Demographics of the European Union explained

See also: Demographics of Europe.

Place:the European Union
Size Of Population:449,206,579 (2024)[1]
Growth:0.43% (2023)
Birth:8.7 births per 1,000 (2022)[2]
Death:11.5 deaths per 1,000 (2022)[3]
Life:81.5 (2023)
Life Male:77.9 years (2022)[4]
Life Female:83.3 years (2022)
Infant Mortality:3.3 deaths per 1,000 live births (2022)[5]
Fertility:1.46 children per woman (2022)
Official:See languages of the European Union
Spoken:Most spoken L1: German: 20% (2020)Most spoken L2: English L2: 43% (2017)[6] [7]

The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states.As of 1 January 2024, the population of the EU is around 449 million people.[1]

Population by country

The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 83.4 million people, and the least populous member state is Malta with 0.56 million. Birth rates in the EU are in the low range, with the average woman having 1.6 children. The highest birth rates are found in Ireland with 11.153 births per thousand people per year and in France with 10.862 births. Spain has the lowest birth rate in Europe with 7.816 births per thousand people per year.

The table below uses data from Eurostat. The following is the estimated population of the EU on 1 January 2024:[8] [9]

Member State Population %
pop. 		Area
km2 		%
area 		Density
/km2
449,206,579 100% 4,225,134 100% 106
9,158,750 2.0% 83,878 2.0% 109
11,832,049 2.6% 30,667 0.7% 383
6,445,481 1.4% 110,996 2.6% 58
3,861,967 0.9% 56,594 1.3% 68
933,505 0.2% 9,253 0.2% 100
10,900,555 2.4% 78,871 1.9% 137
5,961,249 1.3% 42,925 1.0% 138
1,374,687 0.3% 45,336 1.1% 30
5,503,851 1.2% 338,411 8.0% 16
68,401,977 15.2% 638,475 15.1% 107
83,445,000 18.6% 357,569 8.5% 236
10,397,193 2.3% 131,694 3.1% 79
9,584,627 2.1% 93,012 2.2% 103
5,343,805 1.2% 69,947 1.7% 74
58,989,749 13.1% 302,079 7.1% 195
1,871,882 0.4% 64,586 1.5% 29
2,885,891 0.6% 65,284 1.5% 44
672,050 0.1% 2,595 0.1% 255
563,443 0.1% 316 0.01% 1715
17,942,942 4.0% 37,378 0.9% 477
36,620,970 8.2% 311,928 7.4% 118
10,639,726 2.4% 92,227 2.2% 113
19,064,409 4.2% 238,398 5.6% 80
5,424,687 1.2% 49,035 1.2% 111
2,123,949 0.5% 20,273 0.5% 104
48,610,458 10.8% 505,983 12.0% 97
10,551,707 2.3% 447,424 10.6% 24

Life expectancy

See also: List of European countries by life expectancy.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in countries of the European Union in 2019 according to estimation of the World Health Organization:[10]

