Spain, France and Germany were home to 69% of the 784,900 British citizens living in the European Union last year, according to a report from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
More Brits chose to live in Spain than any other E.U. nation in 2017, with the country housing 37%, or 293,500, of the British residents in the E.U. And 19%, or 152,900, of Britons chose France; 12% (96,500) chose Germany.
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The report did not break out residents of luxury properties.
Spain is home to more 15- to 64-year-olds than any other E.U. country and a longtime favorite for older Brits looking to spend their retirement in sunny southern European countries. Individuals aged 65 and over made up 41% of the British population in Spain last year, the report said.
Meanwhile, France was British emigrants' top choice of E.U. country when it comes to moving overseas with children, the report said.
For British citizens living in France, 19% were aged 65 years and over, 68% were 15 to 64 and 13% were under 15, meaning more British children live in France than anywhere else in the E.U. They also account for 34% of the total number of British children living in the E.U., according to the report.
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Foreigners have recently been fueling the luxury real estate market in France, with British buyers leading the way over the past year, according to a report earlier this month from international brokerage Knight Frank.
U.K. buyers account for around one in four prime residential purchases in France, the London-based brokerage said.
Though Spain continues to be the most desirable location for the Brits living in the E.U., "the E.U. as a whole is not the most popular destination for British expats, with more than half preferring to live in English-speaking countries such as Australia, New Zealand, U.S. and Canada," said Jay Lindop, deputy director of migration statistics, in the report.
Of all the British-born emigrants living outside the U.K. in 2017, 33% lived in Australia or New Zealand, 28% lived in the U.S. or Canada and 26% in the E.U.