Demographics of Europe


Figures for the population of Europe vary according to the particular definition of Europe's boundaries. According to the United Nations, the population within the standard physical geographical boundaries comprised 737 million in 2010. In 2010 the population was 711 million, defining Europe's boundaries as the continental divides of the Caucasus and Ural mountains and the Bosporous, and including the European parts of the countries of Russia and of Turkey.
Europe's population growth is comparatively low, and its median age comparatively high, in relation to the world's other continents, especially compared to Asia, Africa and Latin America. Most of Europe is in a mode of sub-replacement fertility, which means that each new generation is becoming less populous than the older. Nonetheless most European countries still have growing populations due to immigration, population momentum and increases in life expectancy. Some current and past factors in European demography have included emigration, ethnic relations, economic immigration, a declining birth rate and an ageing population.

History

Estimates for historical population sizes of Europe based on Maddison, in millions, with estimated percentage of world population:
AD 11000150016001700182019132000
34 40 78 112 127 224 498 742

Population of Western and Eastern Europe and former USSR, 0–1998 (in thousands)

Source: Maddison and others..
Year01000150016001700182018701913195019731998
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Portugal
Spain
Greece
13 Small Countries
Total Western Europe
Albania
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Yugoslavia
Eastern Europe
Former USSR
World

Shares of world population, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and former USSR, 0–1998 (% of world total)

Source: Maddison and others..
Year010001500160017001820187019131950197319982018
Austria0.20.30.50.40.40.30.40.40.30.20.1
Belgium0.10.10.30.30.30.30.40.40.30.20.2
Denmark0.10.10.10.10.10.10.10.20.20.10.1
Finland0.00.00.10.10.10.10.10.20.20.10.1
France2.22.43.43.33.63.03.02.31.71.31.0
Germany1.31.32.72.92.52.43.13.62.72.01.4
Italy3.01.92.42.42.21.92.22.11.91.41.0
Netherlands0.10.10.20.30.30.20.30.30.40.30.3
Norway0.00.10.10.10.10.10.10.10.10.10.1
Sweden0.10.10.10.10.20.20.30.30.30.20.1
Switzerland0.10.10.10.20.20.20.20.20.20.20.1
United Kingdom0.30.70.91.11.42.02.52.52.01.41.0
Portugal0.20.20.20.20.30.30.30.30.30.20.2
Spain1.91.51.61.51.51.21.31.11.10.90.7
Other0.90.40.30.30.30.30.40.40.50.40.3
Total Western Europe10.79.513.113.313.512.814.814.612.19.26.6
Eastern Europe2.12.43.13.03.13.54.14.43.52.82.0
Former USSR1.72.63.93.74.45.37.08.77.16.44.9
Sum14.514.520.120.021.021.625.927.722.718.413.59.8
World100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

Total population

330,000,000 people lived in Europe in 1916. In 1950 there were 549,000,000. The population of Europe in 2015 was estimated to be 741 million according to the United Nations, which was slightly less than 11% of the world population. The precise figure depends on the exact definition of the geographic extent of Europe. The population of the European Union was 509 million as of 2015. Non-EU countries situated in Europe in their entirety account for another 94 million. Five transcontinental countries have a total of 247 million people, of which about half reside in Europe proper.
As it stands now, around 10% of the world's people live in Europe. If demographic trends keep their pace, its share may fall to around 7% in 2050, but still amounting to 716 million people in absolute numbers, according to the United Nations estimate. The sub-replacement fertility and high life expectancy in most European states mean a declining and aging population as it is not offset by the current immigration level. This situation is expected to be a challenge for their economies, political and social institutions. Countries on the edges of Europe, except for southern Europe, have generally stronger growth than Central European counterparts. Albania and Ireland have strong growth, hitting over 1% annually.

