In 2022, the population density in the European Union remained nearly unchanged at around 112.05 inhabitants per square kilometer. Still, the population density reached its highest value in the observed period in 2022. Population density refers to the number of people living in a certain country or area, given as an average per square kilometer. It is calculated by dividing the total midyear population by the total land area.

Ratio between the annual average population and the land area. The land area concept (excluding inland waters, such as lakes, wide rivers, estuaries) should be used wherever available; if not available, then the total area (including inland waters) is used.

Our Population Density Grid Dataset for Western Europe offers detailed, grid-based insights into the distribution of population across cities, towns, and rural areas. Free to explore and visualize, this dataset provides an invaluable resource for businesses and researchers looking to understand demographic patterns and optimize their location-based strategies.

By creating an account, you gain access to advanced tools for leveraging this data in geomarketing applications. Perfect for OOH advertising, retail planning, and more, our platform allows you to integrate population insights with your business intelligence, enabling you to make data-driven decisions for your marketing and expansion strategies.

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 October of 2025.

Denmark has, by far, the highest population density of the Nordic countries. This is related to the fact that it is the smallest Nordic country in terms of land area. Meanwhile, Iceland, which has the smallest population of the five countries, also has the lowest population density. As the total population increased in all five countries over the past decade, the population density also increased.

— Population density 2017 (in inhabitants per km²)

— Territorial entities: districts (Wallonia), employment areas (Lorraine), cantons (Luxembourg), Kreise (Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz)

— Statistical data sources: INSEE Grand East; DG Statistics — Statistics Belgium; Eurostat; STATEC. Harmonisation: IBA/OIE 2018

— Geodata sources: GeoBasis-DE/BKG 2017; IGN France 2017; NGI-Belgium 2017; Act Luxembourg 2017. Harmonisation: GIS-GR/GIS-GR 2018

Population density by NUTS 3 region

Monaco led the ranking for countries with the highest population density in 2024, with nearly 26,000 residents per square kilometer. The Special Administrative Region of Macao came in second, followed by Singapore. The world’s second smallest country Monaco is the world’s second-smallest country, with an area of about two square kilometers and a population of only around 40,000. It is a constitutional monarchy located by the Mediterranean Sea, and while Monaco is not part of the European Union, it does participate in some EU policies. The country is perhaps most famous for the Monte Carlo casino and for hosting the Monaco Grand Prix, the world's most prestigious Formula One race. The global population Globally, the population density per square kilometer is about 60 inhabitants, and Asia is the most densely populated region in the world. The global population is increasing rapidly, so population density is only expected to increase. In 1950, for example, the global population stood at about 2.54 billion people, and it reached over eight billion during 2023.

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

This dataset contains the modeling results GIS data (maps) of the study “Sustainable Human Population Density in Western Europe between 560.000 and 360.000 years ago” by Rodríguez et al. (2022).

The NPP data (npp.zip) was computed using an empirical formula (the Miami model) from palaeo temperature and palaeo precipitation data aggregated for each timeslice from the Oscillayers dataset (Gamisch, 2019), as defined in Rodríguez et al. (2022, in review).

The Population densities file (pop_densities.zip) contains the computed minimum and maximum population densities rasters for each of the defined MIS timeslices. With the population density value Dc in logarithmic form log(Dc).

The Species Distribution Model (sdm.7z) includes input data (folder /data), intermediate results (folder /work) and results and figures (folder /results). All modelling steps are included as an R project in the folder /scripts. The R project is subdivided into individual scripts for data preparation (1.x), sampling procedure (2.x), and model computation (3.x).

The habitat range estimation (habitat_ranges.zip) includes the potential spatial boundaries of the hominin habitat as binary raster files with 1=presence and 0=absence. The ranges rely on a dichotomic classification of the habitat suitability with a threshold value inferred from the 5% quantile of the presence data.

The habitat suitability (habitat_suitability.zip) is the result of the Species Distribution Modelling and describes the environmental suitability for hominin presence based on the sites considered in this study. The values range between 0=low and 1=high suitability. The dataset includes the mean (pred_mean) and standard deviation (pred_std) of multiple model runs.

Between 2015 and 2022, Estonia had the highest density of “right to be forgotten” or “right to erasure” requests issued to Google and Microsoft Bing, among other European countries, with almost 59 appeals per 10 thousand inhabitants. Registering the highest number of requests during the analyzed period, France ranked second regarding request density, with 46.2 requests per 10 thousand inhabitants.