CountryLife expectancy at birth at birthLife expectancy at age 60HALE at age 60
AllAllMFFΔMΔ
2000		AllMFFΔMΔ
2000		AllMFFΔMΔ
2000
83.2 80.7 85.7 5.0 4.1 72.1 71.3 72.9 1.6 3.0 25.4 23.3 27.3 4.0 2.7 19.2 18.0 20.3 2.3 1.9
83.1 81.1 85.1 4.0 4.4 72.4 71.8 73.0 1.2 3.3 24.9 23.3 26.4 3.1 3.0 19.0 18.1 19.9 1.8 2.2
83.0 80.9 84.9 4.0 3.6 71.9 71.2 72.6 1.4 2.9 25.0 23.4 26.5 3.1 2.5 18.9 17.9 19.8 1.9 1.8
82.5 79.8 85.1 5.3 3.6 72.1 71.1 73.1 2.0 2.8 25.3 23.3 27.2 3.9 2.3 19.7 18.5 20.8 2.3 1.7
82.4 80.8 84.0 3.2 2.8 71.9 71.7 72.1 0.4 2.0 24.5 23.3 25.6 2.3 2.1 18.9 18.3 19.4 1.1 1.5
82.4 80.6 84.2 3.6 4.2 71.6 71.1 72.0 0.9 3.3 24.4 22.9 25.8 2.9 2.6 18.5 17.7 19.3 1.6 1.8
81.9 79.9 83.8 3.9 4.0 71.5 70.9 71.9 1.0 3.0 24.5 23.0 25.9 2.9 3.7 18.9 18.0 19.6 1.6 2.7
81.8 80.4 83.1 2.7 3.8 71.4 71.3 71.5 0.2 2.6 24.1 23.0 25.1 2.1 2.8 18.4 17.9 18.9 1.0 1.8
81.8 80.2 83.5 3.3 5.4 71.1 70.7 71.4 0.7 4.0 24.2 23.0 25.3 2.3 4.0 18.6 18.0 19.2 1.2 2.9
81.7 78.7 84.8 6.1 3.6 70.9 69.7 72.1 2.4 2.4 24.4 21.9 26.9 5.0 2.6 18.5 17.0 19.9 2.9 1.7
81.6 78.6 84.4 5.8 5.0 71.0 69.6 72.2 2.6 4.2 24.3 22.1 26.3 4.2 3.1 18.6 17.3 19.8 2.5 2.3
81.6 79.2 84.0 4.8 4.0 71.0 69.9 72.0 2.1 3.2 24.2 22.4 25.8 3.4 2.6 18.5 17.3 19.5 2.2 2.0
81.6 79.4 83.8 4.4 3.4 70.9 69.9 71.9 2.0 2.7 24.1 22.4 25.6 3.2 2.1 18.3 17.2 19.4 2.2 1.6
81.4 79.3 83.5 4.2 3.7 70.6 69.8 71.3 1.5 2.8 24.0 22.3 25.6 3.3 2.4 18.2 17.2 19.1 1.9 1.6
81.3 79.6 83.0 3.4 4.4 71.0 70.7 71.4 0.7 3.4 23.6 22.3 24.9 2.6 3.0 18.2 17.6 18.9 1.3 2.2
81.3 78.6 84.1 5.5 5.2 70.7 69.0 72.5 3.5 4.2 23.8 21.8 25.6 3.8 3.3 17.8 16.4 19.2 2.8 2.5
81.1 78.6 83.6 5.0 2.9 70.9 69.9 71.9 2.0 2.3 23.8 22.1 25.5 3.4 2.3 18.4 17.3 19.5 2.2 1.6
79.1 76.3 81.9 5.6 4.1 68.8 67.0 70.6 3.6 2.9 22.1 19.9 24.0 4.1 2.8 16.3 14.7 17.8 3.1 1.7
78.9 74.7 82.6 7.9 8.0 69.2 66.4 71.7 5.3 6.6 22.5 19.3 25.0 5.7 3.9 17.3 14.8 19.1 4.3 3.0
78.6 75.5 81.6 6.1 4.2 68.6 66.7 70.5 3.8 3.2 21.8 19.4 23.7 4.3 2.8 16.2 14.6 17.7 3.1 1.8
78.3 74.5 81.9 7.4 4.6 68.7 65.9 71.3 5.4 3.7 22.1 19.5 24.3 4.8 2.9 16.8 14.9 18.5 3.6 2.1
78.2 74.8 81.4 6.6 4.9 68.5 66.2 70.8 4.6 3.8 21.8 19.3 23.9 4.6 3.3 16.6 14.6 18.2 3.6 2.4
76.4 73.1 79.6 6.5 5.1 67.2 65.0 69.3 4.3 4.2 20.2 17.7 22.3 4.6 2.2 15.3 13.4 16.8 3.4 1.7
76.0 71.2 80.4 9.2 4.0 66.7 63.4 69.7 6.3 3.6 20.9 17.6 23.5 5.9 1.4 15.9 13.4 17.8 4.4 1.2
75.6 72.0 79.3 7.3 4.2 66.8 64.3 69.4 5.1 3.5 20.3 17.8 22.4 4.6 2.1 15.7 13.8 17.3 3.5 1.6
75.4 70.6 79.8 9.2 5.2 66.2 62.9 69.3 6.4 4.6 20.5 17.2 23.0 5.8 2.2 15.6 13.2 17.4 4.2 1.7
75.1 71.6 78.6 7.0 3.5 66.3 63.9 68.7 4.8 2.8 19.8 17.4 22.0 4.6 2.2 15.2 13.4 16.9 3.5 1.5
World 73.3 70.8 75.9 5.1 6.5 63.7 62.5 64.9 2.4 5.4 21.1 19.5 22.7 3.2 2.3 15.8 14.8 16.6 1.8 1.7

Life expectancy in countries of the European Union in 2022 according to estimation of the World Bank Group:[11] [12] [13]

Countries and
territories		2022Historical data
COVID-19


2019→2022

AllMaleFemale201420192019
→2020		20202020
→2021		20212021
→2022		2022
83.11 81.50 84.80 3.30 82.25 0.86 83.11 −0.75 82.36 0.70 83.06 0.05 83.11 0.00
83.08 80.40 85.90 5.50 83.23 0.60 83.83 −1.50 82.33 0.90 83.23 −0.15 83.08 −0.75
83.06 81.30 84.90 3.60 81.35 1.35 82.70 −0.15 82.56 −0.20 82.35 0.70 83.06 0.35
83.05 80.90 85.30 4.40 82.23 0.41 82.64 −0.50 82.14 0.45 82.60 0.45 83.05 0.41
82.90 80.90 85.00 4.10 83.09 0.41 83.50 −1.30 82.20 0.45 82.65 0.25 82.90 −0.60
82.70 80.70 84.80 4.10 82.05 0.81 82.86 −0.51 82.35 0.16 82.51 0.19 82.70 −0.16
82.23 79.40 85.20 5.80 82.72 0.11 82.83 −0.65 82.18 0.15 82.32 −0.10 82.23 −0.60
81.89 80.07 83.67 3.61 80.77 0.63 81.40 −0.01 81.39 −0.19 81.20 0.69 81.89 0.49
81.71 80.30 83.20 2.90 81.71 0.40 82.11 −0.75 81.36 −0.05 81.31 0.40 81.71 −0.40
81.70 79.60 83.90 4.30 81.29 0.71 82.00 −1.30 80.70 1.10 81.79 −0.09 81.70 −0.30
81.58 78.80 84.50 5.70 81.12 0.55 81.68 −0.70 80.98 0.40 81.38 0.20 81.58 −0.10
81.30 79.50 83.20 3.70 80.70 0.75 81.45 0.15 81.60 −0.20 81.40 −0.10 81.30 −0.15
81.28 78.60 84.10 5.50 81.08 0.45 81.53 −1.00 80.53 0.14 80.68 0.61 81.28 −0.25
81.19 78.70 83.80 5.10 81.18 0.80 81.98 −0.05 81.93 −0.05 81.89 −0.70 81.19 −0.80
81.09 78.80 83.50 4.70 81.49 0.40 81.90 −0.70 81.19 0.00 81.19 −0.10 81.09 −0.80
European Union 80.80 78.19 83.56 5.38 80.87 0.44 81.31 −0.86 80.45 −0.13 80.32 0.49 80.80 −0.51
80.71 78.33 83.20 4.87 81.09 0.20 81.29 −0.25 81.04 −0.25 80.79 −0.08 80.71 −0.59
80.64 78.10 83.30 5.20 81.39 0.25 81.64 −0.35 81.29 −1.20 80.08 0.55 80.64 −1.00
79.03 76.20 82.00 5.80 78.82 0.40 79.23 −1.05 78.18 −0.95 77.22 1.81 79.03 −0.20
77.94 73.70 82.40 8.70 77.03 1.61 78.65 −0.05 78.60 −1.65 76.94 1.00 77.94 −0.70
77.58 74.60 80.70 6.10 77.48 0.95 78.42 −0.70 77.72 −1.30 76.42 1.15 77.58 −0.85
77.30 73.50 81.30 7.80 77.60 0.30 77.90 −1.40 76.50 −1.00 75.50 1.80 77.30 −0.60
77.07 73.70 80.60 6.90 76.81 0.85 77.67 −0.80 76.87 −2.25 74.61 2.45 77.07 −0.60
76.02 72.70 79.50 6.80 75.76 0.56 76.32 −0.75 75.57 −1.40 74.16 1.85 76.02 −0.30
75.79 71.50 80.30 8.80 74.52 1.77 76.28 −1.30 74.98 −0.94 74.04 1.76 75.79 −0.49
75.30 71.50 79.30 7.80 74.91 0.70 75.61 −1.35 74.25 −1.44 72.81 2.50 75.30 −0.30
74.58 69.80 79.60 9.80 74.12 1.26 75.39 −0.20 75.19 −2.20 72.98 1.60 74.58 −0.81
74.36 70.80 78.10 7.30 74.47 0.65 75.11 −1.45 73.66 −2.20 71.46 2.90 74.36 −0.75
World 72.00 69.60 74.53 4.93 71.88 1.10 72.98 −0.74 72.24 −0.92 71.33 0.67 72.00 −0.98

