It is estimated that 35 to 50 million Muslims live currently in Western and Eastern Europe, although no reliable statistics are available. The majority lives in the Balkans and southeastern Europe, areas once part of the Ottoman Empire. In Western Europe, the largest numbers are in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—ranging from around four to five million people in each country. Many of these Western European Muslims are immigrants from areas formerly colonized by European powers. Many are also native-born citizens of European countries whose forefathers were immigrants.
