Demographics of Europe
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2008-07-09T16:17:12Z
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[[Image:Europe's population growth - CIA 2008.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Population growth/decline of European countries]]
The '''demographics of Europe''' refers to the demography of the population that inhabits the European continent. This pertains mainly to the changing number and composition of the [[population]] of [[Europe]]. Since the [[Renaissance]], Europe has had a dominating influence in culture, economics and social movements in the world. European demography is important not only historically, but also in understanding current international relations and population issues.
Some current and past issues in European demography have included [[Emigration|religious emigration]], [[race relations]], [[Immigration#Why do people immigrate.3F|economic immigration]], a declining [[birth rate]] and an [[ageing population]]. In some countries, such as the [[Republic of Ireland]] and [[Poland]], access to [[abortion]] is currently limited; in the past, such restrictions and also restrictions on artificial birth control were commonplace throughout Europe. Furthermore, two European countries (currently [[The Netherlands]] and [[Switzerland]]) have allowed a limited form of [[voluntary euthanasia]]. It remains to be seen how much demographic impact this may have.
In 2005 the '''population of Europe''' was estimated to be 728 million according to the [[United Nations]], which is slightly more than one-ninth of the [[world]]'s population. A century ago, Europe had nearly a quarter of the world's population. The population of Europe has grown in the past century, but in other areas of the world (in particular [[Africa]] and [[Asia]]) the population has grown far more quickly.<ref name="UNPP 2004">[http://esa.un.org/unpp UNPP, 2004 Revision World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Population Database]. [[United Nations]] Population Division, 2005. Last accessed October 25, 2006.</ref> According to UN population projection (medium variant), Europe's share will fall to 7% in 2050, numbering 653 million.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
==Total population==
[[Image:Europe population map countries.png|300px|thumb|Current population of European countries]]
In 2005, the population of Europe was 728 million or 11% of the world population. It has been growing from 500 million after World War II, peaked in the early 2000s at more than 700 million and has since then begun a decline.<ref name="UNPP 2004"/>
{| class="wikitable"
!width=40|Year!!Population in thousands<ref name="UNPP 2004"/>
|-
|1950||547,405
|-
|1960||604,406
|-
|1970||655,862
|-
|1980||692,435
|-
|1990||721,390
|-
|2000||728,463
|-
|2005||728,389
|-
|2010||725,786
|-
|2020||714,959
|-
|2030||698,140
|-
|2040||677,191
|-
|2050||653,323
|}
==Regions==
[[Image:Europe countries map en.png|thumb|right|250px|Modern [[Political map]]]]
[[Image:Europe, EU, candidates,.png|thumb|right|250px|Europe according to the [[EU]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries|publisher=[[European Commission]] |title=European countries according to the EU|accessdate=2008-06-13}}</ref>]]
[[Image:Map-Coeurope.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Council of Europe]] nations]]
[[Image:Regions of Europe based on CIA world factbook.png|right|thumb|250px|Regions of Europe according to [[CIA]] world factbook]]
[[Image:Location-Europe-UNsubregions.png|right|thumb|250px| Regional grouping according to the UN]]
[[Image:Map of Europe (political).png|thumb|right|250px| [[Europe]] according to a widely accepted definition]]
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.
<br/>
{{seealso|Demographics of Europe|List of European countries by population}}
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="references-small" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse"
|- bgcolor="#ECECEC"
! Name of [[subregion|region]]{{Cref|a}} and<br />territory, with [[flag]]
! [[List of countries by area|Area]]<br />(km²)
! [[List of countries by population|Population]]<br />(1 July, 2002 est.)