Vital statistics

Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rate
1950552,650,63712,279,6316,077,2946,202,33722.211.011.2
1951558,223,19712,169,6826,325,0195,844,66321.811.310.5
1952563,493,47512,177,6236,001,8396,175,78421.610.711.0
1953569,038,33811,941,8946,019,7185,922,17621.010.610.4
1954574,789,67012,324,9415,898,0466,426,89521.410.311.2
1955580,851,70512,212,3265,799,6776,412,64921.010.011.0
1956586,901,63412,146,2665,829,4716,316,79520.79.910.8
1957592,961,19312,266,9845,933,3926,333,59220.710.010.7
1958599,136,26712,252,1825,600,0086,652,17420.49.311.1
1959605,348,89712,265,7965,761,6456,504,15120.39.510.7
1960611,080,34512,250,4965,714,9986,535,49820.09.410.7
1961617,765,54312,128,2825,686,4536,441,82919.69.210.4
1962624,539,79911,878,3056,011,1845,867,12119.09.69.4
1963631,178,74811,815,8195,990,3395,825,48018.79.59.2
1964636,849,20411,635,9835,802,0605,833,92318.39.19.2
1965642,428,28911,263,7956,035,1035,228,69217.59.48.1
1966647,361,67211,159,8006,028,4145,131,38617.29.37.9
1967651,746,12911,143,8196,178,0074,965,81217.19.57.6
1968656,477,45910,974,4586,386,2354,588,22316.79.77.0
1969660,989,82510,837,6466,633,5864,204,06016.410.06.4
1970664,048,77710,710,3416,579,9724,130,36916.19.96.2
1971668,951,35210,813,5876,644,5574,169,03016.29.96.2
1972673,335,59310,640,8326,691,4553,949,37715.89.95.9
1973677,566,69210,404,6446,806,7973,597,84715.410.05.3
1974681,644,89910,539,2146,787,7663,751,44815.510.05.5
1975685,723,15110,386,2537,034,4053,351,84815.110.34.9
1976688,988,35310,380,3327,108,3683,271,96415.110.34.7
1977692,598,70610,273,7747,071,6833,202,09114.810.24.6
1978695,805,43610,240,2847,207,3283,032,95614.710.44.4
1979699,351,91610,250,7807,294,7942,955,98614.710.44.2
1980702,641,86010,299,3627,452,6922,846,67014.710.64.1
1981705,680,14710,173,6337,419,1892,754,44414.410.53.9
1982708,358,98210,217,9227,352,2202,865,70214.410.44.0
1983711,003,28810,281,9667,568,7022,713,26414.510.63.8
1984713,601,04910,180,6017,613,1262,567,47514.310.73.6
1985716,205,71110,074,1377,730,4122,343,72514.110.83.3
1986719,150,44010,207,8847,481,6322,726,25214.210.43.8
1987722,244,37310,148,9387,469,1322,679,80614.110.33.7
1988725,546,17610,017,5727,560,8262,456,74613.810.43.4
1989728,372,2779,638,8717,585,5132,053,35813.210.42.8
1990730,830,0659,422,3277,745,7521,676,57512.910.62.3
1991733,009,7819,023,7247,873,7741,149,95012.310.71.6
1992730,096,4768,545,2467,936,689608,55711.710.90.8
1993731,078,2718,080,3138,416,692-336,37911.111.5-0.5
1994731,823,4997,917,7738,518,141-600,36810.811.6-0.8
1995732,194,9217,706,9178,514,506-807,58910.511.6-1.1
1996735,716,9367,645,9558,403,761-757,80610.411.4-1.0
1997735,626,6807,532,3038,270,485-738,18210.211.2-1.0
1998735,357,1897,448,1908,211,210-763,02010.111.2-1.0
1999735,220,2237,306,5988,399,803-1,093,2059.911.4-1.5
2000735,281,8367,391,2388,404,825-1,013,58710.111.4-1.4
2001734,479,0997,311,7888,376,261-1,064,47310.011.4-1.4
2002734,113,6757,363,6648,537,143-1,173,47910.011.6-1.6
2003734,835,7377,510,1058,676,316-1,166,21110.211.8-1.6
2004735,580,7567,630,6908,384,784-754,09410.411.4-1.0
2005736,717,3757,595,8068,521,892-926,08610.311.6-1.3
2006737,678,8087,742,8558,277,039-534,18410.511.2-0.7
2007738,915,0577,953,1568,245,072-291,91610.811.2-0.4
2008740,211,5368,261,7918,274,493-12,70211.211.20.0
2009741,816,2058,272,1298,175,40896,72111.211.00.1
2010743,090,8108,276,1708,192,16984,00111.111.00.1
2011742,829,6008,125,1218,011,717113,40410.910.80.2
2012744,057,8158,225,8158,126,63099,18511.110.90.1
2013745,572,3128,057,8038,069,336-11,53310.810.80.0
2014746,962,8438,112,7338,016,66196,07210.910.70.1
2015749,227,3458,006,6958,263,948-257,25310.711.0-0.3
2016750,610,0367,978,9108,138,734-159,82410.610.8-0.2
2017751,412,6377,641,6108,200,819-559,20910.210.9-0.7
2018751,612,0937,401,5728,252,295-850,7239.811.0-1.1
2019
Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rate

