Demographics of the European Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states.
As of 1 January 2011, the population of the EU is about 502.52 million people. Many countries are expected to experience a decline in population over the coming decades, though this could be offset with new countries planning to join the EU within the next 20 years.

The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82.1 million people, and the least populous member state is Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

with 0.4 million. Birth rates in the EU are low with the average woman having 1.6 children. The highest birth-rates are found in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

with 16.876 births per thousand people per year and France with 13.013 births per thousand people per year. Germany has the lowest birth rate in Europe with 8.221 births per thousand people per year.

Population and Land Areas of the 27 member-states of the European Union (1 January^st 2011 estimate)
Population in thousands	Population % of EU	Area km²	Area % of EU	Pop. density People/km²
502,519.9	100	4,324,782	100	116.0
8,404.2		83,858	1.9	99.7
10,951.7		30,510	0.7	352.0
7,504.9		110,912	2.5	68.5
804.4		9,250	0.2	86.6
10,532.8		78,866	1.8	132.8
5,560.6		43,094	1.0	128.1
1,340.2		45,226	1.0	29.6
5,375.3		337,030	7.6	15.8
65,075.3		643,548	14.6	99.6
81,751.6		357,021	8.1	229.9
11,325.9		131,940	3.0	85.4
9,985.7		93,030	2.1	107.8
4,480.8		70,280	1.6	64.3
60,626.4		301,320	6.8	200.4
2,229.6		64,589	1.5	35.0
3,244.6		65,200	1.5	51.4
511.8		2,586	0.1	190.1
417.6		316	0.0	1,305.7
16,655.8		41,526	0.9	396.9
38,200.0		312,685	7.1	121.9
10,636.9		92,931	2.1	114.4
21,413.8		238,391	5.4	90.2
46,152.9		504,782	11.4	93.4
5,435.3		48,845	1.1	110.8
2,050.1		20,253	0.5	101.4
9,415.6		449,964	10.2	20.6
62,435.7		244,820	5.5	251.7

Most populous areas

The European union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

has a significant number of global cities

Global city

A global city is a city that is deemed to be an important node in the global economic system...

. It contains 13 of the 60 cities which compose the 2008 Global Cities Index, as well as 16 of the 41 "alpha" global cities classified by GaWC (including London, Paris, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

and Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

among others). The following is a list of the ten most populous cities, urban areas and urban zones in the European Union, with their population according to 2005 estimates.

City proper Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits This is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants. It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of... (2005)	mill.	Urban area Largest urban areas of the European Union This is a list of all the urban areas of the European Union which have greater than 750,000 inhabitants each in 2011.This list is an attempt to present a consistent list of population figures for urban areas in the European Union. All the figures here have been compiled by Demographia.-Important... (2005)	mill.	LUZ (2001)	mill.
London	7.5	Paris	10.2	London	12.0
Berlin	3.4	London	8.6	Paris	11.6
Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	3.1	Ruhr Area Ruhr Area The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...	7.3	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	5.6
Rome	2.7	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	5.4	Ruhr Area Ruhr Area The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...	5.4	London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...	Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
Paris	2.2	Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...	4.3	Berlin	5.0
Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....	1.9	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	4.2	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	4.2
Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...	1.8	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...	3.8	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...	4.0
Warsaw Warsaw Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...	1.7	Berlin	3.7	Rome	3.5
Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...	1.7	Naples Naples Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...	3.0	Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...	3.1
Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...	1.7	Rome	2.7	Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...	3.1	Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...	Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

Migration

There is substantial movement of people within the Union i.e. internal migration; this occurs in strong patterns:

from former industrialised areas in the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...

, Britain and Germany to the Sun belts in Spain, Portugal, Southern France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...

and Italy.
from poorer eastern countries of the EU to the richer countries of the western EU (UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain)

The British emigration towards Southern Europe is of especial relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of particular interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the real population of UK citizens living in Spain is much bigger than Spanish official figures suggest, establishing them at about 1,000,000 and about 800,000 being permanent residents.