! [[List of countries by population density|Population density]]<br />(per km²)
! [[Capital]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Åland}} [[Åland]] ([[Finland]])
| align="right" | 1,552
| align="right" | 26,008
| align="right" | 16.8
| [[Mariehamn]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Albania}} [[Albania]]
| align="right" | 28,748
| align="right" | 3,600,523
| align="right" | 125.2
| [[Tirana]]
|-|
| {{flagicon|Andorra}} [[Andorra]]
| align="right" | 468
| align="right" | 68,403
| align="right" | 146.2
| [[Andorra la Vella]]
|-|
|{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]
| align="right" | 83,858
| align="right" | 8,169,929
| align="right" | 97.4
| [[Vienna]]
|-|
|{{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Armenia]]{{Cref|k}}
| align="right" | 29,800
| align="right" | 3,229,900
| align="right" | 101
| [[Yerevan]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Azerbaijan]]{{Cref|l}}
| align="right" | 86,600
| align="right" | 8,621,000
| align="right" | 97
| [[Baku]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Belarus}} [[Belarus]]
| align="right" | 207,600
| align="right" | 10,335,382
| align="right" | 49.8
| [[Minsk]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]]
| align="right" | 30,510
| align="right" | 10,274,595
| align="right" | 336.8
| [[Brussels]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
| align="right" | 51,129
| align="right" | 4,448,500
| align="right" | 77.5
| [[Sarajevo]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Bulgaria]]
| align="right" | 110,910
| align="right" | 7,621,337
| align="right" | 68.7
| [[Sofia]]
|-
| {{flagicon|CRO}} [[Croatia]]
| align="right" | 56,542
| align="right" | 4,437,460
| align="right" | 77.7
| [[Zagreb]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Cyprus]]{{Cref|e}}
| align="right" | 9,251
| align="right" | 788,457
| align="right" | 85
| [[Nicosia]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} [[Czech Republic]]
| align="right" | 78,866
| align="right" | 10,256,760
| align="right" | 130.1
| [[Prague]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]]
| align="right" | 43,094
| align="right" | 5,368,854
| align="right" | 124.6
| [[Copenhagen]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Estonia}} [[Estonia]]
| align="right" | 45,226
| align="right" | 1,415,681
| align="right" | 31.3
| [[Tallinn]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Faroe Islands}} [[Faroe Islands]] ([[Denmark]])
| align="right" | 1,399
| align="right" | 46,011
| align="right" | 32.9
| [[Tórshavn]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Finland]]
| align="right" | 336,593
| align="right" | 5,157,537
| align="right" | 15.3
| [[Helsinki]]
|-
| {{flagicon|France}} [[France]]{{Cref|h}}
| align="right" | 547,030
| align="right" | 59,765,983
| align="right" | 109.3
| [[Paris]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Georgia}} [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]{{Cref|m}}
| align="right" | 69,700
| align="right" | 4,661,473
| align="right" | 64
| [[Tbilisi]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
| align="right" | 357,021
| align="right" | 83,251,851
| align="right" | 233.2
| [[Berlin]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Gibraltar}} [[Gibraltar]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]])
| align="right" | 5.9
| align="right" | 27,714
| align="right" | 4,697.3
| [[Gibraltar]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]]
| align="right" | 131,940
| align="right" | 10,645,343
| align="right" | 80.7
| [[Athens]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Guernsey}} [[Guernsey]]{{Cref|d}}
| align="right" | 78
| align="right" | 64,587
| align="right" | 828.0
| [[St. Peter Port]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Hungary]]
| align="right" | 93,030
| align="right" | 10,075,034
| align="right" | 108.3
| [[Budapest]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Iceland]]
| align="right" | 103,000
| align="right" | 307,261
| align="right" | 2.7
| [[Reykjavík]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| align="right" | 70,280
| align="right" | 4,234,925
| align="right" | 60.3
| [[Dublin]]
|-|-
| {{flagicon|Isle of Man}} [[Isle of Man]]{{Cref|d}}
| align="right" | 572
| align="right" | 73,873
| align="right" | 129.1
| [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]
| align="right" | 301,230
| align="right" | 58,751,711
| align="right" | 191.6
| [[Rome]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Jersey}} [[Jersey]]{{Cref|d}}
| align="right" | 116
| align="right" | 89,775
| align="right" | 773.9
| [[Saint Helier]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Kazakhstan}} [[Kazakhstan]]{{Cref|j}}
| align="right" | 2,724,900
| align="right" | 15,217,711
| align="right" | 5.6
| [[Astana]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Kosovo}} [[Kosovo]]{{Cref|p}}
| align="right" | 10,887
