Population structure
This section presents population size and density, the ratio of women to men as well as ageing.
This share grew in the EU from 16% in 2002 to 21% in 2022
A growing population until 2020
EU population growth interrupted in 2020
On 1 January 2022, there were 446.7 million people living in the European Union (EU). The most populous EU Member State was Germany (83.2 million, 19% of the EU total), followed by France (67.9 million, 15%), Italy (59.0 million, 13%), Spain (47.4 million, 11%) and Poland (37.7 million, 8%). In total, these five Member States accounted for two thirds of the EU population. At the other end of the range, the least populous EU Member States were Malta (521 000 people, corresponding to 0.1% of the EU total), Luxembourg (645 000, also 0.1%) and Cyprus (905 000, 0.2%).
During the period 2001 to 2020, the total population of the EU increased from 429 million to 447 million, a growth of 4%. Seventeen Member States showed increases in their population during this period and ten recorded decreases. The largest relative increases were recorded in Luxembourg (43%), Malta (31%), Ireland (30%) and Cyprus (27%), while the largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (−20%) and Latvia (−19%).
Population change
This section focuses on births and deaths, age of mothers and number of children, as well as life expectancy and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021 in the EU, it was 82.9 years for girls and 77.2 years for boys — a difference of 5.7 years
Population structure
This section presents population size and density, the ratio of women to men as well as ageing.
This share grew in the EU from 16% in 2002 to 21% in 2022
A growing population until 2020
EU population growth interrupted in 2020
On 1 January 2022, there were 446.7 million people living in the European Union (EU). The most populous EU Member State was Germany (83.2 million, 19% of the EU total), followed by France (67.9 million, 15%), Italy (59.0 million, 13%), Spain (47.4 million, 11%) and Poland (37.7 million, 8%). In total, these five Member States accounted for two thirds of the EU population. At the other end of the range, the least populous EU Member States were Malta (521 000 people, corresponding to 0.1% of the EU total), Luxembourg (645 000, also 0.1%) and Cyprus (905 000, 0.2%).
During the period 2001 to 2020, the total population of the EU increased from 429 million to 447 million, a growth of 4%. Seventeen Member States showed increases in their population during this period and ten recorded decreases. The largest relative increases were recorded in Luxembourg (43%), Malta (31%), Ireland (30%) and Cyprus (27%), while the largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (−20%) and Latvia (−19%).
Between 1 January 2020 and 1 January 2022, however, the population of the EU decreased by 585 000 people. The highest decreases in absolute terms were observed in Italy (−611 000, corresponding to −1.0%) and Poland (−304 000, −0.8%), and in relative terms in Croatia (−4.8%, −196 000) and Greece (−2.4%, −259 000). Overall, ten countries showed decreases in their population during the two-year period 2020-2021, while the remaining seventeen had increases. France recorded the highest absolute increase (552 000, 0.8%) and Luxembourg the highest relative increase (3.1%, 19 000).
Population density in the EU ranges from 18 to 1 657 people per km²
The population density, meaning the number of people per square kilometre (km²), was on average 109 persons per km² in the EU in 2022. This value varied significantly between Member States. The highest population density was observed in Malta (1 657 persons per km²), followed at a distance by the Netherlands (513) and Belgium (381). At the other end of the range were Finland (18 persons per km²) and Sweden (26) with the lowest population densities.
Comparing 2022 with 2001, there was an increase in the population density in around two thirds of the Member States, with the largest growths in Malta (from 1 245 to 1 657 persons per km²), Luxembourg (from 171 to 248) and Belgium (339 to 381). Romania (96 to 82) and Lithuania (55 to 45) had the largest decreases. On average in the EU, the population density increased from 104 persons per km² to 109 during this period.
More women than men
Almost 5% more women than men in the EU
On 1 January 2022, there were 228 million women and 218 million men in the EU. This corresponds to a ratio of 104.6 women per 100 men, which means that there were 4.6% more women than men. There were more women than men in all Member States, except Malta, Luxembourg, Sweden and Slovenia. The highest rates were found in Latvia (16% more women than men) and Lithuania (15% more).
