As of 2023, Germany was the largest country in the European Union in terms of population. The central European country comprised almost one-fifth of the total population of the EU in that year, with France in second place with 15.19 percent, and Italy in third at 13.15 percent. While there are 27 member states of the European Union in total, approximately two-thirds of the population of the bloc is made up by the seven largest countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands. Of the remaining 20 member states, no country makes up more than 3 percent of the EU's total population, with the smallest country, Malta, comprising just 0.12 percent of the total.

This statistic shows the population growth in the EU member states in 2023, by country. In 2023, the population of Luxembourg grew by approximately 2.02 percent compared to the previous year. See the total EU population figures for more information.

In 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at 144.8 million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at 87.5 million, Germany at 84.5 million, the United Kingdom at 69.1 million, and France at 66.5 million. Europe is also home to some of the world’s smallest countries, such as the microstates of Liechtenstein and San Marino, with populations of 39,870 and 33,581 respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around 4.2 trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at 3.2 trillion and 2.8 trillion euros respectively. Prior to the mid-2000s, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, Italy, had an economy that was of a similar sized to France and the UK, before diverging growth patterns saw the UK and France become far larger economies than Italy. Moscow and Istanbul the megacities of Europe Two cities on the eastern borders of Europe were Europe’s largest in 2023. The Turkish city of Istanbul, with a population of 15.8 million, and the Russian capital, Moscow, with a population of 12.7 million. Istanbul is arguably the world’s most famous transcontinental city with territory in both Europe and Asia and has been an important center for commerce and culture for over two thousand years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of 11 million, with London being the fourth largest at 9.6 million.

This dataset provides values for POPULATION reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

With over 16.4 million foreign persons residing in Germany in 2023, the country had the highest number of foreign-born people living in its territory among the 27 Member States of the European Union. Followed by France with around 8.9 million and Spain at over eight million.

This statistic shows the total population of the European Union from 2010 to 2023. The population is based on data from the most recent census adjusted by the components of population change produced since the last census, or based on population registers. At the beginning of 2023, the total population of the European Union amounted to approximately 448.38 million inhabitants. See figures for the total population by continent here. The global population The global population is rapidly increasing. Between 1990 and 2015, the global population has increased by around 2 billion people, and it is estimated to have increased by another 1 billion people by 2030. Asia is the continent in the world with the largest population, followed by Africa and Europe. Asia has the two most populous nations in the world: China and India. In 2014, the combined population in China and India amounted to more than 2.6 billion people. The total population in Europe is around 741 million people. As of 2014, about 10.2 percent of the global population lived in Europe. Europe is the continent with the second highest life expectancy at birth in the world. Born in 2013, the average European was estimated to live for around 78 years. Stable economies as well as developing and emerging markets in Europe provide for good living conditions for foreign nationals; seven of the top twenty countries in the world with the largest gross domestic product in 2024 are located in Europe.

European Union urban population for 2023 was 340,311,203, a 0.8% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>European Union urban population for 2022 was <strong>337,610,183</strong>, a <strong>0.4% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>European Union urban population for 2021 was <strong>336,261,964</strong>, a <strong>0.2% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>European Union urban population for 2020 was <strong>335,592,576</strong>, a <strong>0.37% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female data was reported at 229,492.073 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 228,870.208 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 223,851.793 Person th from Dec 1984 (Median) to 2023, with 36 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 229,492.073 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 211,789.008 Person th in 1984. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.G002: Eurostat: Population: by Sex.

The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 51.06 percent. The highest value was in Moldova: 53.98 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 48.11 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Luxembourg is the European Union member state with the greatest share of its population being citizens of other EU member states, with almost 38 percent of people in the country coming from elsewhere in the EU. The small western European state has become a hub for immigration due to its status as one of the administrative centres of the EU (including being the location of the European Court of Justice and European Investment Bank), a key location for financial services companies, and due to its close proximity population centres of other member states such as France, Germany, and Belgium. Other countries with a large share of their population coming from elsewhere in the EU include Austria, Belgium, and Ireland, three countries which have seen increased intra-EU migration in recent years due to strong work opportunities in international organisations (Belgium and Austria) and multinational companies (Ireland).

