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One in four Prague residents is foreign: Here's how they're changing the city

An IPR study maps Prague’s international population, revealing how foreign residents shape its neighborhoods, workforce and future needs.

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 05.11.2026 09:11:00 (updated on 05.11.2026) Reading time: 4 minutes

Prague Expat Life
Pictutes from Shutterstock
Pictutes from Shutterstock

Prague’s international population extends far beyond the familiar image of English-speaking professionals in Vinohrady. It includes families in housing estates, students in university accommodation, construction workers, business owners and people who have spent decades making the city their home.

A new study from the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) puts the scale of that transformation into perspective. The number of residents with foreign citizenship rose from approximately 61,000 in 2001 to 354,000 in 2024, increasing their share of the population from around 5 percent to roughly a quarter.

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Yet the city has not become sharply divided into separate residential communities. Despite the population’s growth, IPR finds that residential segregation remains relatively low and broadly stable. Its central recommendation is to plan for international residents as a permanent part of Prague, rather than a temporary population on its margins.

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