In fact, according to the Financial Times, in 2007 Spain was the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering to move from their own country and seek jobs elsewhere in the EU.

Immigration and emigration

There are currently more people immigrating

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

into the European Union than there are emigrating

Emigration

Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...

from it. Immigration is a controversial issue in many member states such as Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. In 2010, 47.3 million people lived in the EU, who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).

Spain in particular receives most of the immigrants coming illegally to Europe from Africa, probably due to its large coastal area and its proximity and land borders to Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla; African immigrants try to enter the country by boat from Morocco or Senegal or by jumping the border fences. During the first weekend of September 2006, more than 1,300 illegal immigrants arrived on beaches in the Canary Islands and estimations are that between 50,000 and 70,000 people enter the European Union illegally through Spanish borders or beaches. Border fences

Separation barrier

A separation barrier is a wall or fence constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate two populations. These structures vary in placement with regard to international borders and topography...

have been built at both the Ceuta

Ceuta border fence

The Ceuta border fence is a separation barrier between Morocco and Spain at Ceuta, a city in the North African coast. Constructed by Spain, its purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling....

and Melilla

Melilla border fence

The Melilla border fence is a separation barrier between Morocco and the Spanish city of Melilla. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling.-Recent history:...

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

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

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.

In other countries, such as Ireland or Portugal, immigration is not seen as such a big issue, probably due to those countries' history of emigration. Spain also has past history of emigration too, especially in the 1960s during Franco's dictatorship, but the fact that it receives the most immigrants in all of the EU has made the problem grow more important in political debate.

The net migration rate for the EU in 2008 was 3,1 per 1000 inhabitants. This figure is for migration into and out of the European Union, and therefore excludes any internal movements between member states. Net migration has remained at an annual level of between 1.5 and 2 million since 2003.

Country	Total population 2010 (1000)	Total Foreign-born (1000)	%	Born in other EU state (1000)	%	Born in a non EU state (1000)	%
EU 27	501'098	47'348	9.4	15'980	3.2	31'368	6.3
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	81'802	9'812	12.0	3'396	4.2	6'415	7.8
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	64'716	7'196	11.1	2'118	3.3	5'078	7.8
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	62'008	7'012	11.3	2'245	3.6	4'767	7.7
Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	45'989	6'422	14.0	2'328	5.1	4'094	8.9
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	60'340	4'798	8.0	1'592	2.6	3'205	5.3
Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	16'575	1'832	11.1	428	2.6	1'404	8.5
Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....	11'305	1'256	11.1	315	2.8	940	8.3
Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	9'340	1'337	14.3	477	5.1	859	9.2
Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	8'367	1'276	15.2	512	6.1	764	9.1
Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... (2007)	10'666	1'380	12.9	695	6.5	685	6.4
Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	10'637	793	7.5	191	1.8	602	5.7
Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	5'534	500	9.0	152	2.8	348	6.3

Religion

The EU has significant religious diversity, mirroring its diverse history and culture. The largest religious group professes Christianity, predominantly Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Several EU nations do not have Christian majorities for example (in the Czech Republic, Estonia, and The Netherlands, the majority has no religious affiliation).

Today, theism is losing prevalence in Europe in favour of atheism, and religion is losing prevalence in favour of secularism. European countries have experienced a decline in church attendance, as well as a decline in the number of people professing a belief in a god. The Eurobarometer Poll 2005 found that, on average, 52% of the citizens of EU member states state that they believe in a god, 27% believe there is some sort of spirit or Life Force while 18% do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god or Life Force, and 3% declined to answer.

A decrease in church membership and/ or church attendance in Europe (especially Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden) has been noted, church attendance (percentagewise of the total population by country) in Northern and Western Europe is typically in the single digits.