The study on the image of Europe in Germany was conducted by dimap on behalf of the Federal Press Office. In the survey period from 30.10.2023 to 10.11.2023, the German population aged 16 and over was surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI) on the following topics: attitudes towards the EU and the European elections as well as assessment of EU policy. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample based on the RDD method, including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). For special insights into the attitudes of the younger population, the sample was increased in the under-25 age group. The results for this additional sample, which was carried out in the survey period 13.11.2023 to 01.12.2023, can be found in a separate data set.
Interest in the European Union and EU policies: attachment to the city, federal state, Germany and Europe; valued influence in the world of different countries or regions (European Union (EU), USA, China, Africa, Russia and Germany); interest in European Union policies; frequency of information about European Union policies; informedness about European Union policies; strengths of the European Union (open); weaknesses of the European Union (open).

Perception of the role of the EU: advantages or disadvantages of Germany´s membership of the EU; strength of the impact of EU policy on the lives of people in Germany.

Future EU policy issues: importance of various EU policy areas (protection of the EU´s external borders, strengthening cohesion among member states, stabilization of the euro, closer cooperation in defense policy, more balanced distribution of refugees and asylum seekers among member states); progress of the EU in the aforementioned areas; development of things in the European Union more in the right direction vs. the wrong direction; EU interferes too much in the affairs of individual member states; preferences with regard to future cooperation in the European Union (countries should deepen their cooperation and hand over more responsibilities to the EU, countries should act more alone again and take back responsibilities from the EU, nothing significant should change in terms of cooperation between EU countries); policy areas in which EU member states should cooperate more closely vs. should act more nationally (in foreign and security policy, in climate and energy policy, in refugee policy, in social policy, in economic and financial policy and in digital policy); perception of joint projects of the EU member states in the aforementioned areas.

Election to the European Parliament: Trust in institutions (EU Commission, EU Parliament, EU Council of Ministers, European Council of Heads of State and Government, United Nations, NATO, German Federal Government and Bundestag); perception of the EU Parliament as rather more or rather less corrupt, assertive, influential, slow in decision-making processes, participation in the last election to the EU Parliament in 2019; intention to vote in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament; Reasons for not voting in the European elections (dissatisfaction with EU policies, little or no interest in EU policies, parties all seem largely the same to me, do not see my own interests represented by any party, my vote has no influence on the election result); influence of the population on the decisions of the European Union; opinion on lowering the voting age to 16 for elections to the European Parliament; voting age should also be lowered to 16 for Bundestag elections; importance of a high voter turnout in the 2024 European elections.

Demography: sex; age; federal state; Berlin east/west; city size; size of household; number of people in household under 18; highest educational qualification; desired school-leaving qualification; party preference.

Additionally coded were: Respondent number; weight.

Graph and download economic data for Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Europe and Central Asia (SMPOPREFGECS) from 1990 to 2023 about Central Europe, refugee, Asia, World, Europe, and population.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 51.02 percent. The highest value was in Latvia: 53.68 percent and the lowest value was in Malta: 48.11 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

European Union Population: EA 20: Male: Age 30 to 34 data was reported at 10,826.854 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10,829.670 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EA 20: Male: Age 30 to 34 data is updated yearly, averaging 10,828.262 Person th from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2023, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,122.921 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 10,801.702 Person th in 2021. European Union Population: EA 20: Male: Age 30 to 34 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.G002: Eurostat: Population: by Sex.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 0.21 percent. The highest value was in Germany: 1.06 percent and the lowest value was in Luxembourg: 0.01 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

European Union population growth rate for 2023 was 0.21%, a 0.07% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>European Union population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>0.29%</strong>, a <strong>0.53% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>European Union population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>-0.24%</strong>, a <strong>0.32% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>European Union population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>0.08%</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 0.77 percent. The highest value was in Malta: 4.08 percent and the lowest value was in Greece: -0.63 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 25.6 percent. The highest value was in Slovakia: 45.97 percent and the lowest value was in Belgium: 1.81 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 50 to 54 data was reported at 31,910.263 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 32,218.245 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 50 to 54 data is updated yearly, averaging 31,289.647 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 32,734.999 Person th in 2018 and a record low of 28,367.883 Person th in 2000. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 50 to 54 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.G001: Eurostat: Population.

European Union rural population for 2023 was 109,165,675, a 0.54% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>European Union rural population for 2022 was <strong>109,760,368</strong>, a <strong>1.04% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>European Union rural population for 2021 was <strong>110,916,129</strong>, a <strong>1.06% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>European Union rural population for 2020 was <strong>112,099,739</strong>, a <strong>0.81% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.