In 2020, there were approximately 815,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the most of any European Union member state. Additionally, there were 404,000 Romanians, and 321,000 Irish nationals living in the UK in this year. Luxembourg was the EU member state with the fewest citizens living in the UK, at just 520 in 2019. In terms of British nationals living in the EU, Spain was the most popular destination, at almost 285,000 Britons, followed by France and Germany, which had British populations numbering 145,000 and 110,000 respectively. The EU settlement scheme After the Brexit referendum of 2016, the fate of EU citizens living in the UK, as well as that of British nationals in the EU, was suddenly unclear. Although the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK was affirmed at various points during the Brexit negotiations, the EU settlement scheme to handle this issue wasn't launched until 2019. As of March 2024, there have been almost 7.9 million applications to this scheme, with Romanian nationals being the most common nationality, followed by 1.23 million applications from Polish nationals, and 686,820 from Italian nationals. Migration still one of the top issues for voters In June 2024, immigration was seen as the third most important issue for voters, and was consistently ahead of many other issues in the months leading up to UK's 2024 general election. Net migration to the UK has risen sharply since 2021, reaching 745,000 in 2022, and remaining high in 2023. Although there has been a clear decline in net migration from EU nationals since the Brexit vote, there has been a far larger increase in non-EU net migration. Despite, pledging to bring immigration down, the previous Conservative government gradually lost trust on this issue with voters, with just 15 percent seeing them as the best party at dealing with immigration, compared with 20 percent who thought Labour would handle it best.
In 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at ***** million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at **** million, Germany at **** million, the United Kingdom at **** million, and France at **** 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 ****** and ****** respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around *** trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at *** trillion and *** 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 2,000 years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of ** million, with London being the fourth largest at *** million.
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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.
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European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK data was reported at 449,306.184 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 447,695.350 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK data is updated yearly, averaging 426,378.226 Person th from Dec 1959 (Median) to 2023, with 54 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 449,306.184 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 354,531.754 Person th in 1959. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK 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.
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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.
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European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 20 to 24 data was reported at 24,016.829 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 23,881.146 Person th for 2022. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 20 to 24 data is updated yearly, averaging 26,569.403 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29,377.961 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 23,792.976 Person th in 2021. European Union Population: EU 27 excl UK: Age 20 to 24 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 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.
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The 0% future EU migration variant projection for Great Britain - population by five-year age groups and sex. Not National Statistics.
The population of Europe was estimated to be 745 million in 2024, an increase of around 4 million when compared with 2012. 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 2024, the population of Russia was estimated to be approximately 144.8 million and was by far Europe's largest country in terms of population, with Turkey being the second-largest at over 87 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 84.5 million, and was followed by the United Kingdom and France at 69.1 million and 66.5 million respectively. Characteristics of Europe's population There are approximately 384.6 million females in Europe, compared with 359.5 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 2024, the single year of age with the highest population was 37, at 10.6 million, while in the same year there were estimated to be around 136 thousand people aged 100 or over.
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The 150% future EU migration variant projection for Scotland - population by five-year age groups and sex. Not National Statistics.
As of 2020, Malta was the country with the highest number of parliament members per 100,000 inhabitants. This Southern European country counted 14.3 members in the parliament. By contrast, the Spanish parliament had the lowest number of members in proportion to the population.
In September 2020, a constitutional referendum was held in Italy on the number of parliament members. The Italian Parliament consists of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of the Republic. The data depicted in the chart show the number of deputies before the referendum, which amounted to 630 members. For every 100,000 individuals, Italy had one deputy, one of the lowest number in the European Union in proportion to country's population. After the referendum, Italy could have just 0.7 members in the Chamber of Deputies per 100,000 population, ranking last in the EU.
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The 50% future EU migration variant projection for England - population by five-year age groups and sex. Not National Statistics.
In 2024, approximately 948,000 million people migrated to the United Kingdom, while 517,000 people migrated from the UK, resulting in a net migration figure of 431,000. There have consistently been more people migrating to the United Kingdom than leaving it since 1993 when the net migration figure was negative 1,000. Although migration from the European Union has declined since the Brexit vote of 2016, migration from non-EU countries accelerated rapidly from 2021 onwards. In the year to June 2023, 968,000 people from non-EU countries migrated to the UK, compared with 129,000 from EU member states. Immigration and the 2024 election Since late 2022, immigration, along with the economy and healthcare, has consistently been seen by UK voters as one of the top issues facing the country. Despite a pledge to deter irregular migration via small boats, and controversial plans to send asylum applicants to Rwanda while their claims are being processed, Rishi Sunak's Conservative government lost the trust of the public on this issue. On the eve of the last election, 20 percent of Britons thought the Labour Party would be the best party to handle immigration, compared with 13 percent who thought the Conservatives would handle it better. Sunak and the Conservatives went on to lose this election, suffering their worst defeat in modern elections. Historical context of migration The first humans who arrived in the British Isles, were followed by acts of conquest and settlement from Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans. In the early modern period, there were also significant waves of migration from people fleeing religious or political persecution, such as the French Huguenots. More recently, large numbers of people also left Britain. Between 1820 and 1957, for example, around 4.5 million people migrated from Britain to America. After World War Two, immigration from Britain's colonies and former colonies was encouraged to meet labour demands. A key group that migrated from the Caribbean between the late 1940s and early 1970s became known as the Windrush generation, named after one of the ships that brought the arrivals to Britain.