For comparison, on 1 January 2002 there were 5.4% more women than men in the EU, with a minimum ratio of 101.2 women per 100 men in Ireland and a maximum of 117.7 in Latvia. During the period 2002-2022 the highest increase in the rate was recorded in Portugal (from 107.1 to 110.3 women per 100 men), while the highest decrease was in Malta (from 102.0 to 92.9 women per 100 men).
An ageing population
Share of those aged 80+ almost doubled between 2002 and 2022
Over the period 2002-2022, the share of persons aged 65 and over increased in all Member States. At EU level, the increase was 5 percentage points (pp), from 16% to 21%. The highest increase was in Finland (8 pp) and the lowest in Luxembourg (1 pp). In 2022, Italy and Portugal (both 24%) and Finland and Greece (both 23%) had the highest shares, while Ireland and Luxembourg (both 15%) had the lowest.
Looking more specifically at the group aged 80 and over, their share grew in all Member States, at EU level by 2.6 pp, from 3.5% in 2002 to 6.1% in 2022. The highest increase was in Greece (+3.5 pp, from 3.7% to 7.2%) and the lowest in Sweden (+0.2 pp., from 5.2% to 5.4%).
A decrease of young people below 20
Over the period 2002-2022, the share of young people (aged 0 to 19 years old) decreased in all Member States. At EU level, the decrease was 3 pp, from 23% to 20%. The highest decreases were in Malta (−9 pp) and Cyprus (−8 pp) and the lowest in Sweden, Belgium and Spain (all −1 pp). In 2022, the highest shares of young people were in Ireland (26%) and France (24%), and the lowest in Malta and Italy (both 18%).
Concerning children (those aged below 15), the decrease in the EU was 2 pp, from 17% in 2002 to 15% in 2022. A decrease was observed in all Member States, except Czechia (+0.2 pp), with highest decreases in Malta (−6 pp) and Cyprus (−5 pp). In 2022, the share of children and adolescents was highest in Ireland (20%) and Sweden (18%) and lowest in Italy, Portugal and Malta (all 13%).
Median age of the population in the EU: 44 years
Another way of analysing the ageing of society in the EU is by looking at the age of the population. The median age has increased in the period 2002 to 2022: it was 38.7 years in 2002, 41.9 years in 2012 and 44.4 years in 2022. This means an increase of 5.7 years in the median age in the EU during this period.
Among the EU Member States, the highest median age in 2022 was observed in Italy (48.0 years), followed by Portugal (46.8), Greece (46.1) and Germany (45.8), while the lowest were recorded in Cyprus (38.3 years), Ireland (38.8), Luxembourg (39.7) and Malta (40.4). During the period 2002 to 2022, the median age increased most in Portugal (8.6 years), followed by Romania (8.5), Greece and Lithuania (both 7.8).
Population change
This section focuses on births and deaths, age of mothers and number of children, as well as life expectancy and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021 in the EU, it was 82.9 years for girls and 77.2 years for boys — a difference of 5.7 years
Fewer births, more deaths
Live births decreasing
In the EU, the crude birth rate, showing the number of live births per 1 000 persons, was 10.2 in 2001, went up to 10.6 in 2008 and has decreased since then to 9.1 in 2021. Among the Member States, this pattern differed, with decreases in sixteen Member States and increases in ten during this period, while the rate remained unchanged in Bulgaria. In 2021, the highest crude birth rates were found in Ireland (12.0 live births per 1 000 persons), Cyprus (11.4), France and Sweden (both 11.0) and the lowest in Italy (6.8), Spain (7.1) and Portugal (7.7).
Number of deaths increasing
The crude death rate (number of deaths per 1 000 persons) was 9.9 in 2001 in the EU, decreased to 9.7 in 2004 and 2006, and has since then been fluctuating to reach 10.4 in 2019, 11.6 in 2020 and 11.9 in 2021. In 22 Member States, there was an increase in the rate during this period and in five a decrease. In 2021, the highest crude death rates were observed in Bulgaria (21.7 deaths per 1 000 persons), Latvia (18.4), Romania (17.5) and Lithuania (17.0), and the lowest in Ireland (6.8), Luxembourg (7.0), Cyprus and Malta (both 8.0).
