The country with the largest number of inhabitants is Germany, and Malta has the smallest, the European Statistical Service announced on the occasion of World Population Day, which was celebrated on July 11.
From 1960 to this year, the population increased by 97,5 million people, but the rate of population growth has slowed in recent decades.
During the 1960s, the population increased by an average of three million people per year, and during the 2010s by 0,6 million per year.
Since 2012, negative natural growth in EU countries has been compensated by higher immigration.
Growth after Covid
The last five years have seen population growth, after a decline in 2021 during the covid19 pandemic.
The largest percentage of the EU population (18,5 percent) lives in Germany, which has 83,5 million inhabitants. It is followed by France (15,3 percent), Italy (13 percent), Spain (11 percent) and Poland (eight percent) and together they make up two thirds of the EU population.
The countries with the smallest number of inhabitants are Malta (0,6 million), Luxembourg, Cyprus, Estonia and Latvia.
From January 1, 2025 to January 1 of this year, the population increased in 16 EU member states, with the highest growth rates in Malta, Cyprus and Luxembourg.
The highest rates of population decline were recorded in Latvia, Estonia and Hungary.
