Migration to the European Union has once again offset natural population decline: according to last year's figures, the EU's population reached a record 450.4 million. This is stated in the latest Eurostat report.

Why is this important

Since 2012, the number of deaths in the European Union has exceeded the number of births every year, meaning that the influx of migrants remains the only driver of population growth.

Experts note that against the backdrop of an aging population and low birth rates, this poses serious challenges for social security systems and exacerbates labor shortages.

Figures and trends

In 2024, the EU population increased by 1.07 million people.

At the same time, the natural decline was 1.3 million: the number of deaths (4.82 million) exceeded the number of births (3.56 million).

Net migration was +2.3 million people.

Germany, France, and Italy account for almost half of the total EU population — 47%.

The population grew in 19 EU countries, but eight saw a decline. Malta led the growth rate (+19.0 per 1,000 people), followed by Ireland (+16.3) and Luxembourg (+14.7). The sharpest declines were recorded in Latvia (-9.9), Hungary (-4.7), Poland, and Estonia (both -3.4).

According to Eurostat, population growth has slowed over the past decade: while in the 1960s the EU population grew by 3 million people per year, between 2005 and 2024 this figure fell to 0.9 million.