It is not always easy to count returned migrants but the best estimate is that more than a quarter of all emigrants in our period returned to Europe. The rate of return varied from one country to another, however. Over the whole period (1860–1930) about 20 per cent of Norwegians, Danes, Swedes and Finns returned and something under 40 per cent of the English and Welsh (1861–1913) (Baines, 1986, 135–8; Hvidt, 1975, 187; Tederbrand, 1985, 359; Virtanen, 1985, 395). In the early twentieth century, 30–40 per cent of northern Portuguese, Croats, Serbs, Hungarians and Poles were returning and 40–50 per cent of Italians (Brettell, 1986, 84; Gould, 1980a, 609; Krajlic, 1985, 406; Palairet, 1979, 44–5; Puskas, 1986, 233). It is important to note that these data are adjusted to show the true rate of return. The true rate of return is lower than the rate of inward movement which is commonly given. The rate of inward movement simply relates all outward to all inward moves which overestimates the probability of an individual returning because it includes second-time emigrants and people who were not emigrants.

Return migration rates to most countries increased through the nineteenth century. But a higher proportion of southern and eastern European emigrants returned than northern and western European emigrants. The main reason for the increase in the rate of return to all countries was the improvement in transport. The reason that southern and eastern Europe had more return migration may have been because the bulk of the emigration occurred when transport was easier.