Most populous areas

The European Union has a significant number of global cities. It contains 13 of the 60 cities that make up the 2008 Global Cities Index[14] as well as 16 of the 41 "alpha" global cities classified by Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network (including Paris, Milan, Amsterdam and Brussels among others).[15] The following is a list of the ten most populous cities, urban areas, and urban zones in the European Union, together with their population:

City proper
(2023)
mill.		Urban area
(2022)
mill.		LUZ
(2016)
mill.
Berlin[16] 3.8 Paris[17] [18] 14.8 12.0
Madrid[19] 3.3 6.2 6.4
Rome[20] 2.8 6.2 5.4
Paris[21] 2.1 5.5 5.0
Vienna[22] 2.0 4.8 5.0
Hamburg[23] 1.9 4.0 4.3
Warsaw[24] 1.9 3.6 4.1
Bucharest[25] 1.7 3.5 3.9
Budapest[26] 1.7 3.2 3.7
Munich[27] 1.5 Lisbon[28] 3.0 Hamburg3.1

Population shifts

CountryPopulation
(2024)[29] 		%
growth
(2023)[30] 		‰
Natural
change
(2022)		‰
Net
migration
(2022)		Fertility
rate
(2022)[31]
0.37 -1.0 2.6 1.55
0.40 -3.9 15.4 1.46
0.34 0.5 2.7 1.79
-0.01 -5.4 2.4 1.24
1.09 -2.9 14.8 1.16
-0.36 -3.7 0.1 1.29
0.05 -4.9 4.8 1.71
0.74 -0.2 8.2 1.49
0.76 -0.3 10.1 1.53
0.67 -1.8 30.6 1.64
1.16 -3.9 8.3 1.43
0.29 0.5 2.3 1.53
-0.16 -6.0 -1.5 1.32
-0.16 -4.4 -1.8 1.56
0.59 -1.2 7.3 1.41
-0.03 -6.2 -0.5 1.65
0.48 -0.2 2.7 1.55
0.71 -3.2 10.4 1.32
-0.08 -1.0 0.2 1.57
1.36 3.8 14.7 1.54
0.29 -6.0 -0.1 1.53
1.00 -5.4 15.7 1.27
0.33 -2.2 8.2 1.55
-0.59 -7.2 11.7 1.47
0.64 -4.2 16.7 1.41
1.38 3.1 7.0 1.37
1.69 3.1 12.1 1.31
3.87 0.3 5.5 1.08
The rate of natural change (births as opposed to deaths) was negative for the European Union as a whole in 2022: the population declined by 0.1 per cent per year without net migration. Of the most populous countries, particularly Italy (over -0.5 per cent) and Germany (roughly -0.4 per cent) saw a large natural population decrease. Only Malta, France, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg and Cyprus had "natural" population growth in 2022. Actual population growth, including migration, was nearly 0.4 per cent for the EU, however.

The overall population of the European Union continued to grow until 2020, but since 2021 it has fluctuated between decrease and increase in accordance with migration flows.[32] [33]

Migration

The movement of people within the Union i.e. internal migration, remains limited; it has traditionally followed two patterns:

Immigration and emigration

At present, more people immigrate into the European Union than emigrate from it. Immigration is a controversial issue in many member states, including Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, and France.[35] It was also a cited as a major factor in the Brexit referendum of 2016.