A negative natural population change in the EU since 2012
As mentioned earlier, the population in the EU grew from 1 January 2001 until 1 January 2020, and then declined during the next two years. EU’s (difference between live births and deaths) has, however, been negative already since 2012. This is in large part due to the ageing population described earlier in this publication, as well as to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
In 2001, the crude rate of natural population change was +0.4 per 1 000 persons and remained positive until 2011. The rate turned negative in 2012 and has continuously decreased since 2016 to reach −1.1 in 2019, −2.5 in 2020 and −2.7 in 2021. The highest negative crude rates of natural population change in 2021 were observed in Bulgaria (−13.1), Latvia (−9.1) and Lithuania (−8.7), and the highest positive ones were found in Ireland (+5.2), Cyprus (+3.5) and Luxembourg (+3.4).
Older mothers
Number of children per woman decreasing since 2016
Despite the fact that the absolute number of live births has been continuously decreasing in the EU, the number of live births per woman has shown a more irregular pattern during the period 2001 to 2021. It grew from 1.43 live births per woman in 2001 to around 1.57 in 2008-2010, and then slightly decreased to 1.51 in 2013, before rebounding modestly to 1.57 in 2016 and then falling again to reach 1.50 in 2020. In 2021 the value increased to 1.53.
In 2021, among the Member States, France (1.84 live births per woman) had the highest total fertility rate, followed by Czechia (1.83) and Romania (1.81). The lowest rates were found in Malta (1.13), Spain (1.19) and Italy (1.25).
Over the period 2001-2021, the largest decreases in the total fertility rate were observed in Malta (from 1.48 live births per woman in 2001 to 1.13 in 2021), Luxembourg (from 1.66 to 1.38) and Finland (from 1.73 to 1.46), while the highest increases were found in Czechia (from 1.15 in 2001 to 1.83 in 2021) and Romania (from 1.27 to 1.81).
Age of women at birth of first child increasing to 29.7 years
The age of first-time mothers in the EU has increased: in 2013 the mean age of women at birth of their first child was 28.8 years. This increased every year to reach 29.7 in 2021. There was an increase in this mean age in all Member States during the period 2001-2021: the highest increases of more than 4 years were in Estonia and Lithuania, while the lowest increase of around 1 year was in France. In 2021, the oldest first-time mothers were found in Italy and Spain (31.6 years) and the youngest in Bulgaria (26.5) and Romania (27.1).
Share of births to mothers aged 40 and over more than doubled between 2001 and 2021
Another way of analysing fertility trends is to look at the share of live births to mothers aged 40 and over in total live births in a year: in the EU, this share more than doubled between 2001 and 2021, from 2.4% in 2001 to 5.7% in 2021. The proportion of live births to mothers aged at least 40 increased in all Member States during this period. In 2021, the largest share was found in Spain (10.7% of all live births), followed by Greece (9.7%), Italy (8.7%), Portugal (8.5%) and Ireland (8.4%), and the lowest in Romania and Lithuania (both 3.3%).
Women live longer
Increase in life expectancy of 3.7 years between 2002 and 2019, decrease of 1.2 years between 2019 and 2021
The population in the EU is ageing and one reason is the increasing life expectancy – the population live longer and longer. Life expectancy at birth rose rapidly during the last century due to a number of factors, including reductions in infant mortality, rising living standards, improved lifestyles and better education, as well as advances in healthcare and medicine. In 2002, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 77.6 years, a value which increased by 3.7 years to 81.3 in 2019.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy fell in 2020 to 80.4 years and in 2021 to 80.1 years. It fell also in all Member States, except Denmark and Luxembourg, where it stayed the same between 2019 and 2021. The largest decreases were observed in Slovakia (from 77.8 in 2019 to 74.6 in 2021) and Bulgaria (from 75.1 to 71.4).
To compare with earlier years, life expectancy rose by 2.5 years at EU level between 2002 and 2021, despite the decrease following the COVID-19 pandemic. All Member States, except Bulgaria (decrease of 0.5 years), recorded an increase from 2001 to 2021, with the largest increases in Estonia (from 70.9 years in 2001 to 77.2 in 2021) and Ireland (from 77.2 to 82.4).
