Demographics of the European Union


The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states.
As of 1 January 2025, the population of the EU is slightly higher than
450 million people.

Population by country

The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 83.5 million people, and the least populous member state is Malta with 0.57 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 2025:
Member statePopulationPopulation Area Area Density
Austria

Life expectancy

* The United Kingdom has left the European Union in 2020

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 as well as 16 of the 41 "alpha" global cities classified by Globalization and World Cities Research Network. 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

mill.		Urban area

mill.		LUZ

mill.

Population shifts

CountryPopulation
%
growth
‰
Natural
change
‰
Net
migration
Fertility
rate
'''European Unionformatnum:449206579

Migration

The movement of people within the Union i.e. internal migration, remains limited; it has traditionally followed two patterns:
  • Younger workers from less economically developed regions and countries of the EU tend to move to more prosperous regions in their country or to other EU countries with good economic prospects
  • Retirees from wealthier places with colder weather tend to move to the sun belt in southern Europe – i.e. Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Italian peninsula, Croatia, and Greece.

    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. 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, France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.
In 2017, approximately 825,000 persons acquired citizenship of a member state of the European Union, down from 995,000 in 2016. The largest groups were nationals of Morocco, Albania, India, Turkey and Pakistan.
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.
The net migration rate for the EU in 2008 was 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitants; 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
Foreign-born 2022
%

Vital statistics

Statistics for the EU of 27 countries

Since 2020, EU data is aggregated for the 27 current member states. The UK is no longer a member due to leaving the EU. Population is reported on 1 January
YearPopulationBirthsDeathsNatural
change		Birth
rate
Death
rate
Natural
change
Migration
change
Fertility
rate
1960355,557,4146,642,9193,585,9943,056,92510.18.60.92.6
1961358,917,6776,657,4293,148,62918.59.80.6
1962362,292,0996,600,4633,721,1952,879,26818.210.37.91.7
1963365,754,3856,715,2443,723,4232,991,82118.410.28.20.5
1964368,938,3893,622,92518.49.88.6-0.3
1965371,982,3346,640,8383,751,1062,889,73217.910.17.802.7
1966374,882,3636,578,2433,718,6832,859,56017.59.97.6-0.1
1967377,698,6306,718,3463,811,5662,906,78017.810.17.7
1968380,351,1446,610,3243,951,1032,659,22117.410.47.0-0.1
1969382,976,4046,482,3854,079,3862,402,99916.910.76.3-0.7
1970385,137,8276,302,4193,986,8772,315,54216.410.46.0-0.52.4
1971387,270,8626,303,9014,047,3112,256,59016.310.55.81.0
1972389,902,1996,152,5973,995,9012,156,69615.810.25.51.0
1973392,434,9846,032,5144,079,7581,952,75615.410.45.01.0
1974394,804,8876,098,5604,046,0952,052,46515.410.25.20.2
1975396,936,3955,961,8574,163,8661,797,99115.010.54.50.72.0
1976399,002,3515,927,6464,163,9791,763,66714.910.44.40.4
1977400,935,3495,860,7774,096,3981,764,37914.610.24.40.2
1978402,782,6405,774,4514,171,3631,603,08814.310.44.00.4
1979404,564,5415,730,0064,144,1251,585,88114.210.23.90.7
1980406,417,9795,720,2954,250,0711,470,22414.110.53.60.61.8
1981408,131,8515,591,0814,217,6501,373,43113.710.33.40.0
1982409,501,1785,523,3414,183,5751,339,76613.510.23.3-0.7
1983410,557,0635,355,4644,304,5141,050,95013.010.52.6-0.4
1984411,456,9685,318,5504,233,0941,085,45612.910.32.6-0.3
1985412,391,8745,264,5004,335,723928,77712.810.52.30.31.6
1986413,482,1625,243,2354,296,210947,02512.710.42.30.5
1987414,653,5145,193,1674,242,345950,82212.510.22.30.9
1988415,967,0795,221,1604,246,582974,57812.610.22.31.1
1989417,372,9765,123,2584,265,774857,48412.310.22.11.2
1990418,764,3955,095,1624,324,569770,59312.210.31.81.11.5
1991419,958,7924,950,4364,350,854599,58211.810.41.41.5
1992421,163,0604,837,3494,304,019533,33011.510.20.72.5
1993422,508,7884,691,2424,367,728323,51411.110.30.81.6
1994423,532,7664,562,2534,314,434247,81910.810.20.61.2
1995424,301,1734,448,9294,355,21793,71210.510.30.21.31.4
1996424,957,6504,453,7784,361,66992,10910.510.30.21.2
1997425,560,2704,446,6444,316,381130,26310.410.10.34.8
1998427,740,6214,420,9514,329,08791,86410.310.10.21.4
1999428,431,1864,418,6224,331,00087,62210.310.10.21.0
2000428,929,0214,487,7454,267,048220,69710.59.90.50.81.50
2001429,481,9444,393,8254,231,178162,64710.29.90.41.91.43
2002430,456,6634,364,9284,284,98979,93910.110.00.23.31.43
2003431,976,1124,384,9164,373,65011,26610.210.10.03.71.44
2004433,589,1564,441,1774,190,920250,25710.20.62.91.46
2005435,116,2544,454,3014,288,668165,63310.29.90.42.81.47
2006436,521,8664,515,5374,224,330291,20710.39.70.72.71.50
2007437,984,2404,551,1804,271,736279,44410.49.80.62.61.52
2008439,386,6394,675,0514,312,237362,81410.69.80.81.61.57
2009440,426,3874,622,3684,341,741280,62710.59.90.60.81.56
2010441,041,4464,603,8584,344,647259,21110.49.80.61.11.57
20114,458,3864,318,817139,56910.19.81.10.41.54
2012440,905,1864,417,6564,441,34710.010.12.51.54
2013441,958,9434,303,3134,419,2589.710.02.41.51
2014442,883,8884,361,2394,372,6079.89.91.81.54
2015443,449,4254,330,9224,620,4119.710.43.31.54
2016444,335,4924,379,5494,534,2009.810.21.91.57
2017444,985,9914,328,5604,661,0819.710.52.31.56
2018445,977,0874,245,7104,693,5769.510.51.51.54
2019446,589,9744,168,6564,653,0339.310.43.11.53
20204,069,8965,184,0779.111.62.01.51
20214,088,4949.11.71.53
2022446,850,7643,879,5095,148,5958.711.51.46
2023448,507,0323,669,6594,860,5008.210.81.38
20244,816,00010.63.1