The recent influx of immigrants to the affluent EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, Sikhism

Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

and Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

. Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

has had a long history in Europe and has coexisted with the native populations for centuries, despite centuries of discrimination against Jewish people and several attendant periods of persecution or genocide by European rulers. Islam

Islam in Europe

This article deals with the history and evolution of the presence of Islam in Europe. According to the German , the total number of Muslims in Europe in 2007 was about 53 million , excluding Turkey. The total number of Muslims in the European Union in 2007 was about 16 million .-Early history:Islam...

too has had a long history in Europe with Spain and Portugal at one time having a muslim majority. As the Christian churches have historically wielded much power in Europe, reaction to this has allowed secularism

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

to plant deep roots on European soil which has contributed to the rise in atheism

Atheism

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...

and agnosticism

Agnosticism

Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....

Language

The first official languages of each of the 27 member countries has the status of an official language of the European Union. In total there are 23, with Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, Bulgarian

Bulgarian language

Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...

and Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

gaining official language status on 1 January 2007, when the last two countries joined the union.

English is 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

Second language

A second language or L2 is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas ....

or foreign language

Foreign language

A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...

). German is the most spoken first language

First language

A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...

, spoken by more than 18% of the population.

Demographic future

The EU faces challenges in its demographic future. Most concerns center around several related issues: an aging 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. The positive trend was observed in all member states with the exception of Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, Malta

Malta

and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. The largest increases over this period were observed in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

(from 1.23 children per woman in 2003 to 1.57 in 2009), Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

(from 1.20 to 1.53), the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

(from 1.18 to 1.49) and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

(from 1.26 to 1.55). In 2009, the Member States with the highest fertility rates were Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

(2.07), France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

(2.00), the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

(1.96 in 2008) and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

(1.94), all approaching the replacement level of 2.1 children born per female. The lowest rates were observed in Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

(1.31), Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

and Portugal

Portugal

(both 1.32) and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

(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.

A low fertility rate, without supplement from immigration, also suggests a declining overall EU population, which further suggests economic contraction or even a possible economic crisis. Some media have noted the 'baby crisis' in the EU, some governments have noted the problem, and the UN and other multinational authorities continue to warn of a possible crisis. 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.

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

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

and Slovenia

Slovenia

Rank	Country	Population as of 2002	Population as of 2011	Percent change	Estimated population 2056
1	Germany	82,440,309	81,751,602	-0.8%	78,533,442
2	Early Modern France	61,424,036	65,075,310	5.9%	86,675,438
3	United Kingdom	59,216,138	62,435,709	5.4%	81,214,973
4	Italy	56,993,742	60,626,442	6.4%	82,674,242
5	Spain	40,964,244	46,152,926	12.7%	83,910,985
6	Poland	38,242,197	38,200,037	-0.1%	38,009,418
7	Kingdom of Romania	21,833,483	21,413,815	-1.9%	19,455,352
8	Netherlands	16,105,285	16,654,979	3.4%	19,685,515
9	Greece	10,968,708	11,329,618	3.3%	13,326,524
10	Belgium	10,309,725	10,918,405	5.9%	14,542,498
11	Portugal	10,329,340	10,636,979	3.0%	12,331,174
12	Czech Republic	10,206,436	10,532,770	3.2%	12,329,376
13	Hungary	10,174,853	9,986,000	-1.9%	9,072,701
14	Sweden	8,909,128	9,415,570	5.7%	12,422,859
15	Austria	8,063,640	8,404,252	4.2%	10,323,754
16	Kingdom of Bulgaria	7,891,095	7,504,868	-4.9%	5,837,752
17	Denmark	5,368,354	5,560,628	3.6%	6,636,248
18	Slovakia	5,378,951	5,435,273	1.0%	5,712,527
19	Finland	5,194,901	5,375,276	3.5%	6,384,142
20	Republic of Ireland	3,899,702	4,480,176	14.9%	8,972,123
21	Lithuania	3,475,586	3,244,601	-6.6%	2,306,193
22	Latvia	2,345,768	2,229,641	-5.0%	1,725,254
23	Slovenia	1,994,026	2,050,189	2.8%	2,353,745
24	Estonia	1,361,242	1,340,194	-1.5%	1,242,650
25	Cyprus	705,539	804,435	14.0%	1,548,871
26	Luxembourg	444,050	511,840	15.3%	1,042,991
27	Malta	394,641	417,608	5.8%	553,601
—	European Union	484,635,119	502,489,143	3.7%	602,587,980

