Demographics of the European Union

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The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states.

As of January 1, 2006, the population of the EU was about 493 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 million people. France and Ireland have the highest birth-rates. ^[3]

Population figures in the table below are the latest available for each country (some are 2006 estimates, other are 2007 estimates).

Member State	Population in millions	Population % of EU	Area km2	Area % of EU	Pop. density People/km2
European Union	494.8	100%	4 422 773	100%	112
Austria	8.3	1.7%	83 858	1.9%	99
Belgium	10.5	2.1%	30 510	0.7%	344
Bulgaria	7.4	1.5%	110 912	2.5%	70
Cyprus	0.8	0.2%	9 250	0.2%	84
Czech Republic	10.3	2.1%	78 866	1.8%	131
Denmark	5.4	1.1%	43 094	1.0%	126
Estonia	1.4	0.3%	45 226	1.0%	29
Finland	5.3	1.1%	337 030	7.6%	16
France[4]	63.4	12.8%	643 548	14.6%	99
Germany	82.3	16.6%	357 021	8.1%	231
Greece	11.1	2.2%	131 940	3.0%	84
Hungary	10.1	2.0%	93 030	2.1%	108
Ireland	4.2	0.8%	70 280	1.6%	60
Italy	58.8	11.9%	301 320	6.8%	195
Latvia	2.3	0.5%	64 589	1.5%	35
Lithuania	3.4	0.7%	65 200	1.5%	52
Luxembourg	0.5	0.1%	2 586	0.1%	181
Malta	0.4	0.1%	316	0.0%	1 261
Netherlands	16.4	3.3%	41 526	0.9%	394
Poland	38.1	7.7%	312 685	7.1%	122
Portugal	10.6	2.1%	92 931	2.1%	114
Romania	21.6	4.4%	238 391	5.4%	91
Spain	44.7	9.0%	504 782	11.4%	87
Slovakia	5.4	1.1%	48 845	1.1%	111
Slovenia	2.0	0.4%	20 253	0.5%	99
Sweden	9.1	1.8%	449 964	10.2%	20
United Kingdom	60.7	12.3%	244 820	5.5%	246

Contents 1 Most Populous Urban Areas 2 Migration 3 Immigration & Emigration 4 Religion 5 Language 6 Demographic Future 7 Miscellaneous statistics 8 See also 9 References 10 See also

[edit] Most Populous Urban Areas

Main article: Largest urban areas of the European Union

The following is a list of the ten most populous areas in the European Union, with their population according to 2005 estimates. Noting However, that whilst Paris has a larger population in its official city boundaries, the actual greater urban area of London has a larger population than Paris, thus making London the biggest urban area.

Rank	Urban Area	Population (2005 est.)	Change p.a. (1990s avg.)
1	Paris, France	10 136 000	0.21%
2	London, United Kingdom	8 505 000	0.68%
3	Ruhr area-Essen-Dortmund-Duisburg, Germany	5 214 000	– 0.14%
4	Madrid, Spain	5 078 000	0.32%
5	Milan, Italy	4 282 280	0.00%
6	Barcelona, Spain	4 043 000	– 0.35%
7	Berlin, Germany	3 764 000	0.12%
8	Upper Silesian Metropolitan Area, Poland	3 487 000	– 0.95%
9	Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands	3 345 000	0.50%
10	Athens, Greece	3 247 000	0.37%

[edit] Migration

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

• from former industrialized areas in the Benelux, Britain and Germany to the Sun belts in Spain and Italy.[1]
• from poorer eastern states of the EU to the richer countries of the western EU (UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy)

[edit] Immigration & 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, Germany, 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 ^[5] (Spanish) 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 inmigration 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. [2].

In other countries, such as Ireland or Portugal, inmigration 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 ~ 3 migrants per 1,000 head of population.^[6] 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, the Baha'i 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. Many people have no religion.

[edit] Language

Main article: Languages of the European Union

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 January 1, 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 18% of the population.

[edit] Demographic Future

The EU faces strengths and challenges in its demographic future. Most concerns center around two related issues: an aging 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. ^[7] The total fertility rate is an internationally low 1.47 children born per female, ^[8] 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. ^[9]

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. ^[10]

A low fertility rate, without supplement from immigration, also suggests a declining overall EU population^[11], which further suggests economic contraction or even economic crisis. ^[12] While some media have noted the 'baby crisis' in the EU^[13], and some governments have noted the problem^[14], the UN and other multinational authorities continue to warn of an impending crisis.^[15]

[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: 1.52 children born/woman [2005]

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

[edit] See also

The demographics of the member states of the European Union:

Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France

Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta

The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

[edit] References

[edit] See also

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