Population by country

According to different definitions, such as consideration of the concept of Central Europe, the following territories and regions may be subject to various other categorisations aside from geographic conventions.
Country/territoryArea
PopulationPopulation density
Capital
Albania28,7482,862,427105.1Tirana
Andorra46885,082181.8Andorra la Vella
Armenia29,7433,018,854101.5Yerevan
Austria83,8798,504,850101.4Vienna
Azerbaijan86,6009,754,830112.6Baku
Belarus207,5959,475,10045.6Minsk
Belgium30,52811,198,638366.8Brussels
Bosnia and Herzegovina51,1973,301,00075.6Sarajevo
Bulgaria110,9947,364,57066.4Sofia
Croatia56,5944,284,88975.7Zagreb
Cyprus9,2511,117,000120.7Nicosia
Czech Republic78,86610,513,209133.3Prague
Denmark42,9255,655,750131.6Copenhagen
Estonia45,2271,324,82029.1Tallinn
Faroe Islands 1,39949,70935.6Tórshavn
Finland338,4245,470,82016.2Helsinki
France643,80167,210,000103.7Paris
Georgia69,7003,729,00053.5Tbilisi
Germany357,16880,716,000226.0Berlin
Gibraltar 6.830,0014,348.0Gibraltar
Greece131,95710,816,28682.0Athens
Guernsey7865,345837.8St. Peter Port
Hungary93,0309,877,365106.2Budapest
Iceland103,001325,6713.2Reykjavík
Ireland70,2734,609,60065.6Dublin
Isle of Man57284,497147.8Douglas
Italy301,33860,782,668201.7Rome
Jersey11897,857827.9Saint Helier
Kazakhstan2,724,90017,987,7366.49Nur-Sultan
Kosovo10,9081,859,203170.4Pristina
Latvia64,5891,990,30030.8Riga
Liechtenstein16037,132232.1Vaduz
Lithuania65,3002,944,45945.1Vilnius
Luxembourg2,586549,680212.6Luxembourg
Malta316446,5471,413.1Valletta
Moldova33,8462,681,73579.3Chişinău
Monaco2.0236,37118,005.4Monaco
Montenegro13,812647,90546.9Podgorica
Netherlands41,54316,856,620405.8Amsterdam
North Macedonia25,7132,058,53980.1Skopje
Norway385,1785,136,70013.3Oslo
Poland312,67938,483,957123.1Warsaw
Portugal92,21210,427,301113.1Lisbon
Romania238,39119,942,64283.7Bucharest
Russia17,075,400143,700,0008.5Moscow
San Marino61.232,576532.3San Marino
Serbia77,4617,041,59990.9Belgrade
Slovakia49,0355,415,949110.5Bratislava
Slovenia20,2732,061,085101.7Ljubljana
Spain504,64547,100,39692.6Madrid
Svalbard and Jan
Mayen Islands 		62,0492,8680.046Longyearbyen
Sweden449,96410,004,96221.6Stockholm
Switzerland41,2858,183,800198.2Bern
Transnistria4,163505,000121.3Tiraspol
Turkey783,35679,814,871102Ankara
Ukraine603,62837,541,69373.8Kyiv
United Kingdom243,61064,100,000263.1London
Vatican City0.448421,913.6Vatican City
Åland 1,58028,66618.1Mariehamn
Total

Age

Mirroring their mostly sub-replacement fertility and high life expectancy, European countries tend to have older populations overall. They had nine of the top ten highest median ages in national populations in 2005. Only Japan had an older population.

