In 2023, Ukraine had the fastest growing population in Europe. As a result of Ukrainian citizens who had fled Russia's invasion of the eastern European country in 2022 returning to the country in 2023, Ukraine's population grew by 3.68 percent compared to 2022. Excluding this special case, the European countries which saw the greatest population growth in 2023 were Luxembourg, Norway, and Ireland. Overall, Europe's population declined by 0.09 percent in 2022, with this varying by region from a 0.31 percent decline in eastern Europe to an increase of 0.33 percent in northern Europe. All of the countries which saw the largest declines in their population in 2023 were central and eastern European countries which had hosted large numbers of Ukrainian refugees in 2022. Moldova, one of Ukraine's closest neighbours, saw its population decline by 3.6 percent, while Poland's population declined by 2.2 percent, and Slovakia's by 1.8 percent.

The population of Europe decreased by approximately 0.09 percent in 2023, falling to an overall total of approximately 743.5 million people. Since 1961, Europe's population growth rate has never exceeded one percent, and was even declining in the late 1990s and between 2020 and 2023.

The population of Europe was estimated to be 742.2 million in 2023, an increase of around 2.2 million when compared with 2013. Over 35 years between 1950 and 1985, the population of Europe grew by approximately 157.8 million. But 35 years after 1985 it was estimated to have only increased by around 38.7 million. Since the 1960s, population growth in Europe has fallen quite significantly and was even negative during the mid-1990s. While population growth has increased slightly since the low of -0.07 percent in 1998, the growth rate for 2020 was just 0.04 percent.

Which European country has the biggest population? As of 2021, the population of Russia was estimated to be approximately 145.9 million and was by far Europe's largest country in terms of population, with Turkey being the second-largest at over 85 million. While these two countries both have territory in Europe, however, they are both only partially in Europe, with the majority of their landmasses being in Asia. In terms of countries wholly located on the European continent, Germany had the highest population at 83.9 million, and was followed by the United Kingdom and France at 68.2 million and 65.4 million respectively.

Characteristics of Europe's population There are approximately 386.5 million females in Europe, compared with 361.2 million males, a difference of around 25 million. In 1950, however, the male population has grown faster than the female one, with the male population growing by 104.7 million, and the female one by 93.6 million. As of 2021, the single year of age with the highest population was 34, at 10.7 million, while in the same year there were estimated to be around 136 thousand people aged 100 or over.

The population of Europe is expected to fall from ***** million in 2023 to just ***** million people by 2100, in the medium-variant scenario provided in this projection. In the scenario where the population declines even further, the population of Europe may fall to as low as ***** million by 2100, while in the high-variant projection, the population will increase to approximately ***** million.

European countries are experiencing population decline and the tacit assumption in most analyses is that the decline may have detrimental welfare effects. In this paper we use a survey among the population in the Netherlands to discover whether population decline is always met with fear. A number of results stand out: population size preferences differ by geographic proximity: at a global level the majority of respondents favors a (global) population decline, but closer to home one supports a stationary population. Population decline is clearly not always met with fear: 31 percent would like the population to decline at the national level and they generally perceive decline to be accompanied by immaterial welfare gains (improvement environment) as well as material welfare losses (tax increases, economic stagnation). In addition to these driving forces it appears that the attitude towards immigrants is a very strong determinant at all geographical levels: immigrants seem to be a stronger fear factor than population decline.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 45 to 49 data was reported at 31,359.205 Person th in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 31,374.482 Person th for 2021. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 45 to 49 data is updated yearly, averaging 31,878.087 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33,105.690 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 29,975.777 Person th in 2000. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 45 to 49 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.

Historical chart and dataset showing European Union population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 10 to 14 data was reported at 23,490.428 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 23,689.010 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 10 to 14 data is updated yearly, averaging 23,404.909 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26,223.520 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 22,664.075 Person th in 2013. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 10 to 14 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.

The annual population growth in the European Union declined to 0.21 percent in 2023. Annual population growth refers to the change in the population over time, and is affected by factors such as fertility, mortality, and migration.

In 2024, Germany was the leading EU country in terms of population, with around 85 million inhabitants. In 2050, approximately 89.2 million people will live in Germany, according to the forecast. See the total EU population figures for more information. The global population The global population is rapidly increasing. Between 1990 and 2015, it increased by around 2 billion people. Furthermore, it is estimated that the global population will have increased by another 1 billion by 2030. Asia is the continent with the largest population, followed by Africa and Europe. In Asia,the two most populous nations worldwide are located, China and India. In 2014, the combined population in China and India alone amounted to more than 2.6 billion people. for comparison, the total population in the whole continent of Europe is at around 741 million people. As of 2014, about 60 percent of the global population was living in Asia, with only approximately 10 percent in Europe and even less in the United States. Europe is the continent with the second-highest life expectancy at birth in the world, only barely surpassed by Northern America. In 2013, the life expectancy at birth in Europe was around 78 years. Stable economies and developing and emerging markets in European countries provide for good living conditions. Seven of the top twenty countries in the world with the largest gross domestic product in 2015 are located in Europe.