In 2022, 59.9 million people living in the EU, or 13.35% of the total population, had been born outside their resident country. As of 2019, the largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (8.4 million), France (6.3 million), Spain (4.6 million), Italy (4.3 million), and the Netherlands (1.7 million).[36]

In 2017, approximately 825,000 persons acquired citizenship of a member state of the European Union, down from 995,000 in 2016.[37] The largest groups were nationals of Morocco, Albania, India, Turkey and Pakistan.[38]

Spain and Italy in particular receives most of the immigrants coming illegally to Europe from Africa, probably due to their large coastal area and their proximity to the African continent. In particular, Spain has land borders with Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla and the Italian island of Lampedusa lies just 113 km from Tunisia.

African immigrants try to enter Spain by boat from Morocco or Senegal or by jumping the border fences. Dealing with Italy, immigrants mostly enter by boats from Tunisia and Libya.

Estimates are that between 50,000 and 70,000 people enter the European Union illegally through Spanish borders or beaches. Border fences have been built at both the Ceuta and Melilla borders in an attempt to stop illegal entrance to the country. Illegal immigration is an issue in Spanish politics, and also a big human rights problem, since many people die during the journey. Spain has been Europe's largest absorber of migrants for the past six years, with its immigrant population increasing fourfold as 2.8 million people have arrived, mostly from Latin America. Spectacular growth in Spain's immigrant population came as the country's economy created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union between 2001 and 2006.[39]

The net migration rate for the EU in 2008 was 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitants;[40] this figure is for migration into and out of the European Union, and therefore excludes any internal movements between member states. Annual net migration has varied from 1.5 to 2.0 million people since 2003.

CountryPopulation 2022
(1000)		Foreign-born 2022
(1000)		%
EU-27 448,38859,90013.35
Luxembourg66133350.41
Malta54215323.60
Cyprus92120922.68
Ireland5,2711,15121.83
Austria9,1051,96321.56
Sweden10,5212,54420.37
Germany84,35916,47619.53
Belgium11,7432,24719.13
Estonia1,36623517.18
Spain48,0858,20417.06
Portugal10,4671,68416.09
Netherlands17,8112,77715.59
Slovenia2,11730914.61
Denmark5,93380413.55
France68,1738,94213.12
Latvia1,88324112.80
Croatia3,85149112.23
Greece10,4141,17311.27
Italy58,9976,41710.88
Finland5,5644618.30
Lithuania2,8572328.11
Czech Republic10,8287647.06
Hungary9,6006446.71
Slovakia5,4292133.93
Bulgaria6,4481693.23
Romania19,0555312.79
Poland36,7549332.54

Vital statistics

27 countries (from 2020)

Since 2020, EU data is aggregated for the 27 remaining states. UK is no longer a member due to Brexit. Population is reported on 1 January[41]

