Demographics of the European Union

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With 114 people per km² the EU is one of the most densely populated regions in the world.

A cartogram depicting population distribution within the European Union at the member state level. Note how roughly half of all citizens within the EU live within the 4 largest member states: Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy.

Another population-density cartogram.

The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states. As of 1 January 2009, the population of the EU was about 499.7 million people^[1]. Many countries are expected to experience a decline in population over the coming decades,^[2], though this could be offset with new countries planning to join the EU within the next 20 years.

The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82.1 million people, and the least populous member state is Malta with 0.4 million. Birth rates in the EU are low with the average woman having 1.5 children. The highest birth-rates are found in the Republic of Ireland with 14.33 births per thousand people per year and France with 12.73 births per thousand people per year. Germany has the lowest birth rate in Europe with 8.18 births per thousand people per year.

Population and Land Areas of the 27 member-states of the European Union (January 1^st 2009 estimate)

Member State	Population in thousands	Population  % of EU	Area km2	Area % of EU	Pop. density People/km2
European Union	499,673.3	100	4,422,773	100	113.0
Austria	8,356.7	1.67	83,858	1.9	99.7
Belgium	10,741.0	2.15	30,510	0.7	352.0
Bulgaria	7,602.1	1.52	110,912	2.5	68.5
Cyprus	801.6	0.16	9,250	0.2	86.6
Czech Republic	10,474.6	2.1	78,866	1.8	132.8
Denmark	5,519.3	1.1	43,094	1.0	128.1
Estonia	1,340.3	0.27	45,226	1.0	29.6
Finland	5,325.1	1.07	337,030	7.6	15.8
France[3]	64,105.1	12.83	643,548	14.6	99.6
Germany	82,062.2	16.42	357,021	8.1	229.9
Greece	11,262.5	2.25	131,940	3.0	85.4
Hungary	10,029.9	2.01	93,030	2.1	107.8
Ireland	4,517.8	0.9	70,280	1.6	64.3
Italy	60,090.4	12.03	301,320	6.8	199.4
Latvia	2,261.1	0.45	64,589	1.5	35.0
Lithuania	3,350.4	0.67	65,200	1.5	51.4
Luxembourg	491.7	0.1	2,586	0.1	190.1
Malta	412.6	0.08	316	0.0	1,305.7
Netherlands	16,481.1	3.3	41,526	0.9	396.9
Poland	38,130.3	7.63	312,685	7.1	121.9
Portugal	10,631.8	2.13	92,931	2.1	114.4
Romania	21,496.7	4.3	238,391	5.4	90.2
Spain	45,853.0	9.18	504,782	11.4	90.8
Slovakia	5,411.1	1.08	48,845	1.1	110.8
Slovenia	2,053.4	0.41	20,253	0.5	101.4
Sweden	9,259.0	1.85	449,964	10.2	20.6
United Kingdom	61,612.3	12.33	244,820	5.5	251.7

[edit] Most populous areas

The following is a list of the ten most populous cities, urban areas and urban zones in the European Union, with their population according to 2005 estimates.^{[citation needed]}

City proper (2005)	mill.	Urban area (2005)	mill.	LUZ (2001)	mill.
London	7.5	Paris	10.1	London	12.0
Berlin	3.4	London	9.1	Paris	11.6
Madrid	3.1	Madrid	5.5	Madrid	5.6
Rome	2.7	Ruhr	5.3	Ruhr	5.4	London	Paris	Berlin
Paris	2.2	Barcelona	4.5	Berlin	4.9
Bucharest	1.9	Milan	3.8	Barcelona	4.8
Hamburg	1.8	Berlin	3.7	Milan	3.9
Warsaw	1.7	Rotterdam	3.3	Athens	3.9
Budapest	1.7	Athens	3.2	Rome	3.7
Vienna	1.7	Naples	2.9	Hamburg	3.1	Madrid	Barcelona	Bucharest

[edit] Migration

There is substantial movement of people within the Union i.e. internal migration; this occurs in strong patterns:

• from former industrialised areas in the Benelux, Britain and Germany to the Sun belts in Spain, Portugal, Southern France and Italy.
• from poorer eastern countries of the EU to the richer countries of the western EU (UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain)

The British emigration towards Southern Europe is of especial relevance. Citizens from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. They mainly come from countries like the UK and Germany, but the British case is of particular interest due to its magnitude. The British authorities estimate that the real population of UK citizens living in Spain is much bigger than Spanish official figures suggest, establishing them at about 1,000,000 and about 800,000 being permanent residents.^[4]

In fact, according to the Financial Times, Spain is the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering to move from their own country and seek jobs elsewhere in the EU. ^[5]

[edit] Immigration and emigration

There are currently more people immigrating into the European Union than there are emigrating from it. Immigration is a controversial issue in many member states such as Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Spain in particular receives most of the immigrants coming illegally to Europe from Africa, probably due to its large coastal area and its proximity and borders to Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla; African immigrants try to enter the country by boat from Morocco or Senegal or by jumping the border fences. During the first weekend of September 2006, more than 1,300 illegal immigrants arrived on beaches in the Canary Islands ^[6] and estimations are that between 50,000 and 70,000 people enter illegally the European Union through Spanish borders or beaches. Border fences have been built at both the Ceuta and Melilla borders in an attempt to stop illegal entrance to the country. Illegal immigration is an issue in Spanish politics, and also a big human rights problem, since many people die during the journey. Spain has been Europe's largest absorber of migrants for the past six years, with its immigrant population increasing fourfold as 2.8 million people have arrived, mostly from Latin America. Spectacular growth in Spain's immigrant population comes as the country's economy has created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the past five years^[7].

