Europe grew slightly overall
Across the countries in the dataset, total population increased by 3.9% between 2005 and 2024.
Population across Europe
Population growth, decline and demographic divergence
This page tracks population change across European countries from 2005 to 2024. The data shows a continent moving in different demographic directions: some countries continued to grow, while others experienced long-term population decline.
The time series highlights how population change is shaped by migration, fertility, ageing and regional economic patterns. Western, Northern and small high-growth countries generally expanded, while several Central and Eastern European countries lost population over the same period.
Explore the data
Key insights
Small countries recorded the fastest growth
Luxembourg, Malta and Iceland experienced the strongest percentage population increases over the full period.
Eastern Europe saw the sharpest declines
Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania and Croatia recorded the steepest long-term population losses.
Key comparisons
Selected highlights from the population dataset, 2005–2024.
Extended analysis
1) Europe’s population changed only modestly overall
Across the countries included in the dataset, total population increased from 446.9 million in 2005 to 464.2 million in 2024, a rise of 3.9%.
This overall stability hides very different national trajectories. Some countries gained population continuously, while others experienced long-term decline across much of the period.
2) The strongest percentage growth was concentrated in smaller countries
The largest percentage population increases between 2005 and 2024 were recorded in Luxembourg (+45.7%), Malta (+39.9%), Iceland (+35.9%), Ireland (+30.0%) and Cyprus (+27.3%).
These countries show how migration, economic attractiveness and small starting populations can produce large percentage gains over a relatively short historical period.
3) The largest absolute increases came from larger Western European countries
In absolute terms, the largest population gains were recorded in France (+5.6 million), Spain (+5.3 million), Netherlands (+1.6 million), Switzerland (+1.5 million) and Sweden (+1.5 million).
These changes show that even moderate percentage growth can translate into large demographic shifts in countries with larger populations.
4) Population decline was strongest in parts of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
The steepest percentage declines between 2005 and 2024 were recorded in Latvia (-16.8%), Bulgaria (-16.2%), Lithuania (-14.0%), Romania (-10.8%) and Croatia (-10.4%).
In absolute terms, the largest population losses were recorded in Romania (-2.3 million), Poland (-1.6 million) and Bulgaria (-1.2 million).
5) The largest countries still dominate the demographic map
In 2024, the most populous countries in the dataset were Germany (83.4 million), France (68.4 million), Italy (59.0 million), Spain (48.6 million) and Poland (36.6 million).
Their size means that even relatively small percentage changes can have a major effect on Europe’s overall demographic balance.
How to read this indicator
Population figures show the number of residents in each country in a given year. They are useful for comparing long-term demographic size and change, but they do not explain the underlying causes by themselves. Population growth or decline can reflect natural change, migration, ageing, statistical revisions and changes in residence patterns.