Throughout the Common Era, Western Europe's population development fluctuated greatly. The population was very similar at the beginning and end of the first millennium, at around 25 million people. The largest decline in this period occurred in the sixth century, due to the Plague of Justinian, which the source claims to have killed around one third of the continent's population (although recent studies dispute this). Similarly, the population fell by almost 17 million throughout the 14th century, due to the Black Death.

Improvements in agriculture and infrastructure then saw population growth increase once more from the 15th century onwards, before the onset of the demographic transition saw a population boom throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

The total population in European Union was estimated at 450.4 million people in 2025, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - European Union Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

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.

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

This dataset is about countries per year in Europe. It has 2,816 rows. It features 4 columns: country, country full name, and urban population.

The earliest point where scientists can make reasonable estimates for the population of global regions is around 10,000 years before the Common Era (or 12,000 years ago). Estimates suggest that Asia has consistently been the most populated continent, and the least populated continent has generally been Oceania (although it was more heavily populated than areas such as North America in very early years). Population growth was very slow, but an increase can be observed between most of the given time periods. There were, however, dips in population due to pandemics, the most notable of these being the impact of plague in Eurasia in the 14th century, and the impact of European contact with the indigenous populations of the Americas after 1492, where it took almost four centuries for the population of Latin America to return to its pre-1500 level. The world's population first reached one billion people in 1803, which also coincided with a spike in population growth, due to the onset of the demographic transition. This wave of growth first spread across the most industrially developed countries in the 19th century, and the correlation between demographic development and industrial or economic maturity continued until today, with Africa being the final major region to begin its transition in the late-1900s.

This line chart displays population (people) by date using the aggregation sum in Northern Europe. The data is about countries per year.

Population growth (annual %) in European Union was reported at 0.16884 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Historical dataset showing total population for European Union by year from 1960 to 2023.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the population of Eastern Europe grew by approximately 1.3 percent each year, although it varied per country. The Soviet Union and Poland saw the largest growth, with annual increases of 1.5 and 1.4 percent respectively. While most countries saw significant population growth in this period, East Germany's population actually decreased, from 18.4 million in 1950 to 17.1 million in 197. This was due to the high rates of Westward migration in the 1950s, before border restrictions became much more stringent after 1961.

Historical dataset showing European Union population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

Population ages 15-64, female in European Union was reported at 142186544 Persons in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population ages 15-64, female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

View yearly updates and historical trends for Western Europe Population Outlook. Source: International Monetary Fund. Track economic data with YCharts ana…

This dataset is about countries per year in Western Europe. It has 576 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and female population.

Historical dataset showing European Union urban population by year from 1960 to 2023.

Population, total in European Union was reported at 450185396 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Population ages 20-24, female (% of female population) in European Union was reported at 5.0643 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population ages 20-24, female (% of female population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in European Union was reported at 112 sq. Km in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population density (people per sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

At the beginning of the Common Era, over three quarters of Western Europe's population lived in the Mediterranean regions that make up present-day France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. At this time, all of these areas were under the control of the Roman Empire, and remained so until the fifth century. The Mediterranean region was the center of trade between Europe, Asia, and Africa throughout most of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and many of the most populous cities in the Europe were located in present-day Italy or Spain during this time. Due to this fact, these metropolitan areas were some of the most severely-hit during pandemic outbreaks. The emergence of Europe's maritime empires during the 16th and 17th centuries, and later the economic growth of Germany, led to a shift in Western Europe's population distribution; yet, over half of the population was located in these Mediterranean countries until the 19th century.