T H E G L O B A L S TAT E O F C I T I Z E N S H I P 1.6 THE INCREASING ACCEPTANCE OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP AROUND THE WORLD, 1960 – 2024 Type of territorial bir thright citizenship principle (excl provisions for foundlings) | 191 countries | 2024 No dual citizenship acceptance Only immigrants naturalising in country Only citizens naturalising abroad Full dual citizenship acceptance 37 37 20 20 19 99 1960 51 51 2024 1960 2024 1960 7 2024 1960 2024 Source: GLOBALCIT Dyadic Dual Citizenship Dataset, v3 | variable ‘dualcit_comb’ Citizenship laws include two kinds of restrictions on multiple citizenship. Most commonly, going back to the 1960s, a person would lose their citizenship when they voluntarily became a citizen of another country. They would often lose their citizenship automatically, i.e., without requiring any administrative act. Sometimes, the law gave administrative authorities the power to withdraw the citizenship of those persons who had acquired another citizenship. People face dual citizenship restrictions not only from the country of which they are already a citizen, but also from the country of which they want to become a citizen. In such cases, countries that grant citizenship require applicants for naturalisation to renounce their other citizenship before they can acquire the new one. Whereas the first dual citizenship restriction typically applies to citizens naturalising abroad, the second type of restriction applies to immigrants naturalising in a country. Going back to 1960, we see that over 90% of countries restricted dual citizenship in one way or another. By contrast, in 2024, half of all countries fully accept dual citizenship, whereas only one-fifth consistently restrict dual citizenship at naturalisation. Almost a third of countries only accept dual citizenship for citizens naturalising abroad (19%) or only for immigrants naturalising in a country (9%). 10 Overall, when looking at the global regulation of citizenship, the big picture is one of great variety in how a person can acquire their citizenship of a country, as well as how one can lose it. This makes it challenging to ensure the universal right to a nationality. Mapping the global variety in citizenship regulation helps identify the gaps in international coordination and provides reform-minded policymakers with a clearer view of global trends.