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Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female: Age 30 to 34 data was reported at 13,805.154 Person th in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13,818.122 Person th for 2021. Population: EU 27 excl UK: Female: Age 30 to 34 data is updated yearly, averaging 14,987.809 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16,147.356 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 13,805.154 Person th in 2022. Population: EU 27 excl UK: 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.
In 2019, there were approximately 302,020 British citizens living in Spain, with a further 293,061 in Ireland and 176,672 in France. By comparison, there were only 604 British people living in Slovenia, the fewest of any European Union member state. As a member of the European Union, British citizens had the right to live and work in any EU member state. Although these rights were lost for most British citizens after the UK left the EU in 2020, Britons already living in EU states were able to largely retain their previous rights of residence. EU citizens living in the UK EU citizens living in the UK face the same dilemma that British nationals did regarding their legal status after Brexit. In the same year, there were 902,000 Polish citizens, 404,000 Romanians, and 322,000 people from the Republic of Ireland living in the UK in that year, along with almost two million EU citizens from the other 24 EU member states. To retain their rights after Brexit, EU citizens living in the UK were able to apply for the EU settlement scheme. As of 2025, there have been around 8.4 million applications to this scheme, with Romanian and Polish nationals the most common nationality at 1.87 million applications, and 1.27 million applications respectively. Is support for Brexit waning in 2024? As of 2025, the share of people in the UK who think leaving the EU was the wrong decision stood at 56 percent, compared with 31 percent who think it was the correct choice. In general, support for Brexit has declined since April 2021, when 46 percent of people supported Brexit, compared with 43 percent who regretted it. What people think Britain's relationship with the EU should be is, however, still unclear. A survey from November 2023 indicated that just 31 percent thought the UK should rejoin the EU, with a further 11 percent supporting rejoining the single market but not the EU. Only ten percent of respondents were satisfied with the current relationship, while nine percent wished to reduce ties even further.
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This repository includes spatial population projections until 2100 for the different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways at 30 arc seconds (~1km) resolution for all EU countries. The projections are provided in WGS84 coordinate system.Detailed information about the projections and the model to produce them can be found in the related publication (Bonatz et al. 2025, in preparation). The python code to run the model is also provided in this repository.
This dataset shows different breakdowns of London's resident population by their nationality. Data used comes from ONS' Annual Population Survey (APS).
The APS has a sample of around 320,000 people in the UK (around 28,000 in London). As such all figures must be treated with some caution. 95% confidence interval levels are provided.
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand and figures for smaller populations have been suppressed.
Two files are available to download:
A Tableau visualisation tool is also available.
Country of Birth data can be found here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/country-of-birth
Nationality refers to that stated by the respondent during the interview. Country of birth is the country in which they were born. It is possible that an individual’s nationality may change, but the respondent’s country of birth cannot change. This means that country of birth gives a more robust estimate of change over time.
The European countries which saw the greatest population growth in 2025 were Gibraltar, Kosovo and Iceland. Overall, Europe's population declined by 3.3 percent in 2025, with this varying by region from a 0.19 percent decline in northern Europe to 4.6 percent in southern Europe. All the countries which saw the largest declines in their population in 2025 were central and eastern European countries.
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.
Migration in Europe in 2024 marks a return to normality after the extreme disruptions experienced in 2022. While in 2022 ******* saw the largest negative net migration balance, with almost * million of its citizens fleeing the eastern European country in the aftermath of Russia's invasion, in 2024 it is in fact the country with the largest positive net migration balance. Over **** million Ukrainians have returned to their home country from abroad, leading Poland, Romania, and Hungary to have large net migration deficits, as they were key recipient countries for Ukrainians in 2022. The other countries which experienced large positive net migration balances in 2023 are all in Western Europe, as the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain all remain popular destinations for migrants.
In 2020, there were approximately 815,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the most of any European Union member state. Additionally, there were 404,000 Romanians, and 321,000 Irish nationals living in the UK in this year. Luxembourg was the EU member state with the fewest citizens living in the UK, at just 520 in 2019. In terms of British nationals living in the EU, Spain was the most popular destination, at almost 285,000 Britons, followed by France and Germany, which had British populations numbering 145,000 and 110,000 respectively. The EU settlement scheme After the Brexit referendum of 2016, the fate of EU citizens living in the UK, as well as that of British nationals in the EU, was suddenly unclear. Although the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK was affirmed at various points during the Brexit negotiations, the EU settlement scheme to handle this issue wasn't launched until 2019. As of March 2024, there have been almost 7.9 million applications to this scheme, with Romanian nationals being the most common nationality, followed by 1.23 million applications from Polish nationals, and 686,820 from Italian nationals. Migration still one of the top issues for voters In June 2024, immigration was seen as the third most important issue for voters, and was consistently ahead of many other issues in the months leading up to UK's 2024 general election. Net migration to the UK has risen sharply since 2021, reaching 745,000 in 2022, and remaining high in 2023. Although there has been a clear decline in net migration from EU nationals since the Brexit vote, there has been a far larger increase in non-EU net migration. Despite, pledging to bring immigration down, the previous Conservative government gradually lost trust on this issue with voters, with just 15 percent seeing them as the best party at dealing with immigration, compared with 20 percent who thought Labour would handle it best.