YearPopulationBirthsDeathsNatural
change		Birth
rate
(/1000)		Death
rate
(/1000)		Natural
change
(/1000)		Migration
change
(/1000)		Fertility
rate
1960 355,557,414 6,642,919 3,585,994 3,056,925 10.1 8.6 0.9 2.6
1961 358,917,677 6,657,429 3,148,629 18.5 9.8 0.6
1962 362,292,099 6,600,463 3,721,195 2,879,268 18.2 10.3 7.9 1.7
1963 365,754,385 6,715,244 3,723,423 2,991,821 18.4 10.2 8.2 0.5
1964 368,938,389 3,622,925 18.4 9.8 8.6 -0.3
1965 371,982,334 6,640,838 3,751,106 2,889,732 17.9 10.1 7.8 0 2.7
1966 374,882,363 6,578,243 3,718,683 2,859,560 17.5 9.9 7.6 -0.1
1967 377,698,630 6,718,346 3,811,566 2,906,780 17.8 10.1 7.7
1968 380,351,144 6,610,324 3,951,103 2,659,221 17.4 10.4 7.0 -0.1
1969 382,976,404 6,482,385 4,079,386 2,402,999 16.9 10.7 6.3 -0.7
1970 385,137,827 6,302,419 3,986,877 2,315,542 16.4 10.4 6.0 -0.5 2.4
1971 387,270,862 6,303,901 4,047,311 2,256,590 16.3 10.5 5.8 1.0
1972 389,902,199 6,152,597 3,995,901 2,156,696 15.8 10.2 5.5 1.0
1973 392,434,984 6,032,514 4,079,758 1,952,756 15.4 10.4 5.0 1.0
1974 394,804,887 6,098,560 4,046,095 2,052,465 15.4 10.2 5.2 0.2
1975 396,936,395 5,961,857 4,163,866 1,797,991 15.0 10.5 4.5 0.7 2.0
1976 399,002,351 5,927,646 4,163,979 1,763,667 14.9 10.4 4.4 0.4
1977 400,935,349 5,860,777 4,096,398 1,764,379 14.6 10.2 4.4 0.2
1978 402,782,640 5,774,451 4,171,363 1,603,088 14.3 10.4 4.0 0.4
1979 404,564,541 5,730,006 4,144,125 1,585,881 14.2 10.2 3.9 0.7
1980 406,417,979 5,720,295 4,250,071 1,470,224 14.1 10.5 3.6 0.6 1.8
1981 408,131,851 5,591,081 4,217,650 1,373,431 13.7 10.3 3.4 0.0
1982 409,501,178 5,523,341 4,183,575 1,339,766 13.5 10.2 3.3 -0.7
1983 410,557,063 5,355,464 4,304,514 1,050,950 13.0 10.5 2.6 -0.4
1984 411,456,968 5,318,550 4,233,094 1,085,456 12.9 10.3 2.6 -0.3
1985 412,391,874 5,264,500 4,335,723 928,777 12.8 10.5 2.3 0.3 1.6
1986 413,482,162 5,243,235 4,296,210 947,025 12.7 10.4 2.3 0.5
1987 414,653,514 5,193,167 4,242,345 950,822 12.5 10.2 2.3 0.9
1988 415,967,079 5,221,160 4,246,582 974,578 12.6 10.2 2.3 1.1
1989 417,372,976 5,123,258 4,265,774 857,484 12.3 10.2 2.1 1.2
1990 418,764,395 5,095,162 4,324,569 770,593 12.2 10.3 1.8 1.1 1.5
1991 419,958,792 4,950,436 4,350,854 599,582 11.8 10.4 1.4 1.5
1992 421,163,060 4,837,349 4,304,019 533,330 11.5 10.2 0.7 2.5
1993 422,508,788 4,691,242 4,367,728 323,514 11.1 10.3 0.8 1.6
1994 423,532,766 4,562,253 4,314,434 247,819 10.8 10.2 0.6 1.2
1995 424,301,173 4,448,929 4,355,217 93,712 10.5 10.3 0.2 1.3 1.4
1996 424,957,650 4,453,778 4,361,669 92,109 10.5 10.3 0.2 1.2
1997 425,560,270 4,446,644 4,316,381 130,263 10.4 10.1 0.3 4.8
1998 427,740,621 4,420,951 4,329,087 91,864 10.3 10.1 0.2 1.4
1999 428,431,186 4,418,622 4,331,000 87,622 10.3 10.1 0.2 1.0
2000 428,929,021 4,487,745 4,267,048 220,697 10.5 9.9 0.5 0.8 1.5
2001 429,481,944 4,393,825 4,231,178 162,647 10.2 9.9 0.4 1.9
2002 430,456,663 4,364,928 4,284,989 79,939 10.1 10.0 0.2 3.3
2003 431,976,112 4,384,916 4,373,650 11,266 10.2 10.1 0.0 3.7 1.44
2004 433,589,156 4,441,177 4,190,920 250,257 10.2 0.6 2.9 1.46
2005 435,116,254 4,454,301 4,288,668 165,633 10.2 9.9 0.4 2.8 1.47
2006 436,521,866 4,515,537 4,224,330 291,207 10.3 9.7 0.7 2.7 1.50
2007 437,984,240 4,551,180 4,271,736 279,444 10.4 9.8 0.6 2.6 1.52
2008 439,386,639 4,675,051 4,312,237 362,814 10.6 9.8 0.8 1.6 1.57
2009 440,426,387 4,622,368 4,341,741 280,627 10.5 9.9 0.6 0.8 1.56
2010 441,041,446 4,603,858 4,344,647 259,211 10.4 9.8 0.6 1.1 1.57
2011 440,260,386 4,458,386 4,318,817 139,569 10.1 9.8 1.1 0.4 1.54
2012 440,905,186 4,417,656 4,441,347 10.0 10.1 2.5 1.54
2013 441,958,943 4,303,313 4,419,258 9.7 10.0 2.4 1.51
2014 442,883,888 4,361,239 4,372,607 9.8 9.9 1.8 1.54
2015 443,666,812 4,330,922 4,620,411 9.7 10.4 3.3 1.54
2016 444,802,830 4,379,549 4,534,200 9.8 10.2 1.9 1.57
2017 445,534,430 4,328,560 4,661,081 9.7 10.5 2.3 1.56
2018 446,208,557 4,245,710 4,693,576 9.5 10.5 1.5 1.54
2019 446,446,444 4,168,656 4,653,033 9.3 10.4 3.1 1.53
2020 447,319,916 4,071,380 5,184,077 9.1 11.6 2.0 1.50
2021 4,086,056 9.1 1.7 1.53
2022 3,885,585 5,148,595 8.7 11.5 1.46
2023 (e) 4,836,335 10.8

Religion

See main article: Religion in the European Union.

The EU has significant religious diversity, mirroring its diverse history and culture. The largest religious group professes Christianity and accounts for 64% of the EU population in 2019, down from 72% in 2012. Largest Christian groups are Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Several EU nations do not have a Christian majority and for example in Estonia and the Czech Republic the majority have no religious affiliation.

European countries have experienced a decline in church attendance as well as a decline in the number of people professing a religious belief. The 2010 Eurobarometer Poll found that, on average, 51% of the citizens of EU Member States state that they believe there is a God, 26% believe there is some sort of spirit or life force and 20% don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force. 3% declined to answer.[42] These figures show a 2% change from theism to atheism since 2005.

European indigenous (or native) religions are still alive in small and diverse minorities, and some have been revived as Neo-pagan traditions.[43] [44] These include, but are not limited to, Sámi neo-shamanism, Danish Asatro,[45] and the Estonian movement.

The recent influx of immigrants to the affluent EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and the Baháʼí Faith. Judaism has had a long history in Europe and has coexisted with the other religions for centuries, despite periods of persecution or genocide by European rulers. Islam too has had a long history in Europe, with Spain and Portugal at one time having a Muslim majority.[46] Large Muslim populations also exist in the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe, due to a legacy of centuries of Ottoman rule.

Language

See main article: Languages of the European Union. The first official language of each of the 27 Member Countries has the status of an official language of the European Union. In total there are 24, with Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian gaining official language status on 1 January 2007, when the last two countries joined the European Union, and Croatian becoming official in 2013.

Before Brexit, English was the most spoken language in the EU, being spoken by around 51% of its population. This high proportion is because 38% of EU citizens speak it as a language other than their mother tongue (i.e. second or foreign language).[47] German is the most spoken first language, spoken by more than 20% of the population following Brexit.

Demographic future

See main article: Ageing of Europe. The EU faces challenges in its demographic future. Most concerns center around several related issues: an ageing population, growing life expectancy and immigrant flow.