In 2021, the highest life expectancies at birth were estimated to be in Spain (83.3) and Sweden (83.1), and the lowest in Bulgaria (71.4) and Romania (72.8).
Women live on average 5.7 years longer than men
Women live longer than men: data for 2021 show that in the EU life expectancy at birth for women was 82.9 years and 77.2 for men, a difference of 5.7 years. This was the case in all Member States, with the largest differences in Latvia (9.8; women 78.0 and men 68.2) and Lithuania (9.3; 78.8 and 69.5), and the smallest in the Netherlands (3.3; 83.0 and 79.7) and Malta (3.5; 84.3 and 80.8).
To compare with earlier years, the difference in life expectancy at birth between women and men was 6.6 years in the EU in 2002 (women 80.9 and men 74.3). In the Member States in 2001, the highest differences were in Lithuania (11.5; 77.4 and 65.9) and Latvia (11.4; 75.8 and 64.4 in 2002) and the lowest in Sweden (4.6; 82.2 and 77.6), Malta (4.6; 81.2 and 76.6) and Denmark (4.6; 79.3 and 74.7).
In 2021, the highest life expectancies at birth for women were estimated in Spain (86.2) and France (85.5), and the lowest in Bulgaria (75.1) and Romania (76.6). For men, the highest life expectancies at birth were estimated in Sweden (81.3) and Malta (80.8) and the lowest in Bulgaria (68.0) and Latvia (68.2).
Around 1.76 million additional deaths in the EU between March 2020 and January 2023, compared with the 2016-2019 average
In April 2020, a new European data collection on weekly death counts was launched. The main reason for this launch was to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparing the weekly deaths with the average for the same period from 2016 to 2019, the level of excess mortality, or the number of additional deaths, can be determined.
In total there were around 1 762 000 additional deaths in the EU between March 2020 and January 2023, of which around 583 000 were in 2020, 655 000 in 2021, 511 000 in 2022 and 12 000 in January 2023. National trends were quite varied across the EU. In February 2023, for the first time since February 2020 (just before the COVID-19 pandemic), there was no excess mortality in the EU as a whole, when excess mortality fell to −2.3%, due to around 7 000 fewer deaths compared with February 2016-2019 average.
In the visualisation below, the different waves of excess mortality can be seen at EU and country levels. Some of the mortality increase in July and August 2022 compared with the same months of the years 2020 and 2021 may be due to heatwaves that then affected parts of Europe.
Population diversity
This section presents immigration and emigration, non-national population, acquisition of citizenship and differences between rural and urban regions.
In 2021, from the 827 000 citizenships granted by EU Member States, the largest groups acquiring were Moroccans and Syrians (both 10 %)
Immigration and emigration
In 2021, 3.7 million international immigrants
In 2021, 2.3 million people to the EU from non-EU countries and 1.4 million people previously residing in one EU Member State migrated to another Member State, a total of 3.7 million international immigrants.
In 2021, the largest numbers of persons immigrating were recorded in Germany (874 000 persons, 23% of all immigrants into EU Member States), Spain (529 000, 14%), France (336 000, 9%) and Italy (318 000, 9%). Immigrants into these four Member States made up 55% of all immigrants entering an EU Member State in 2021. Slovakia (6 000, 0.2% of all immigrants into EU Member States), Latvia (13 000, 0.3%), Malta (18 000, 0.5%) and Estonia (20 000, 0.5%) recorded the smallest numbers of immigrants.
A large majority of of immigrants are non-nationals in many Member States
Immigrants are either non-nationals or nationals having the citizenship of the country in which they move. In 2021, over half of immigrants were non-nationals in 22 among the 27 Member States. The largest shares were observed in Czechia (96%), Luxembourg (94%) and Austria (92%). On the other hand, in Romania, 77% of immigrants in 2021 held a national citizenship, followed by Portugal (75%) and Slovakia (65%).
EU citizens
EU citizens living in another EU country
The EU population has the freedom to move and reside in the different EU Member States. The largest group of EU citizens residing in other EU Member States as non-nationals in 2022 was Romanian citizens (3.1 million or 24% of all EU citizens living in another EU country as non-nationals), followed by Polish (1.5 million or 11%), Italian (1.5 million or 11%) and Portuguese citizens (1.0 million or 7%).
