After a population decline over the past two years, mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU population has started to grow again in 2022. While there were still 446.7 million inhabitants on 1 January 2022, according to data from Eurostat, the number of EU citizens has increased to 448.4 million people on 1 January 2023.
The negative natural development – more deaths than births – was offset by immigration. According to the Eurostat report, the observed population growth can largely be attributed to increased migratory movements following the corona crisis and a massive influx of displaced persons from Ukraine.
Germany has the largest population
Since measurements began in 1960, the EU population has grown by 93.9 million from 354.5 million to 448.4 million. With 84.4 million inhabitants, Germany still has the largest population in the EU, while at the other end of the spectrum lies the Mediterranean island of Malta with just over 500,000 inhabitants.
According to the report, Germany, France and Italy are home to almost half of all EU citizens (47%); the Federal Republic of Germany also recorded the largest national population growth with over 1.1 million people during the measurement period. According to figures from Eurostat, Austria has just passed the nine million mark and currently has a population of 9.1 million.
Italy records min
While the EU population as a whole has grown, not all Member States have experienced population growth. In seven countries, the population shrank during the measurement period. The drop was greatest in Italy, with a drop of nearly 180,000 people.
Source: Krone
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