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Belfast is the most welcoming city in the UK when it comes to embracing foreigners.

With the referendum on the UK’s future in Europe just weeks away - and immigration a hot campaign topic - we’ve been trying to work out what people here REALLY think of people moving here from abroad.

It turns out that every three years the European Union carries out a mass poll of attitudes in major cities around the continent and beyond.

The most recent research was carried out last summer - and showed 83% of people in Belfast agreed that the presence of foreigners was good for the city.

That compares with 79% in London, 76% in Glasgow, 74% in Manchester, 73% in Cardiff and 71% in Newcastle.

Dublin, though, was even more welcoming - with 89% of people saying foreigners were good for the Irish capital.

Read more: Bungling EU referendum chiefs send postal votes to foreigners banned from taking part

You might think that would make it the most foreigner-friendly city in Europe.

You would be wrong.

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That honour goes to Cluj in Romania, where a stunning 91% of residents said the presence of foreigners was a good thing.

Copenhagen in Denmark was second (90%), with Dublin tied for third along with Zagreb in Croatia, Reykjavik in Iceland and Luxembourg city in Luxembourg.

The Greek capital of Athens was the least foreigner-friendly place among the 79 cities polled.

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Only 41% there said the presence of people from abroad was good for Athens.

In Istanbul in Turkey the figure was 43% and in Torino in Italy 44%.

Ankara in Turkey (45%), Rome in Italy (47%), Bologna in Italy (48%) were the only other places where less than half of all respondents said foreigners were a good thing for the place where they lived.

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The pollsters also asked whether foreigners who lived in each city were well-integrated with the ‘host’ society.

Here Belfast fared less well, with only 54% saying yes. That compared with 68% in Cardiff and Glasgow, 66% in Newcastle, 65% in London and 60% in Manchester.

Zagreb came top (77%), followed by Cluj again (73%), with Groningen in Holland, Antalya in Turkey and Zurich tied for third on 72%.

Athens was bottom again, with only 20% of people saying foreigners were well-integrated.

In Rome the figure was 30% and in Malmo in Sweden and Sofia in Bulgaria 31%.

% who agree the presence of foreigners is good for their city

Cluj, Romania - 91% Copenhagen, Denmark - 90% Dublin, Ireland - 89% Zagreb, Croatia - 89% Reykjavik, Iceland - 89%



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Luxembourg, Luxembourg - 89% Zurich, Switzerland - 89% Malaga, Spain - 88% Lisbon, Portugal - 88% Burgas, Bulgaria - 87% Vilnius, Lithuania - 87% Braga, Portugal - 87% Hamburg, Germany - 86% Stockholm, Sweden - 85% Gdansk, Poland - 83% Belfast, UK - 83% Munich, Germany - 82% Helsinki, Finland - 82% Piatra Neamt, Romania - 82% Geneva, Switzerland - 82% Amsterdam, Holland - 81% Groningen, Holland - 81% Aalborg, Denmark - 80% Berlin, Germany - 80% Oslo, Norway - 80%



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Krakow, Poland - 80% Barcelona, Spain - 79% London, UK - 79% Paris, France - 78% Bucharest, Romania - 78% Rostock, Germany - 77% Budapest, Hungary - 77% Ljubljana, Slovenia - 77% Dortmund, Germany - 76% Diyarbakir, Turkey - 76% Glasgow, UK - 76% Tallinn, Estonia - 75% Madrid, Spain - 75% Oviedo, Spain - 75% Malmo, Sweden - 75% Antalya, Turkey - 75% Leipzig, Germany - 74% Graz, Austria - 74% Vienna, Austria - 74% Manchester, UK - 74% Essen, Germany - 73% Bordeaux, France - 73% Rotterdam, Holland - 73% Cardiff, UK - 73% Oulu, Finland - 71% Bialystok, Poland - 71% Newcastle, UK - 71% Brussels, Belgium - 70%



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Warsaw, Poland - 70% Rennes, France - 69% Prague, Czech Rep - 67% Kosice, Slovakia - 67% Bratislava, Slovakia - 66% Heraklion, Greece - 65% Antwerp, Belgium - 64% Strasbourg, France - 63% Miskolc, Hungary - 62% Riga, Latvia - 61% Lille, France - 58% Sofia, Bulgaria - 57% Verona, Italy - 56% Marseille, France - 55% Liege, Belgium - 54% Napoli, Italy - 54% Nicosia, Cyprus - 54% Palermo, Italy - 53% Ostrava, Czech Rep - 51% Valletta, Malta - 51% Bologna, Italy - 48% Roma, Italy - 47% Ankara, Turkey - 45% Torino, Italy - 44% Istanbul, Turkey - 43% Athens, Greece - 41%

% who agree the foreigners who live in their city are well integrated

Zagreb, Croatia - 77% Cluj, Romania - 73% Groningen, Holland - 72%





Antalya, Turkey - 72% Zurich, Switzerland - 72% Malaga, Spain - 71% Braga, Portugal - 71% Diyarbakir, Turkey - 69% Geneva, Switzerland - 69% Piatra Neamt, Romania - 68% Ljubljana, Slovenia - 68% Cardiff, UK - 68% Glasgow, UK - 68% Luxembourg, Luxembourg - 67% Rennes, France - 66% Budapest, Hungary - 66% Newcastle, UK - 66% Burgas, Bulgaria - 65% Bordeaux, France - 65% Lisbon, Portugal - 65% London, UK - 65% Oviedo, Spain - 64% Reykjavik, Iceland - 62% Bucharest, Romania - 60% Manchester, UK - 60% Kosice, Slovakia - 59% Kobenhavn, Denmark - 58% Munich, Germany - 58% Vilnius, Lithuania - 58%



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Dublin, Ireland - 56% Miskolc, Hungary - 56% Krakow, Poland - 56% Barcelona, Spain - 55% Strasbourg, France - 55% Oulu, Finland - 54% Belfast, UK - 54% Valletta, Malta - 53% Aalborg, Denmark - 52% Paris, France - 52% Rotterdam, Holland - 52% Oslo, Norway - 52% Madrid, Spain - 51% Palermo, Italy - 51% Graz, Austria - 51% Gdansk, Poland - 51% Prague, Czech Rep - 50% Hamburg, Germany - 50% Ostrava, Czech Rep - 49% Heraklion, Greece - 49% Lille, France - 49% Marseille, France - 49% Napoli, Italy - 49% Amsterdam, Holland - 49% Antwerp, Belgium - 48% Brussels, Belgium - 48% Helsinki, Finland - 48% Verona, Italy - 48% Rostock, Germany - 47% Bratislava, Slovakia - 47%



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Liege, Belgium - 46% Bologna, Italy - 46% Bialystok, Poland - 46% Ankara, Turkey - 46% Riga, Latvia - 45% Warsaw, Poland - 45% Nicosia, Cyprus - 44% Vienna, Austria - 44% Essen, Germany - 42% Berlin, Germany - 40% Torino, Italy - 40% Dortmund, Germany - 39% Leipzig, Germany - 38% Tallinn, Estonia - 38% Stockholm, Sweden - 38% Istanbul, Turkey - 33% Sofia, Bulgaria - 31% Malmo, Sweden - 31% Roma, Italy - 30% Athens, Greece - 20%