• Population density 2015 (inhabitants per km²), Lorraine: 2013

• Territorial entities: arrondissements (Wallonie), zones d'emploi (Lorraine), cantons (Luxembourg), Kreise (Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz)

• Statistical data sources: INSEE Grand Est; SPF Economie; STATEC; Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz; Statistisches Amt Saarland. Harmonization: IBA / OIE 2016

• Geodata sources: EuroGeographics EuroRegionalMap v3.0 - 2010. Harmonization: SIG-GR / GIS-GR 2016

Link to interactive map: https://map.gis-gr.eu/theme/main?version=3&zoom=8&X=708580&Y=6429642&lang=fr&rotation=0&layers=1732&opacities=1&bgLayer=basemap_2015_global

Link to Geocatalog: https://geocatalogue.gis-gr.eu/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4f71026c-4ab0-4153-a00d-2a5d34aae307

This dataset is published in the view service (WMS) available at: https://ws.geoportail.lu/wss/service/GR_Pop_density_WMS/guest with layer name(s): -Pop_density_2015

As of 2025, Asia was the most densely populated region of the world, with nearly 156 inhabitants per square kilometer, whereas Oceania's population density was just over five inhabitants per square kilometer.

Population density 2023 (inhabitants per km²), Lorraine: 2021 Territorial entities: arrondissements (Lorraine, Wallonie), cantons (Luxembourg), Kreise (Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz) Statistical data sources: Destatis, INSEE, Statbel, STATEC. Harmonization: IBA / OIE 2024 Geodata sources: GeoBasis-DE / BKG, IGN France, NGI-Belgium, ACT Luxembourg. Harmonization: SIG-GR / GIS-GR 2024 Link to interactive map: https://map.gis-gr.eu/theme/main?version=3&zoom=8&X=708580&Y=6429642&lang=fr&rotation=0&layers=2418&opacities=1&bgLayer=basemap_2015_global Link to Geocatalog: https://geocatalogue.gis-gr.eu/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/3ed89eb1-9a37-4b86-b793-126411751345 This dataset is published in the view service (WMS) available at: https://ws.geoportail.lu/wss/service/GR_Pop_density_WMS/guest with layer name(s): -Pop_density_2023

Dataset replaced by: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/5k3SE4aWxZXI8c0GDUerg

From 2015 to 2022, Northern and Western Europe had the highest density of "right to be forgotten" or "right to erasure" requests issued to Google and Bing, with 37 and 26 appeals per 10 thousand inhabitants in the respective regions.

Number of inhabitants officially written in Antwerp (populations, aliens, waiting and other register) divided by the total area of the area, in this case at neighbourhood level. Date of creation: 2018-12-07T00:00:00 Date of publication: 2018-12-11T00:00:00 Update frequency: Please indicate Management: Study Service/GIS Contact: GIS@antwerpen.be

Global population density from 1970 to 2100 per land grid cell. The data is licensed under CC-BY. The IMAGE-team would appreciate cooperation when data is used.

The population density of Spain maintained a steadily at a rate of over 92 inhabitants per square kilometers in the last decade, with the latest figures revealing a density of 95 people per square kilometer in 2022. Spain’s degree of urbanization is rather high, with levels reaching over 81 percent of urbanization in the country. Andalusia, with a total number of 8.6 million inhabitants, ranked first on the list of most populous autonomous communities in Spain.

Population density: a world of contrast

Spain is far from the European Union’s average population density, which stood at approximately 111.89 people per square kilometer in 2021, that is, a difference of over 17 people per square meter below the average. Monaco, the country with the highest population density in the world, featured about 24,621 inhabitants per square kilometer, making Spain’s population density look minimal. The results in Macao were very similar, with a population density that reached over 21,000 people per square kilometer.

The re-population of a country

The population of Spain declined for many years during the economic recession, returning to a positive trend after 2015. The Spanish population is projected to increase by nearly two million by 2028 compared to 2024. Despite this expected increase, Spain has one of the lowest fertility rate in the European Union, with barely 1.29 children per woman according to the latest reports.

Member States send to Eurostat data on population on of 31 December of the reference year under Regulation 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics. The data are conventionally published by Eurostat as population on 1 January of the following year (reference year + 1). The aim is to collect annual mandatory and voluntary demographic data from the national statistical institutes. Mandatory data are those defined by the legislation listed under ‘6.1. Institutional mandate — legal acts and other agreements’. The completeness of the demographic data collected on a voluntary basis depends on the availability and completeness of information provided by the national statistical institutes. For more information on mandatory/voluntary data collection, see 6.1. Institutional mandate — legal acts and other agreements. The following statistics are available. Population on 1 January by sex and by: - single age and educational attainment / marital status / broad group of citizenship / broad group of country of birth; - five-year age group and citizenship / country of birth; - citizenship and broad group of country of birth / country of birth and broad group of citizenship; - broad age group and NUTS 3 (under regional data population folder); - single age and NUTS 2 (under regional data population folder); - five-year age group and NUTS 2 / NUTS 3 (under regional data population folder). Population structure statistics: median age of population, proportion of population by various age groups, old age dependency ratio.