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 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.

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.

The most important key figures about population, households, birth, mortality, changes of residence, marriages, marriage dissolutions and change of nationality of the Dutch population.

Statistics Netherlands will reorganise the tables relating to statistics on population and households as of 2015. The aim is to reduce the number of tables while striving to preserve (much) needed information.

Data available from: 1899

Status of the figures: All data in this publication are final data.

Changes as from 29 December 2017: The final data of 2016 regarding 'Mortality by some causes of death' have been added.

Changes as from 18 October 2017: - The terms ‘People with a Dutch background’ (in Dutch: autochtoon) and ‘People with a foreign background’ (in Dutch: allochtoon) have been revised. They have been replaced by ‘Native Dutch people’ and ‘People with a migration background’ respectively. The terms in this table have been replaced as a result. - The underlying coding of classifications used in this table has been adjusted. It is now in line with the standard encoding defined by CBS. The structure and data of the table have not been adjusted.

Changes as from 10 October 2017: - The figure on the 'Population on 1 January, persons with Surinamese background' in 2015 has been corrected. This correction is due to a rounding error. The correction does not affect the remaining figures in the table. - Figures on the subject 'Mortality' and the selection 'Mortality by causes of death' have been corrected for the year 2014. These corrections are due to the fact that the correct average population was not taken as a basis. The corrections do not affect the remaining figures in the table.

When will the new figures be published? The following figures will be published in the fourth quarter of 2022: The figures on population dynamics concerning 2017 to 2021 and about the population on the 1st of January 2018 to 1st of January 2022.

Population growth in The Netherlands by birth, death and migration by sex and region.

In addition to national data, information is presented by group of provinces, province, COROP region and municipality.

The regional totals shown concern cumulated municipal data. Where changes of municipal boundaries transect regional boundaries, the municipal classifications concerns the most recent situation. The municipality of Woerden, for example, was annexed by the province of Utrecht on 1 January 1989, and is classified under the province of Utrecht in the Table.

Data available from: 1960

Status of the figures: All data recorded in this publication are final data. The production method for data on population dynamics has been changed in 2014. As a result data for 2013 may vary between tables. The differences are minimal and only occur in data for 2013.

Changes as of 20 August 2018: Figures of 2017 have been added.

Changes as of 2 May 2018: The underlying coding of classifications used in this table has been adjusted. It is now in line with the standard encoding defined by CBS. The structure and data of the table have not been adjusted.

When will new figures be published? In the 3rd quarter of 2019 figures of 2018 will be added in this table.

This dataset is about countries per year in Western Europe. It has 576 rows. It features 4 columns: country, capital city, and urban population.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by currency using the aggregation sum in Western Europe. The data is about countries per year.

Persons employed, labour force, unemployment broken down by personal features (age, level of education, origin) and sex

Data available from: 1996

Frequency: Stopped

Status of the figures: Figures based on the LFS are always final.

When will new figures be published? This publication is stopped.

This table contains forecasts (including intervals) of the population of The Netherlands on 1 January by age groups (three age-groups) and population dynamics: live births, deaths and external migration. Furthermore, the table contains information about the total fertility rate, demographic pressure and (period) life expectancy at birth and at age 65 by sex.

Data available from: 2017-2060

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are calculated forecasts.

Changes as of 19 December 2017: In this new table, the previous forecast is adjusted based on the most recent insights, the forecast period now runs from 2017 to 2060.

When will new figures be published? New figures will appear December 2020.

Population in The Netherlands on 1 January by sex, age, marital status, migration background and generation.

Data available from: 1996

Status of the figures: All figures in the table are final.

Changes per 24 June 2019: The figures per 1 January 2019 have been added.

When will new figures be published? In the 2nd quarter of 2020 figures per 1 January 2020 will be added in this publication.

Published as part of Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2016 (Department of Health)

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

Health perception, height, obesity, health complaints, physical limitations, psychosocial complaints by sex, type of insurance, 1981 - 2000 Changed on March 25 2010. Frequency: Discontinued.

In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.

Population forecasts: key figures Key indicators of the population forecasts, 2010-2060.

Data available from 2010 - 2060.

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are definitive.

Changes as of May 2, 2018: None, this table is discontinued.

When will new figures be published? Not applicable anymore.

This dataset is about countries per year in Western Europe. It has 576 rows. It features 4 columns: country, fertility rate, and female population.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by date using the aggregation sum in Western Europe. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

This dataset is about countries per year in Western Europe. It has 576 rows. It features 4 columns: country, land area, and urban population.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.