 | 4.8% |
| Sweden | 188,623 | 190,881 | 1.1% |
| Switzerland | 636,077 | 619,323 | -2.6% |
Countries with growing Schengen visa application volumes
Schengen visa application growth stalled in 2025. While in 2024 most countries saw growth, it wasn't the case in 2025. Still, several countries saw significant increases.
While they weren't the only countries with growth, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Slovakia saw significant increases.
Spain is also worth mentioning because out of the countries that receive over 1 million applications each year, it saw the most notable growth.
Two countries have seen a downturn in Schengen visa applications since 2021: Estonia and the Czech Republic. That said, the Czech Republic has been seeing a more positive upward trend after an initial decline.
Estonia continues to see volatility year over year, with applications dropping 8.08% from 2023 to 2024, and another 2.4% this year.
Visa applications by Schengen country
As noted above, France received the most Schengen visa applications out of all Schengen countries in 2024.
The top 10 Schengen countries that received the most Schengen visa applications were:
- France
- Spain
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Greece
- Switzerland
- Hungary
- Belgium
- Portugal
Notably, Austria fell out of the top 10 in 2025, and Hungary climbed up in the charts.
Four countries received over 1M applications
France, Spain, Germany, and Italy received over 1 million applications each. These four countries alone received 15% of all of the Schengen visa applications globally.
Estonia received the fewest applications
Out of the more than 11 million Schengen visa applications submitted, only 11,828 of them were for Estonia. This is down again from 2024, when Estonia received 12,125.
Countries that received the fewest Schengen visa applications
- Estonia
- Luxembourg
- Slovakia
- Latvia
- Slovenia
- Lithuania
- Croatia
- Malta
- Romania
- Iceland
These ten are the same as they were in 2024, but with a little bit of shuffling around. For instance, Croatia fell lower down.
Now, just because some of these countries received the fewest number of applications, it doesn't mean their Schengen visa application volumes are growing or declining.
For example, Iceland has low volumes when compared to many Schengen countries, but it's seeing the most exponential growth in applications out of all 29 members. For context, Iceland received 90.2% more applications in 2025 than it did in 2024.
Global rejection rates: A 10-year evolution
Global rejection rates don't accurately reflect one's odds of getting a Schengen visa. Whether or not a visa is approved or denied depends on a myriad of factors.
Rejection rates are higher than 10 years ago
Visa rejection rates were gradually increasing until the pandemic, when they rapidly escalated.
2022 had the highest rejection rates in the past 10 years. 17.9% of all Schengen visa applications, globally, were denied.
However, since 2022, rates have dropped every year until this year, when they were flat (14.8% two years in a row). That said, they are still higher than they were pre-pandemic.
Applications from US residents
US citizens generally don't need a visa to visit the Schengen zone, but many US residents do, as visa requirements don't depend on your residency; they depend on your nationality (among other things).
185,497 Schengen visa applications were submitted by US residents, which only makes up 1.5% of all Schengen visa applications received globally. It's also down from applications received in 2024 (201,602).
The top destinations for US residents were similar to the global favorites,
For applicants from the US, the top five destinations were:
- France
- Spain
- Germany
- The Netherlands
- Italy
The key difference is that the Netherlands and Italy are swapped when you compare global volumes with US ones.
Applications from UK residents
Britons are in a similar position as US Americans. While citizens of the United Kingdom don't need a visa for short trips to the Schengen area, many UK residents do.
UK residents submitted over twice as many Schengen visa applications as US residents did: 512,426. This accounted for 4.2% of all Schengen visa applications submitted globally.