After hitting a historical low of 1.47 children born per female, the total fertility rate of the EU started to increase again, to reach a level of 1.60 in 2008.[48] The positive trend was observed in all member states with the exception of Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal. The largest increases over this period were observed in Bulgaria (from 1.23 children per woman in 2003 to 1.57 in 2009), Slovenia (from 1.20 to 1.53), the Czech Republic (from 1.18 to 1.49) and Lithuania (from 1.26 to 1.55).[48] In 2009, the Member States with the highest fertility rates were Ireland (2.06), France (2.00), Sweden (1.94), and the United Kingdom (1.90), all approaching the replacement level of 2.1 children born per female.[48] The lowest rates were observed in Latvia (1.31), Hungary and Portugal (both 1.32) and Germany (1.36). The increasing fertility rate has also been accompanied by an upward trend in the natural increase of the population which is due to the moderate increase of the crude birth rate that reached 10.9 births per 1000 inhabitants in 2008, an increase of 0.3 compared with 2007. The increase was observed in all member countries except Germany. The EU crude death rate remained stable at 9.7 per 1000 inhabitants. The relatively low fertility rate means retirement age workers are not entirely replaced by younger workers joining the workforce. The EU faces a potential future dominated by an ever-increasing population of retired citizens, without enough younger workers to fund (via taxes) retirement programs or other state welfare agendas.[49]

A low fertility rate, without supplement from immigration, also suggests a declining overall EU population,[50] which further suggests economic contraction or even a possible economic crisis.[51] Some media have noted the 'baby crisis' in the EU,[52] some governments have noted the problem,[53] and the UN and other multinational authorities have warned of a possible crisis.[54] At this point however such a decrease in the population of the EU is not observed as the overall natural growth remains positive and the EU continues to attract large numbers of immigrants. In 2010, a breakdown of the population by citizenship showed that there were 20.1 million foreign citizens living in the EU representing 4% of the population.[48]

Over the last 50 years, life expectancy at birth in the EU27 has increased by around 10 years for both women and men, to reach 82.4 years for women and 76.4 years for men in 2008. The life expectancy at birth rose in all Member States, with the largest increases for both women and men recorded in Estonia and Slovenia.[48]

Population projections

In 2017, Eurostat released yearly projections up to 2080.

The table figures below are in thousands.[55]

Country20152040%
change		2080%
change
EU-28 (including UK) 508,401 528,357 3.9% 518,798 -2.0%
8,576 10,087 17.6% 10,072 17.4%
11,208 12,844 14.6% 14,189 26.6%
7,202 5,933 -17.6% 4,593 -36.2%
847 954 12.6% 1,004 18.5%
10,538 10,552 0.1% 9,777 -7.2%
5,659 6,564 16.0% 6,858 21.2%
1,313 1,283 -2.3% 1,140 -13.2%
5,471 5,722 4.6% 5,577 1.9%
66,415 72,915 9.8% 78,688 18.5%
81,197 84,133 3.6% 77,793 -4.2%
10,858 9,419 -13.3% 7,264 -33.1%
9,855 9,471 -3.9% 8,691 -11.8%
4,628 5,396 16.6% 6,220 34.4%
60,795 59,982 -1.3% 53,784 -11.5%
1,986 1,598 -19.5% 1,284 -35.3%
2,921 2,128 -27.1% 1,658 -43.2%
562 860 53.0% 1,066 89.7%
429 505 17.7% 517 20.5%
16,900 19,035 12.6% 19,728 16.7%
38,005 35,840 -5.7% 29,044 -23.6%
10,374 9,553 -7.9% 7,579 -26.9%
19,870 17,069 -14.0% 14,530 -26.8%
5,421 5,373 -0.9% 4,714 -13.0%
2,062 2,066 0.2% 1,938 -6.0%
46,449 48,244 3.9% 50,988 9.8%
9,747 11,994 23.1% 14,388 47.6%

Ethnic composition

See main article: European ethnic groups. There is no precise or universally accepted definition of the terms "ethnic group" or "nationality". In the context of European ethnography in particular, the terms ethnic group, people (without nation state), nationality, national minority, ethnic minority, linguistic community, linguistic group and linguistic minority are used as mostly synonymous, although preference may vary in usage with respect to the situation specific to the individual countries of Europe.[56]

Defining ethnic composition requires defining ethnic minority groups.European Commission, funded the European Social Survey which considered three different way to define ethnic minority groups:

However main legal EU statistics published by Eurostat focus on citizenship and country of birth.

Ethnicity based on nationality

The largest groups that account for about 400 million people in the European Union are:

  1. Germany (c. 80 million of whom 65,38 million ethno-cultural Germans)
  2. France (c. 65 million)[58]
  3. Italy (c. 60 million)
  4. Spain (c. 45 million)
  5. Poland (c. 42 million)
  6. Romania (c. 20 million) (not counting Moldovans and Aromanians)
  7. Netherlands (c. 17.2 million)
  8. Greece (c. 13 million)
  9. Belgium (c. 11.4 million)
  10. Portugal (c. 10.8 million)
  11. Czech Republic (c. 10.5 million)
  12. Sweden (c. 10.2 million)

The rest are various smaller ethnic groups include Hungary (c. 9.8 million), Austrians (c. 8.8 million), Bulgaria (c. 8 million) Flemish, Croats, Slovaks, Silesians, Danes, Finns, Irish, Walloons, Lithuanians, Slovenes, Latvians, Estonians, Russians, Maltese, Moravians, Frisians and Basques.

