This statistic shows the total population of the European Union from 2010 to 2025. 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 2025, the total population of the European Union amounted to approximately 450.38 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.

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.

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.

Actual value and historical data chart for European Union Population Total

As of 2023, ******* 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 ****** in second place with ***** percent, and ***** in third at ***** percent. While there are ** member states of the European Union in total, approximately two-thirds of the population of the bloc is made up by the * largest countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands. Of the remaining ** member states, no country makes up more than * percent of the EU's total population, with the smallest country, Malta, comprising just **** percent of the total.

Actual value and historical data chart for European Union Population Growth Annual Percent

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

Key information about European Union population

• The European Union population reached 449.3 million people in Dec 2023, compared with the previously reported figure of 447.7 million people in Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 449.3 million people in Dec 2023 and a record low of 354.5 million people in Dec 1959

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.

These summary metadata refer to the first results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference.

Member States send to Eurostat the first results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference (T), containing the total population figure on 31 December of year T (further published by Eurostat as Population on 1 January of year T+1), total births and total deaths during year T. This data collection is defined under http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32013R1260&from=EN" target="_blank">Regulation 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics. Countries may also transmit to Eurostat, on voluntary basis, provisional data on total immigration, emigration and net migration during the year (T).

Eurostat's data collection on the above figures is called DEMOBAL and it is carried out in June of each year. Eurostat publishes these first demographic estimates in July of each year in the online database, in the table Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates (demo_gind).

These first demographic estimates may either be confirmed or updated by Eurostat's demographic data collection taking place in December each year (called Unidemo), whereby countries submit detailed breakdowns (e.g. by age and sex) of their yearly population data, including data on migration, both at national and at regional level. The online table Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates (demo-gind) will be accordingly updated. This table includes the latest updates on total population, births and deaths reported by the countries, while the detailed breakdowns by various characteristics included in the rest of the tables of the Eurostat database (Demography domain and Migration, for example the Population by citizenship and by country of birth table) may be transmitted to Eurostat at a subsequent date.

The online table Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates (demo-gind) contains time series going back to 1960; data before 2013 were collected by Eurostat from the national statistical offices on voluntary basis.

The individual metadata files reported by the countries are attached to this metadata file.

EUROPOP2023 are the latest Eurostat long-term population projections produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland), covering the time horizon from 2022 to 2100. Population projections are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality, and net migration. They are presented for a long time period that covers more than a half-century (50 years).

The datasets consist of the baseline population projections and five sensitivity tests, which are described as follows:

• no migration – it is assumed that net migration is zero for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower migration – it is assumed that the net migration is lower due to a 33% reduction in non-EU immigration flows for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• higher migration – it is assumed that the net migration is higher due to a 33% increase in non-EU immigration flows for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower fertility – it is assumed that the fertility rates are lower 20% than the baseline assumptions for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower mortality – it is assumed that the mortality rates are lower resulting in an increase of approximately two years in life expectancy at birth by 2070 compared to the baseline assumptions.

In each sensitivity test, the assumptions for the year 2022 were maintained as in the baseline projections. This is because, for that year, there is a combination of observed data (i.e. beneficiaries on temporary protections at the end of December 2022), information from the national authorities, and forecasting.

Data are available by single-year time interval, as detailed below:

• Projected population on 1 January by age and sex;
• Assumptions on future age-specific fertility rates, age-specific mortality rates and net migration levels;
• Projected life expectancy by age (in completed years) and sex.

Additionally, the demographic balances and indicators are available for the baseline projections and each of the five sensitive variants, including also:

• Total numbers of the projected live births and deaths;
• Projected population structure indicators including proportions of broad age groups in total population, age dependency ratios and median ages of the population (for each sex component).

STP2024 are the short-term population projections covering the time horizon from 2023 to 2050, and produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland). Similar to long-term projections, these are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality and net migration. The latest demographic data published on Eurostat website, as of 06 September 2024, were used as input in building the assumptions, thereby including the published post-2021 census revisions and data related to the temporary protection granted to persons displaced from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.

The dataset (proj_stp24) includes data by single-year time interval for two types of projections:

• Baseline projections:
  • Projected total population on 1 January, the working-age population (defined as persons aged from 15 to 74), and its share in the total population;
  • Assumptions on total fertility rates, life expectancy at birth by sex, and total net migration levels;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

• No migration sensitivity test – it is assumed that the net migration is zero for each year within the 2024-2050 time horizon.
  • Projected total population on 1 January, the working-age population (defined as persons aged from 15to 74), and its share in the total population;
  • The 2023 net migration levels remain the same as in the baseline projections to reflect the nowcast data;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

STP2025 are the latest short-term population projections covering the time horizon from 2024 to 2050, produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland). Similar to long-term projections, these are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality, and net migration. The latest demographic data published on Eurostat website as of 15 May 2025, were used as input in building the assumptions, thereby including the published post-2021 census revisions and data related to temporary protection granted to persons displaced from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.

The dataset (proj_stp25) includes data by single-year time interval for two types of projections:

• Baseline projections:
  • Projected total population on 1 January, working-age population (15-74 years) and its share in the total population;
  • Assumptions on total fertility rates, life expectancy at birth by sex, and total net migration levels;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

• No migration sensitivity test – it is assumed that the net migration is zero in each year of the 2025-2050 time horizon.
  • Projected total population on 1 January, working-age population (15-74 years) and its share in the total population;
  • The 2024 net migration levels remain as in the baseline projections to reflect the nowcast data;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

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

Actual value and historical data chart for European Union Urban Population Percent Of Total

The population of Europe decreased by approximately 0.1 percent in 2024, falling to an overall total of approximately 745 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 number of persons having their usual residence in a country on 1 January of the respective year. When usually resident population is not available, countries may report legal or registered residents.

This horizontal bar chart displays population (people) by country using the aggregation sum in Europe. The data is filtered where the date is 2023. The data is about countries per year.

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.

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.

European Population Connected to Public Water Supply by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.