In other countries, such as Ireland or Portugal, immigration is not seen as such a big issue, probably due to those countries' history of emigration. Spain also has past history of emigration too, especially in the 1960s during Franco's dictatorship, but the fact that it receives the most immigrants in all of the EU has made the problem grow more important in political debate.

The net immigration rate for the EU is ~ 1.5 migrants per 1,000 head of population (2006 estimates).^[8] This figure is for migration into and out of the European Union, and therefore excludes any internal movements between member states.

[edit] Religion

The EU has significant religious diversity, mirroring its diverse history and culture. A nominal majority of the population professes Christianity, predominantly Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Despite this, not all EU nations have Christian majorities (in the Czech Republic and Estonia, for example, a majority has no religious affiliation).

The recent influx of immigrants to the affluent EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith and Sikhism. Judaism has had a long history in Europe and has coexisted with the native populations for centuries, despite centuries of discrimination against Jewish people and several attendant periods of persecution or genocide by European rulers. As the Christian churches have historically wielded much power in Europe, reaction to this has allowed secularism to plant deep roots on European soil which has contributed to the rise in atheism and agnosticism.

[edit] Language

The first official languages of each of the 27 member countries has the status of an official language of the European Union. In total there are 23, with Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian gaining official language status on 1 January 2007, when the last two countries joined the union.

English is the most spoken language in the EU, being spoken by around 51% of its population. This high proportion is because 38% of EU citizens speak it as a language other than their mother tongue (i.e. second or foreign language). German is the most spoken first language, spoken by more than 18% of the population.

[edit] Demographic future

The EU faces challenges in its demographic future. Most concerns centre around two related issues; an ageing population, and overall population decline.

The 2006 birth rate is 10 births per 1000 population, while the death rate is 10.1 deaths per 1000 people, making 2006 the first time in modern (non war) history where more people have died in Europe than were born. ^[9] The total fertility rate is an internationally low 1.47 children born per female, ^[10] where fertility rates above 2 per female are generally needed to maintain the current population. These figures mean the population of the EU is expected to decrease, while also suggesting the average age of European society will grow ever higher. While this decline in population could be halted by allowing substantial immigration into the EU, this remains a difficult solution that many refuse to accept. ^[11]

A low fertility rate means retirement age workers are not entirely replaced by younger workers joining the workforce. The EU faces a potential future dominated by an ever-increasing population of retired citizens, without enough younger workers to fund (via taxes) retirement programs or other state welfare agendas. ^[12]

A low fertility rate, without supplement from immigration, also suggests a declining overall EU population^[13], which further suggests economic contraction or even a possible economic crisis. ^[14] While some media have noted the 'baby crisis' in the EU^[15], and some governments have noted the problem^[16], the UN and other multinational authorities continue to warn of an impending crisis.^[17]

If Turkey joined the EU in 2009, it would be the second-largest country in the EU, after Germany.

[edit] Ethnic composition

The ethnic groups with more than 10 million people in the European Union are:

1. the Germans (ca. 77 million)[9]
2. the French (ca. 65 million)[10]
3. the British (ca. 61 million)[11]
4. the Italians (ca. 60 million)[12]
5. the Spanish (ca. 41 million)[13]
6. the Poles (ca. 40 million)[14]
7. the Romanians (ca. 22 million)[15]
8. the Dutch (ca. 13 million)[16]
9. the Hungarians (ca. 12 million)[17]
10. the Greeks (ca. 12 million)[18]
11. the Portuguese (ca 12 million)[19]
12. the Czechs (ca. 10 million)[20]

These groups account for some 425 million or about 85% of European Union population. The remaining 15% is shared by the Swedes, Austrians, Bulgarians, Flemings, Slovaks, Danes, Finns, Irish, Walloons, Lithuanians, Slovenians, Latvians, Estonians, Maltese.

[edit] Miscellaneous statistics

Age structure: (2006 est.)

• 0–14 years: 16.03% (male 37,608,010/female 35,632,351)
• 15–64 years: 67.17% (male 154,439,536/female 152,479,619)
• 65 years and over: 16.81% (male 31,515,921/female 45,277,821)

Birth rate: 10.5 births/1,000 population 2005

Death rate: 9.6 deaths/1,000 population 2005

Net migration rate: 3.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population 2005

Marriage rate: 4.8 marriages/1,000 population 2005

Divorce rate: 2.0 divorces/1,000 population 2005

Sex ratio: (2006 est.)

• at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.96 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: 2005

• total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
• male: -
• female: -

Life expectancy: 2005

• total population: 78.9 years
• male: 75.8 years
• female: 81.9 years

Total fertility rate: 1.43 children born/woman 2008

Live Births outside marriage: 33.0% of total live births 2005

[edit] See also

The demographics of the member states of the European Union:

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Demography of Europe
• List of European Union member states by population