More than 5 million ethnic groups

  1. Hungary (c. 9.8 million)
  2. Austria (c. 8.8 million)
  3. About 6.3 million Irish people live in (the Republic of) Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  4. Some 6 million Romani people live in various parts of the EU.[59]
  5. Denmark (c. 5.8 million)
  6. Finland (c. 5.5 million)
  7. Slovakia (c. 5.4 million)

On current trends European populations will become more ethnically diverse, with the possibility that today's majority ethnic groups will no longer comprise a numerical majority in some countries.[60]

In 2011, almost a quarter of new EU citizens were Moroccans, Turks, Ecuadorian or Indians. The new citizens in the old EU27 in 2011 were mainly Africans (26% of the total number of citizenships acquired), Asians (23%), non-EU27 Europeans (19%), North and South Americans (17%) or another EU27 Member State (11%). In 2011, the largest groups that acquired citizenship of an EU27 Member State were citizens of Morocco (64 300 persons, of which 55% acquired citizenship of France or Spain), Turkey (48 900, 58% acquired German citizenship), Ecuador (33 700, 95% acquired Spanish citizenship) and India (31 700, 83% acquired British citizenship).[61]

In 2012, 34.3 million foreign citizens lived in the old 27 European Union member states, accounting for 6.8% of the European Union population,[62] of whom 20.5 million were third country nationals (i.e. nationals of non-EU countries). The number of foreign-born (which includes those who have naturalised or are dual nationals) was 48.9 million or 9.7 per cent of the total population.[63]

A total of 8.0 million citizens from European countries outside of the old EU-27 were residing in the EU at the beginning of 2012; among these more than half were citizens of Turkey, Albania or Ukraine. The next biggest group was from Africa (24.5%), followed by Asia (22.0%), the Americas (14.2%) and Oceania (0.8%). Romanians (living in another EU Member State) and Turkish citizens made up the biggest groups of non-nationals living in the EU-27 in 2012. There were 4.4 million Romanian citizens living outside of Romania within the EU-27 and 2.3 million Turkish citizens living in the EU-27; each of these two groups of people accounted for 7.0% of all foreigners living in the EU-27 in 2012. The third largest group was Moroccans (1.9 million people, or 5.6% of all foreigners).[64]

Approximately 20 million non-Europeans live in the EU, 4% of the overall population prior to Brexit.[65]

Miscellaneous statistics

Age structure: (2006 est.)

Birth rate

10.9 births/1,000 population (2008)[66]

Death rate

9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2008)[66]

Net migration rate

3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008)[66]

Marriage rate

4.9 marriages/1,000 population (2007)[66]

Divorce rate

2.0 divorces/1,000 population (2005)[67]

Sex ratio

(2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

(2005)[67]

Life expectancy

(2005)[67]

Total fertility rate: 1.59 children born/woman 2009[68]

Live Births outside marriage: 40% of total live births in 2012[69]