Religion

Over the last several centuries, religious practice has been on the decline in a process of secularization. Several European countries have experienced a decline in church attendance as well as a decline in the number of people professing a religious belief. The 2010 Eurobarometer survey found that, on average, 51% of the citizens of the EU member states state that they believe there is a God, 26% believe there is some sort of spirit or life force and 20% don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force. 3% declined to answer. The Eurobarometer survey must be taken with caution, however, as there are discrepancies between it and national census results. For example, in the United Kingdom, the 2001 census revealed that over 70% of the population regarded themselves as "Christians" with only 15% professing to have no religion, though the wording of the question has been criticized as "misleading" by the British Humanist Association. The 2011 census showed a dramatic reduction to less than 60% of the population regarding themselves as "Christians".
Despite its decline, Christianity is still the largest religion in Europe. According to a survey published in 2010, 76.2% of Europeans identified themselves as Christians. Catholics were the largest Christian group in Europe, accounting for more than 48% of European Christians. The second-largest Christian group in Europe was the Orthodox, who made up 32% of European Christians. And about 19% of European Christians were part of the Protestant tradition.
According to a 2003 study, 47% of French people declared themselves as agnostics in 2003. This situation is often called "Post-Christian Europe". A decrease in religiousness and church attendance in western Europe has been noted. According to a survey published in 2012 Atheists and Agnostics make up about 18.2% of the European population. According to the same survey the religiously unaffiliated make up the majority of the population only in two European countries: Czech Republic and Estonia.
According to another survey about Religiosity in the European Union from 2012 by Eurobarometer, Christianity was the largest religion in the European Union, Catholics were with 48% the largest Christian group in EU, Protestants made up 12%, Eastern Orthodox made up 8% and other Christians accounted for 4% of the EU population. non-believers/agnostics accounted for 16%, atheists accounted for 7% and Muslims accounted for 2%.
;Muslims are younger and have more children than non-Muslims in Europe overall: Source: Pew Research Center
EuropeMedian age, 2016Total fertility rate, 2015–2020
Muslims30 yo2.6 children/woman
Non Muslims44 yo1.6 children/woman

;Fertility and migration drove Muslim population growth in Europe between 2010 and 2016: Source: Pew Research Center
Estimated population change between 2010 and 2016 due to three factors:
Natural increaseNet migrationReligious switching
Muslims+2.92 M+3.48 M−160 K
Non Muslims−1.67 M+1.29 M+160 K

Ethnic groups

Pan and Pfeil count 87 distinct "peoples of Europe", of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans.
The largest ethnic groups are the Russians, of whom 92 million reside in Europe and the Germans, with 72 million. In some countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Spain, the designation of nationality may controversially take on ethnic aspects, subsuming smaller ethnic groups such as Scots, Welsh, Bretons and Basques, making it difficult to quantify a "British" or "French" ethnicity, for example.
Approximately 20 million non-Europeans live in the EU, 4% of the overall population. There are an estimated 10 million Romani people in Europe.

Language

Most of the languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. This family is divided into a number of branches, including Romance, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Albanian, Celtic and Greek. The Uralic languages, which include Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian, also have a significant presence in Europe. The Turkic and Mongolic families also have several European members, while the North Caucasian and Kartvelian families are important in the southeastern extremity of geographical Europe. The Basque language of the western Pyrenees is an isolate unrelated to any other group, while Maltese is the only Semitic language in Europe with national language status.
The European Union, which currently excludes many European countries, recognises 23 official languages as of 2007. According to the same source, the eight most natively spoken languages in the EU are :
  1. 19% German
  2. 13% French
  3. 12% English
  4. 11% Italian
  5. 9% Spanish
  6. 9% Polish
  7. 7% Romanian
  8. 5% Dutch
These figures change when foreign language skills are taken into account. The list below shows the top eight European languages ordered by total number of speakers in the EU:
  1. 49% English
  2. 35% German
  3. 26% French
  4. 16% Italian
  5. 15% Spanish
  6. 10% Polish
  7. 7% Russian
  8. 6% Dutch
This makes German the most frequently spoken native language and English the most frequently spoken non-native language overall in the European Union, with German the second-most common language overall.
Languages that are not official state languages are protected in many European countries by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. These can include languages spoken by relatively many people, such as Catalan and Basque in Spain, as well as languages spoken by relatively few such as Welsh, Cornish and Scottish Gaelic in the United Kingdom.

Genetic origins

Homo sapiens appeared in Europe roughly 40,000 years ago, with the settlement of the Cro-magnons. Over the prehistoric period there was continuous settlement in Europe, notably by the immediate descendants of the Proto-Indo-Europeans who migrated west after the advent of the Neolithic revolution.

Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome DNA

Studies of mitochondrial DNA have suggested substantial genetic homogeneity of European populations, with only a few geographic or linguistic isolates appearing to be genetic isolates as well. On the other hand, analyses of the Y chromosome and of autosomal diversity have shown a general gradient of genetic similarity running from the southeast to the northwest of the continent.

Population structure

A study in May 2009 that examined 19 populations from Europe using 270,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms highlighted the genetic diversity of European populations corresponding to the northwest to southeast gradient and distinguished "several distinct regions" within Europe:
In this study, Fst was found to correlate considerably with geographic distances ranging from ≤0.0010 for neighbouring populations to 0.0230 for Southern Italy and Finland. For comparisons, pair-wise Fst of non-European samples were as follows: Europeans – Yoruba 0.1530; Europeans – Chinese 0.1100; Yoruba – Chinese 0.1900.