What European country saw the biggest increase in population last year?

Spain saw the biggest increase in population in the European Union last year, with its population rising by around 525,100, new data from Eurostat has found.

Other countries to see a notable increase in population included Germany (approximately 330,000) and France (approximately 229 000).

At the same time, seven EU countries reported a decrease in population during 2023, with the largest decreases seen in Poland (approximately 132,800), Greece (approximately 16,800) and Hungary (approximately 15,100).

Overall population increase

Overall, the population of the European Union increased to 449.2 million people in 2023 (according to data as of 1 January 2024), up from 447.6 million the previous year.

The population growth was primarily due to positive net migration, which outweighed the negative natural change (more deaths than births), Eurostat said. This increase is mainly a result of higher migratory movements post-COVID-19 and the arrival of displaced persons from Ukraine.

If considering a larger timeframe, the population of the European Union has grown from 354.5 million in 1960 to 449.2 million last year, with most years seeing a steady increase – the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 being the exception.

The data was released to coincide with World Population Day, which took place on 11 July.

European Union countries by population size, as of 1 January 2024