European Union Population: EA 20: Female: Age 30 to 34 data was reported at 10,505.832 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10,585.330 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EA 20: Female: Age 30 to 34 data is updated yearly, averaging 10,571.153 Person th from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2023, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11,077.208 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 10,505.832 Person th in 2023. European Union Population: EA 20: Female: 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.

European Union Population: EA 20: Age 40 to 44 data was reported at 23,277.608 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 23,317.910 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EA 20: Age 40 to 44 data is updated yearly, averaging 23,297.759 Person th from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2023, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25,043.987 Person th in 2013 and a record low of 23,202.260 Person th in 2021. European Union Population: EA 20: Age 40 to 44 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.

Over the last decades, the European hare (Lepus europaeus) has become the subject of many interdisciplinary studies due to the sharp Europe-wide population decline. In European hares, the first stage of life until weaning and the subsequent dispersal have been sparsely studied, in particular, habitat selection, movements and survival rate, as juveniles´ precocial lifestyle is dominated by concealment, motionlessness and inconspicuousness. In this study, free-living juvenile European hares (leverets) were detected systematically by thermography (n = 394), radio-tagged or marked (n = 122) from birth until the fifth week of life to research their habitat usage and pre-dispersal movements. The day-resting places and night locations, as well as the distance moved by leverets with aging, were evaluated by generalized linear mixed effect models. In addition, the habitat preference was assessed by a conservative use-availability analysis. Up to the fifth week of life, 30.5% of all leverets used cultivated areas in the daytime. In contrast, the remaining 69.4% animals inhabitated linear or small planar structures in the daytime, with the edges of field tracks, hedges and some ruderal structures clearly being preferred. At nighttime, 93% of all juveniles, which occupied linear structures in the daytime, used the adjoining fields up to 20 m away from the next linear structure. Nocturnal distances of more than 60 m to the next edge rarely occurred before the end of the pre-weaning phase. The time of day and age have a significant influence on the distance moved by juvenile hares. With increasing age, leverets moved less during the day and roamed further at night. The results are largely consistent with the behavioral patterns found in the few previous studies on pre-weaning European hares and show the importance of hiding places for leverets in early life stages. This study should contribute to a better understanding of behavior in juvenile life-history stages of European hares that may help to identify vulnerable phases in their lifecycle. In addition, the findings can refine existing population models and improve conservation efforts.

Population declines among migratory Arctic-breeding birds are a growing concern for conservationists. To inform the conservation of these declining populations, we need to understand how demographic rates such as breeding success are influenced by combinations of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. In this study we examined inter-annual variation and long-term trends in two aspects of the breeding success of a migratory herbivore, the Bewick's swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii, which is currently undergoing a population decline: 1) the percentage of young within the wintering population and 2) mean brood size. We used an information-theoretic approach to test how these two measures of productivity were influenced over a 26 yr period by 12 potential explanatory variables, encompassing both environmental (e.g. temperature) and intrinsic (e.g. pair-bond duration) factors. Swan productivity exhibited sensitivity to both types of explanatory variable. Fewer young were observed on the wintering grounds in years in which the breeding period (May to September) was colder and predator (Arctic fox) abundance was higher. The percentage of young within the wintering population also showed negative density-dependence. Inter-annual variance in mean swan brood size was best explained by a model comprised of the negative degree days during the swan breeding period, mean pair-bond duration of all paired swans (i.e. mean pair duration), and an interaction between these two variables. In particular, mean pair duration had a strong positive effect on mean brood size. However, we found no long-term directional trend in either measure of breeding success, despite the recent decline in the NW European population. Our results highlight that inter-annual variability in breeding success is sensitive to the combined effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female: Age 40 to 44 data was reported at 15,228.242 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 15,294.232 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female: Age 40 to 44 data is updated yearly, averaging 15,939.713 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16,734.282 Person th in 2008 and a record low of 15,228.242 Person th in 2023. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female: Age 40 to 44 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.

European Union rural population for 2023 was 109,054,784, a 0.76% decline from 2022.

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

<li>European Union rural population for 2022 was <strong>109,888,214</strong>, a <strong>0.69% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>European Union rural population for 2021 was <strong>110,649,438</strong>, a <strong>1.27% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>European Union rural population for 2020 was <strong>112,070,262</strong>, a <strong>0.8% 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.

The main reasons for the negative consequences of demographic changes are: natural increase in the life span of the population, decline in fertility and emigration of unusual dimensions.

European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 80 to 84 data was reported at 13,671.024 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13,680.779 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 80 to 84 data is updated yearly, averaging 12,091.265 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13,948.162 Person th in 2020 and a record low of 7,335.421 Person th in 2000. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 80 to 84 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 Population: EA 20: Age 50 to 54 data was reported at 25,025.751 Person th in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 25,349.949 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EA 20: Age 50 to 54 data is updated yearly, averaging 25,301.169 Person th from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2023, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25,550.019 Person th in 2021 and a record low of 25,025.751 Person th in 2023. European Union Population: EA 20: 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.

In the Cook Islands in 2024, the population decreased by about 2.24 percent compared to the previous year, making it the country with the highest population decline rate in 2024. Of the 20 countries with the highest rate of population decline, the majority are island nations, where emigration rates are high (especially to Australia, New Zealand, and the United States), or they are located in Eastern Europe, which suffers from a combination of high emigration rates and low birth rates.