See also

The demographics of the member states of the European Union:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Population on 1 January . . 27 March 2024.
  2. Web site: Live births and crude birth rate . Eurostat.
  3. Web site: Deaths and crude death rate . Eurostat.
  4. Web site: Life expectancy at birth by sex . Eurostat.
  5. Web site: Infant Mortality rate . Eurostat.
  6. Web site: Despite Brexit, English Remains The EU's Most Spoken Language By Far. Forbes.
  7. Web site: Eurobarometer. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf. 6 January 2016.
  8. Web site: EUROSTAT Population on 1 January . 11 July 2024 . ec.europa.eu.
  9. Web site: Area by NUTS 3 region . 11 July 2024 . ec.europa.eu.
  10. Web site: Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by country . en . World Health Organization . 4 December 2022.
  11. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, total. The World Bank Group. 30 May 2024. 16 June 2024.
  12. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, male. The World Bank Group. 30 May 2024. 16 June 2024.
  13. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, female. The World Bank Group. 30 May 2024. 16 June 2024.
  14. Web site: The 2008 Global Cities Index . 27 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100420024728/http://www.atkearney.com/index.php/Publications/global-cities-index.html . 20 April 2010 .
  15. Web site: GaWC – Inventory of World Cities 2008 . 27 April 2010.
  16. Web site: Bevölkerung . 2024-03-19 . www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de . de.
  17. Web site: MAJOR AGGLOMERATIONS OF THE WORLD . 2022-10-27 . citypopulation.de/en.
  18. https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/cog/aire-attraction-ville/AAV2020001-paris Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Paris (001)
  19. Web site: La población de la ciudad de Madrid se ha incrementado en más de 53.200 personas y se sitúa cerca de 3.340.000 habitantes - Ayuntamiento de Madrid . 2024-03-19 . www.madrid.es . es.
  20. Web site: Bilancio demografico mensile . 2024-03-19 . demo.istat.it.
  21. Web site: Titre Insee . 2024-03-19 . www.insee.fr.
  22. Web site: ktv_tkiebl . Vienna in Figures - Urban Area, Population, Education, Economy, Transport, Public Administration . 2024-03-19 . www.wien.gv.at . en.
  23. Web site: Monatszahlen / Zahlenspiegel - Statistikamt Nord . 2024-03-19 . www.statistik-nord.de.
  24. Web site: GUS - Bank Danych Lokalnych . 2024-03-19 . bdl.stat.gov.pl.
  25. Web site: POP105A - Populația rezidentă la 1 Ianuarie pe grupe de vârste, sexe și medii de rezidență, macroregiuni, regiuni de dezvoltare și județe .
  26. Web site: Census 2022 . 2024-03-19 . Census 2022 . en.
  27. Web site: Bevölkerung: Gemeinden, Geschlecht, Stichtag .
  28. Web site: Statistics Portugal - Web Portal . 2024-02-13 . www.ine.pt.
  29. Web site: Eurostat – Population on 1 January . 14 July 2024 . ec.europa.eu.
  30. Web site: Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table . ec.europa.eu . 14 July 2024.
  31. Web site: Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps.
  32. Web site: Migration and migrant population statistics . 2024-06-15 . ec.europa.eu . en.
  33. Web site: Population on 1 January . 2024-06-15 . ec.europa.eu.
  34. Web site: Poland: A new promised land | VoxEurop.eu: European news, cartoons and press reviews . Presseurop.eu . 2013-06-12 . 2017-03-30 . 2 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131102174726/http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/3869241-new-promised-land . dead .
  35. Web site: Connor . Ana Gonzalez-Barrera and Phillip . 2019-03-14 . Around the World, More Say Immigrants Are a Strength Than a Burden . 2023-12-25 . Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project . en-US.
  36. Web site: Population on 1 January by age group, sex and country of birth . 2024-03-19 . ec.europa.eu.
  37. Web site: Acquisition of citizenship in the EU . europa.eu . European Commission.
  38. Web site: Acquisition of citizenship statistics . ec.europa.eu . Eurostat.
  39. https://www.theguardian.com/spain/article/0,,1830838,00.html Spain attracts record levels of immigrants seeking jobs and sun
  40. Web site: 5.4 million children born in EU27 in 2008. Eurostat. 3 August 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20130510161534/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-03082009-AP/EN/3-03082009-AP-EN.PDF. 10 May 2013. dead.
  41. Web site: Database – Eurostat. ec.europa.eu.
  42. Web site: Special Eurobarometer, biotechnology, page 204. Fieldwork: Jan–Feb 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101215001129/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_341_en.pdf. 15 December 2010. dead.
  43. Book: Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses . 2015 . Berghahn Books . 978-1-78238-646-9 . 1. 10.2307/j.ctt9qctm0 . j.ctt9qctm0 .
  44. Web site: Center . Pew Research . 2015-04-02 . Europe . 2023-12-25 . Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project . en-US.
  45. Web site: The old Nordic religion today . 2023-12-25 . National Museum of Denmark . en.
  46. [Albert Hourani|Hourani, Albert]
  47. Modiano. Marko. 2017. English in a post-Brexit European Union. World Englishes. en. 36. 3. 313–327. 10.1111/weng.12264. 1467-971X. free.
  48. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-01042011-BP/EN/3-01042011-BP-EN.PDF Demography Report 2010. Latest figures on the demographic challenges in the EU
  49. Web site: Economic and financial affairs website – Notice to users . https://web.archive.org/web/20070711055231/http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/epc/epc_ageing_en.htm . dead . 11 July 2007 . European Commission – European Commission.
  50. Web site: Regional Policy Inforegio . Ec.europa.eu . 25 January 2011.
  51. News: Immigrants needed to save west from crisis . The Guardian . London . Michael . Ellison . 22 March 2000 . 1 May 2010.
  52. News: The EU's baby blues . BBC News . 27 March 2006 . 1 May 2010.
  53. Web site: Mettler . Ann . The EU's Window of Opportunity . https://web.archive.org/web/20071209190035/http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2007/gb20070130_790576.htm . dead . 9 December 2007 . Bloomberg Businessweek . 30 January 2007 . 25 January 2011.
  54. Book: .
  55. Web site: Population on 1st January by age and sex. Eurostat. 14 June 2017.
  56. Pan and Pfeil (2004), "Problems with Terminology", pp. xvii–xx.
  57. Web site: ETHNIC MINORITIES, DISCRIMINATION AND WELL-BEING IN THE ESS. ec.europa.eu. Ko Oudhof. 4 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20181003141423/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/1001617/4577877/3-2-OUDHOF-EN.pdf. 3 October 2018. live.
  58. Pan and Pfeil (2004) give 55 million for the French-speaking groups, excluding the Occitans. Recensement officiel de l'Insee INSEE.fr give 65 million.
  59. News: Roma ghettos in the heart of the EU . . 6 September 2019.
  60. Web site: Immigration, Population and Ethnicity: The UK in International Perspective – Migration Observatory – The Migration Observatory . Migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk . 2017-03-30 . 17 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150217050321/http://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/briefings/immigration-population-and-ethnicity-uk-international-perspective . dead .
  61. Web site: EU27 Member States granted citizenship to around 780,000 persons in 2011 . Europa.eu . 2017-03-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203223851/http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-13-177_en.pdf . 2013-12-03 . live .
  62. Web site: European social statistics pocketbook – All social statistics on the EU in one publication. ec.europa.eu. 17 July 2013. 4 February 2022.
  63. Web site: Futurium | FUTURIUM | European Commission . Ec.europa.eu . 2017-03-30.
  64. Web site: Statistics Explained . Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu . 2017-03-30.
  65. Web site: 2011: Year of Arab spring and pressure at Greek borders . 2013-12-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217221725/http://www.europolitics.info/2011-year-of-arab-spring-and-pressure-at-greek-borders-art335646-10.html . 17 December 2013 . europolitics.info. 31 May 2012.
  66. Web site: The EU-27 population continues to grow – Population statistics in Europe 2008: first results . 2009-08-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100331192754/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-QA-09-031/EN/KS-QA-09-031-EN.PDF . 31 March 2010 . epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. 2009.
  67. Web site: Population in Europe 2005: first results . 2006-12-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061208035913/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-NK-06-016/EN/KS-NK-06-016-EN.PDF . 8 December 2006. epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. 2006.
  68. Web site: Statistics Explained . Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu . 2017-03-30.
  69. Web site: Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table . 2014-02-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114113/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018 . 6 October 2014 .

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