| align="right" | 2,126,708
| align="right" | 220
| [[Pristina]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Latvia]]
| align="right" | 64,589
| align="right" | 2,366,515
| align="right" | 36.6
| [[Riga]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Liechtenstein}} [[Liechtenstein]]
| align="right" | 160
| align="right" | 32,842
| align="right" | 205.3
| [[Vaduz]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Lithuania}} [[Lithuania]]
| align="right" | 65,200
| align="right" | 3,601,138
| align="right" | 55.2
| [[Vilnius]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Luxembourg]]
| align="right" | 2,586
| align="right" | 448,569
| align="right" | 173.5
| [[Luxembourg (city)|Luxembourg]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Republic of Macedonia}} [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]]
| align="right" | 25,333
| align="right" | 2,054,800
| align="right" | 81.1
| [[Skopje]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Malta}} [[Malta]]
| align="right" | 316
| align="right" | 397,499
| align="right" | 1,257.9
| [[Valletta]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Moldova}} [[Moldova]]{{Cref|b}}
| align="right" | 33,843
| align="right" | 4,434,547
| align="right" | 131.0
| [[Chişinău]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Monaco}} [[Monaco]]
| align="right" | 1.95
| align="right" | 31,987
| align="right" | 16,403.6
| [[Monaco]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Montenegro}} [[Montenegro]]
| align="right" | 13,812
| align="right" | 616,258
| align="right" | 44.6
| [[Podgorica]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]{{Cref|i}}
| align="right" | 41,526
| align="right" | 16,318,199
| align="right" | 393.0
| [[Amsterdam]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Norway]]
| align="right" | 324,220
| align="right" | 4,525,116
| align="right" | 14.0
| [[Oslo]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Poland}} [[Poland]]
| align="right" | 312,685
| align="right" | 38,625,478
| align="right" | 123.5
| [[Warsaw]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Portugal]]{{Cref|f}}
| align="right" | 91,568
| align="right" | 10,409,995
| align="right" | 110.1
| [[Lisbon]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Romania]]
| align="right" | 238,391
| align="right" | 21,698,181
| align="right" | 91.0
| [[Bucharest]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia]]{{Cref|c}}
| align="right" | 17,075,400
| align="right" | 142,200,000
| align="right" | 26.8
| [[Moscow]]
|-
| {{flagicon|San Marino}} [[San Marino]]
| align="right" | 61
| align="right" | 27,730
| align="right" | 454.6
| [[San Marino, San Marino|San Marino]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Serbia]] (including Kosovo){{Cref|g}}
| align="right" | 88,361
| align="right" | 9,663,742
| align="right" | 109.4
| [[Belgrade]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Slovakia}} [[Slovakia]]
| align="right" | 48,845
| align="right" | 5,422,366
| align="right" | 111.0
| [[Bratislava]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Slovenia}} [[Slovenia]]
| align="right" | 20,273
| align="right" | 1,932,917
| align="right" | 95.3
| [[Ljubljana]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
| align="right" | 504,851
| align="right" | 45,061,274
| align="right" | 89.3
| [[Madrid]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Norway}} [[Svalbard and Jan Mayen|Svalbard and Jan<br />Mayen Islands]] ([[Norway]])
| align="right" | 62,049
| align="right" | 2,868
| align="right" | 0.046
| [[Longyearbyen]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]]
| align="right" | 449,964
| align="right" | 9,090,113
| align="right" | 19.7
| [[Stockholm]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]
| align="right" | 41,290
| align="right" | 7,507,000
| align="right" | 176.8
| [[Bern]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Turkey]]{{Cref|n}}
| align="right" | 783,562
| align="right" | 70,586,256
| align="right" | 93
| [[Ankara]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Ukraine]]
| align="right" | 603,700
| align="right" | 48,396,470
| align="right" | 80.2
| [[Kiev]]
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| align="right" | 244,820
| align="right" | 61,100,835
| align="right" | 244.2
| [[London]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Vatican City}} [[Vatican City]]
| align="right" | 0.44
| align="right" | 900
| align="right" | 2,045.5
| [[Vatican City]]
|-
|- style=" font-weight:bold; "
| Total
| align="right" | 10,180,000{{Cref|o}}
| align="right" | 731,000,000{{Cref|o}}
| align="right" | 70
|}
==Age==
{{Main|Aging of Europe}}
Perhaps mirroring its declining population growth, European countries tend to have older populations overall. European countries had nine of the top ten highest median ages in national populations in 2005. Only [[Japan]] had an older population.<ref name="age">United Nations Population Division, ''World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Highlights.'' 2005</ref>