Looking at the period 2018 to 2022, the number of EU citizens living in another EU Member State has increased for 19 EU citizenships and decreased for 8. The largest relative increase during this period can be observed for Luxembourgish (+27%), Irish (+19%), Maltese (+16%) and Croatian (+15%) citizens.
Moroccans, Syrians and Albanians largest groups acquiring citizenship across EU Member States
Looking at the period 2016 to 2021, the total number of citizenships granted to non-nationals in the EU was lowest in 2018 (672 000) and highest in 2016 (844 000). In 2021, 827 000 citizenships were granted by EU Member States, a 13% increase compared with 2020. In terms of original citizenships, the largest groups acquiring citizenship of an EU Member State in 2020 and 2021 were Moroccans and Syrians (both 10% of all citizenships granted by an EU Member State in 2021) and Albanians (4%). During the period 2016 to 2019, Moroccans and Albanians were the largest two groups citizenship of an EU Member State, ahead of Turks from 2015 until 2018 and of Britons in 2019.
Share of children born to foreign-born mothers increasing
Another way of looking at population diversity is through the share of children born to foreign-born mothers. In 2021 in the EU, 21% of children were born to mothers who were not born in their country of residence of 2021, an increase of 3 pp from 18% in 2013. In 2021, Luxembourg (65%), Cyprus (38%) and Malta (35%) recorded the highest shares, while the lowest were in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania (all 2%).
Compared with 2013, 21 of the 27 EU countries in 2021 showed an increase in the share of live births from foreign-born mothers. Malta recorded the highest increase in this share (23.4 pp from 11.4% in 2013 to 34.8% in 2021) followed by Portugal, Spain and Romania in which increases of 5 pp were recorded.
Rural and urban regions: differences
Higher share of people of working age in urban regions
People in the EU live in different kinds of regions: rural, urban or ‘intermediate regions’. Different age group shares in the total population were observed in different regions in 2022: for the working age population (aged 20-64), there was a higher share in urban regions (60%) than in rural regions (57%). For those aged 65 to 79, the pattern was the opposite: there was a higher share in rural regions (16%) than in urban regions (14%). For people aged less than 15 (15%), aged 15 to 19 (5%) and those aged 80 or over (6%), the shares in the different types of region were the same within the age group.
Looking at the Member States, the pattern mentioned above is more visible. In all Member States, except Poland and Slovakia, the share of the working age population was higher in urban regions than in rural regions. The differences were highest in Denmark (64% in urban regions and 55% in rural regions), Finland (60% and 53%) and Sweden (59% and 53%). The shares of people aged 65 to 79 living in rural areas were highest in the Netherlands (20%), Portugal and Finland (both 19%). What is also interesting to note is the share of the population in urban and rural regions for those aged 80 and over in Spain: this age group represented 10% in rural regions (the highest share in all Member States) and 6% in urban regions.
Population change
This section focuses on births and deaths, age of mothers and number of children, as well as life expectancy and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021 in the EU, it was 82.9 years for girls and 77.2 years for boys — a difference of 5.7 years
A growing population until 2020
EU population growth interrupted in 2020
On 1 January 2022, there were 446.7 million people living in the European Union (EU). The most populous EU Member State was Germany (83.2 million, 19% of the EU total), followed by France (67.9 million, 15%), Italy (59.0 million, 13%), Spain (47.4 million, 11%) and Poland (37.7 million, 8%). In total, these five Member States accounted for two thirds of the EU population. At the other end of the range, the least populous EU Member States were Malta (521 000 people, corresponding to 0.1% of the EU total), Luxembourg (645 000, also 0.1%) and Cyprus (905 000, 0.2%).
During the period 2001 to 2020, the total population of the EU increased from 429 million to 447 million, a growth of 4%. Seventeen Member States showed increases in their population during this period and ten recorded decreases. The largest relative increases were recorded in Luxembourg (43%), Malta (31%), Ireland (30%) and Cyprus (27%), while the largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (−20%) and Latvia (−19%).
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