Ethnic composition

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
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....

, 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.

The 15 largest ethnic groups in the European Union are:

the Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

(ca. 77 million)
the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

(ca. 65 million)
the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

(ca. 61 million) (Includes English ~50 million, Scots ~5million, Welsh ~3 million and Northern Irish ~1.7million)
the Italians (ca. 60 million)
the Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

(ca. 42 million)
the Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

(ca. 41 million) (Includes Basques
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

~2.3 million, Catalans
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...

~4.6 million, Galicians
Galician people
The Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...

~1.1 million, Castilians
Castilian people
The Castilian people are the inhabitants of those regions in Spain where most people identify themselves as Castilian. They include Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, and the major part of Castile and León. However, not all regions of the medieval Kingdom of Castile think of themselves as Castilian...

~11 million, Andalusians
Andalusian people
The Andalusians are the people of the southern region in Spain approximated by what is now called Andalusia. They are generally not considered an ethnically distinct people because they lack two of the most important markers of distinctiveness: their own language and an awareness of a presumed...

~6.9 million and Valencians
Valencian people
The Valencians are an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is a historical region in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Catalan , and Spanish ....

~4.8 million)
the Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

(ca. 25 million) (Not counting Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...

and Aromanians
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...

)
the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

(ca. 16 million)
the Hungarians (ca. 12 million)
the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

(ca. 12 million)
the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

(ca 12 million)
the Czechs (ca. 10 million)
the Swedes
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...

(ca. 8 million)
the Austrians
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

(ca. 8 million)
the Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...

(ca. 8 million)

These groups account for some 450 million or about 90% of European Union population. The remaining 10% is shared by various smaller ethnic groups including Flemings

Flemish people

The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...

, Slovaks

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

, Danes, Finns, Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

, Walloons

Walloons

Walloons are a French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia. Walloons are a distinctive community within Belgium, important historical and anthropological criteria bind Walloons to the French people. More generally, the term also refers to the inhabitants of the Walloon...

, Lithuanians

Lithuanians

Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...

, Slovenes, Latvians

Latvians

Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...

, Estonians

Estonians

Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...

, Maltese

Maltese people

The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Frisians

Frisians

The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...

and Basques in France.

Miscellaneous statistics

Age structure: (2006 est.)

0–14 years: 16.03% (male 37,608,010/female 35,632,351)
15–64 years: 67.17% (male 154,439,536/female 152,479,619)
65 years and over: 16.81% (male 31,515,921/female 45,277,821)

Birth rate

Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...

: 10.9 births/1,000 population 2008

Death rate: 9.7 deaths/1,000 population 2008

Net migration rate

Net migration rate

Net migration rate is the difference of immigrants and emigrants of an area in a period of time, divided per 1,000 inhabitants...

: 3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population 2008

Marriage rate: 4.9 marriages/1,000 population 2007

Divorce rate: 2.0 divorces/1,000 population 2005

Sex ratio

Sex ratio

Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....

: (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 2005

total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: -
female: -

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

: 2005

total population: 78.9 years
male: 75.8 years
female: 81.9 years

Total fertility rate: 1.60 children born/woman 2008

Live Births outside marriage: 33.0% of total live births 2005
increased to 37 % 3 years later 2008 page 42

External links

10 Million Europeans - Will Europe's population collapse?

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