==Religion==
[[Image:Europe religion map en.png|thumb|250px|Predominant religions in Europe
{{legend|#496EB8|[[Roman Catholicism]]}}
{{legend|#C44F4F|[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]]}}
{{legend|#855C99|[[Protestantism]]}}
{{legend|#3D9956|[[Sunni Islam]]}}
{{legend|#2E7340|[[Shia Islam]]}}
{{legend|#FAD000|[[Judaism]]}}
{{legend|#e7984d|[[Buddhism]]}}
]]
{{main|Religion in Europe}}
Religion in Europe spans approximately 10,000 years of human settlement on the continent. It has developed from the earliest prehistoric spirituality via the Ancient Greek, Roman and Nordic faiths to the spread of the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Europe has a rich and diverse religious history, and its various faiths have been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. In modern times, the overwhelming majority of religious Europeans are Christian; the second-largest religion in Europe is Islam, followed by Judaism. Europe also has the largest number and proportion of agnostics and atheists in the Western world.
==Nationality==
{{see|European ethnic groups}}
==Language==
{{main|Languages of Europe}}
Europe has ''30-40 major languages'' depending on definition. The [[European Union]] (EU), which currently excludes [[Norway]] and many eastern European countries, recognises 23 official languages as of 2007.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#Official%20eu EUROPA - Education and Training - Languages in Europe<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> According to the same source, the seven most natively spoken languages in the EU are (percentage of total European population<ref>see http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#languages%20of%20EU%2015 for full list</ref>):
[[Image:Languages of Europe no legend.png|thumb|350px|Linguistic map of Europe (simplified).]]
# 18% [[German language|German]]
# 13% [[French language|French]]
# 12% [[English language|English]]
# 12% [[Italian language|Italian]]
# 9% [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
# 9% [[Polish language|Polish]]
# 5% [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
These figures change slightly 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:<ref>see http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#Foreign%20language%20skills for full list</ref>
# 51% English
# 32% German
# 26% French
# 16% Italian
# 15% Spanish
# 10% Polish
# 7% [[Russian language|Russian]]
# 6% Dutch
This makes German the most frequently spoken native language and English the most frequently spoken language overall in the European Union, with German the second-most common language overall.
=== Foreign language skills ===
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Malta, Sweden, Slovenia, Belgium, and Finland are the EU countries with the most foreign language skills. This refers to all foreign languages. English is spoken most frequently in Malta, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The largest countries in Europe have the following percentages of English language skills: 44% Germany, 32% France, 28% Italy, 22% Poland, 18% Spain. The countries with the least foreign language skills are the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Spain.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/barolang_en.pdf Eurobarometer 54 Special - Europeans and languages<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#EU%20and%20new%20memberstates EUROPA - Education and Training - Languages in Europe<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
=== Extinct and endangered languages ===
Many languages have become extinct in Europe and the process is continuing. Languages that are already rated as extinct by the UNESCO Red Book include [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and two Jewish languages. Nearly extinct and seriously endangered languages include several [[Sami languages|Sami]], [[Frisian languages|Frisian]], and regional Jewish languages, [[Tsakonian language|Tsakonian]] and [[Breton language|Breton]].<ref>[http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html Endangered languages in Europe: indexes<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==See also==
*[[Demographics of the European Union]]
*[[Area and population of European countries]]
*[[European Union Statistics]]
*[[Largest European metropolitan areas]]
*[[Largest urban areas of the European Union]]
*[[Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits]]
*[[Genetic history of Europe]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
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{{Demographics of Europe}}
{{Europefooter}}
[[Category:Demographics by country|Europe]]
[[Category:Europe|Demography]]
[[Category:European people| ]]
[[cy:Demograffeg Ewrop]]