Demographics of the European Union

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Life in the European Union

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The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 25 member states, constantly expanding and developing.

As of 2006, the population of the EU is 456,953,258."[Rank Order - Population]", CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 24 April 2006. However, many countries are expected to experience a decline in population over the coming decades,"[The EU's baby blues]", BBC News, 27 March 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2006. though this could be offset with new countries planning to join the EU within the next 20 years.

Contents

1 Population

1.1 Most Populous Urban Areas

2 Migration
3 Immigration & Emigration
4 Religion
5 Language
6 Miscellanous statistics
7 See also
8 References
9 See also

Population

The EU has an estimated population of 456,953,258, spread evenly across the land. The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82,689,000 people.

In the near future many member states are expecting a decline in population as birth rates fall, but this could be partially offset with the accession of other countries to the union - specifically Turkey.

Most Populous Urban Areas

The following is a list of the ten most populous areas in the European Union, with their population according to 2005 estimates.

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

Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands 3 345 000 0.50%
9

Athens, Greece 3 247 000 0.37%
10

Naples, Italy 2 905 000 0.00%

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	Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands	3 345 000	0.50%
9	Athens, Greece	3 247 000	0.37%
10	Naples, Italy	2 905 000	0.00%

Migration

There is a substantial migration of people inside the Union; this occurs in strong patterns:

from (former) industrialized areas in the Benelux, Britain and Germany to the Sun belts in Spain and Italy.

Immigration & Emigration

There are currently more people immigrating into the European Union than there are emigrating from it. Immigration is a controversial issue in some member states such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

In other countries such as Portugal, the issue is less controversial, possibly due to the fact that many Portuguese emigrated themselves in the recent past (1960's-1980's).

This figure is for immigration and emigration into the European Union, and therefore excludes any internal movements between member states.

1.5 migrants/1 000 population (July 2004 estimate)

Religion

Due to the significant and inseparable role played in European history and cultures, the majority of the population in the EU profess Christianity, predominantly Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. 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 EU mainly consists of fully-developed nations, secularism has planted deep roots on European soil which contributes to the rise in atheism and agnosticism.

Europe has two coutries that have a majority European muslim population.The first one is Albania ,the second one is Bosnia Herzegovina.There are also many countries that have a large muslim european minority.Serbia has a muslim population of 18%, the Republic of Macedonia has a muslim population of 25%.These muslims are not immigrants but europeans that converted to islam during the middle ages.

Language

The first official languages of each of the 25 member countries has the status of an official language of the European Union. In total there are 20, soon to be 21 with Irish set to to gain official language status on January 1, 2007. Bulgarian and Romanian will also become official languages upon their accession.

English is the most spoken language in the EU, being spoken by around 47% of its population. Despite this, German is the most spoken first language being spoken by 18% of the population. English reaches its high percentage by being spoken by 34% of the population as a language other than mother tongue.

Miscellanous 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 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 10.1 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: (2006 est.)

at birth: N/A
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: (2006 est.)

total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy: (2006 est.)

total population: 78.3 years
male: 75.1 years
female: 81.6 years

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2006 est.)