Definitions, sources and notes

For a detailed list of data sources, references and notes, see the following file:

Definitions

Definition Description
PopulationTotal population of a given country or region as of 1st January 2023, or 1st January 2000 in millions. , this figure represents the legal resident population in the country, including foreign citizens with a residence permit. Source: EUROSTAT1; in several cases, the figure was taken from the official publications of NSO2.
Total population changeThe total population growth or decline between 2000 and 2023, relative to the population size in 2000, in %.
Natural population changeThe difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths from 2000 to 2023, relative to the population size in 2000, in %.
Net migrationThis indicator reflects the population growth or decline due to international migration. It is estimated as the difference between the total population change and the natural population change from 2000 to 2023, in %.
Proportion of foreign-born populationShare of the population born abroad and resident in the country in 2023 (EUROSTAT) or 2020 (UN) among the total population, in %. Source: EUROSTAT; if not available: United Nations International Migrant Stock data3
Proportion of population aged 80+Share of persons aged 80 years and older in the total population as of 1 January 2023, in %. Source: EUROSTAT, NSO.
Projected populationProjected population in 2070 based on the Wittgenstein Centre (2024) projection4 using assumptions of a medium scenario (SSP2), which can also be seen as the most likely path for each country from today's perspective. It combines medium fertility with the medium mortality, medium migration, and Global Education Trend (GET) scenarios. Source: Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer5
Projected population – Zero migrationProjected population in 2070 based on the Wittgenstein Centre projection using assumptions of a medium scenario (SSP2) combined with zero migration flows. Source: Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer.
Projected population – Double migrationProjected population in 2070 based on the Wittgenstein Centre projection using assumptions of a medium scenario (SSP2) combined with double migration flows. Source: Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer.
Projected proportion of population aged 80+Share of persons aged 80 and older in the total population, in %, based on the projected population in 2070 of the Wittgenstein Centre projection, SSP2. Source: Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer.
Total fertility rate (TFR)The average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if the age-specific fertility rates of a given year remained constant during her childbearing years. It is computed as the sum of fertility rates by age across all childbearing ages in 2022. Source: EUROSTAT, NSO.
Change in TFRChange in the total fertility rate between 2019 and 2022. Source: Same as for the TFR.
Tempo and parity adjusted TFRAlternative indicators for the period TFR have been developed to provide a more accurate measure of the mean number of children per woman in a calendar year, which is not affected by changes in the timing of births. This datasheet features the tempo- and parity-adjusted total fertility rate (TFRp*; Bongaarts and Sobotka 2012)6, which is based on age- and parity-specific fertility rates as well as changes in the mean age at birth. When available, the TFRp* is shown for 2020. For countries lacking the required data, the datasheet displays the tempo-adjusted TFR (TFR-BF), proposed by Bongaarts and Feeney in (1998)7, averaged over the three-year period of 2019–2021. Sources: EUROSTAT, HFD8, HFC9, RFMD10, and NSO. For more details and references, see the box on the tempo effect. For details on the computation method and the sources for individual countries, see the file DOWNLOAD MAIN TABLE
Mean age at first birthThe mean age of women at the birth of their first child (in years), computed from age-specific fertility rates of first-order births in 2022. Source: EUROSTAT, NSO.
Completed cohort fertilityThe average number of children born alive to women born in the same year (i.e., a birth cohort) during their reproductive lives. Unlike the TFR, which is a hypothetical period indicator, completed fertility represents a measure of actual family size, and is known only for women who have completed their childbearing. In this datasheet, we show the completed fertility of women born in 1982, who reached age 40 in 2022 (i.e., the most recent year for which fertility data were available for most countries at the time the datasheet was being prepared). As only a small proportion of births are to women over age 40 (3.3% in the EU in 2022), it is possible to estimate the completed fertility rate for these women with a high degree of accuracy using the most recent available data for 2022 as an estimate of their childbearing at ages 41 and older. Source: HFD, HFC, Census data (Armenia and Azerbaijan).
Cohort childlessnessProportion of women remaining permanently childless, in %. The values show the estimated share of childless women among women born in 1982. Source: HFD, HFC, NSO, Census data (Armenia and Azerbaijan), German Microcensus11
Life expectancy at birthLife expectancy at birth is the average number of years a person born in 2022 would live if current age- and sex-specific mortality rates were to continue. Source: EUROSTAT, NSO.
Change in life expectancyChange in life expectancy in years between 2019 and 2022. Source: EUROSTAT, NSO.
Number of Ukrainian RefugeesNumber of refugees as recognised by the UNHCR – irrespective of their official status (asylum, temporary protection, or similar schemes) – with Ukrainian citizenship in a given country or region as of 30 June 2023, in thousands. Source: UNHCR12.
Distribution of Ukrainian RefugeesShare of refugees with Ukrainian citizenship in a given country in relation to the total number of Ukrainian refugees abroad, in %.
Proportion of Ukrainian RefugeesShare of refugees with Ukrainian citizenship in a given country as of 30 June 2023 in relation to the total population of that country as of 1 January 2023, in %.
Number of non-Ukrainian RefugeesNumber of refugees as recognised by the UNHCR – irrespective of their official status (asylum, temporary protection, or similar schemes) – with non-Ukrainian citizenship in a given country or region as of 30 June 2023, in thousands. Source: UNHCR.
Proportion of non-Ukrainian RefugeesShare of refugees with non-Ukrainian citizenship in a given country as of 30 June 2023 in relation to the total population of that country as of 1 January 2023, in %.

1 EUROSTAT Database, European Commission 2024. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database
2 NSO: National statistical organisations.
3 United Nations International migrant stock 2020. Available at: https://www.un.org​/development​/desa/pd​/content/​international-​migrant-​stock
4 K.C., S., Dhakad, M., Potančoková, M., Adhikari, S., Yildiz, D., Mamolo, M., Sobotka, T., Zeman, K., Abel, G., Lutz, W. and Goujon, A. 2024. Updating the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) Global Population and Human Capital Projections. IIASA Working Paper. Laxenburg, Austria: WP-24-003. Available at: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/​eprint/19487/
5 Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital. 2024. Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer Version 3.0. Available at: https://dataexplorer.wittgensteincentre​.org/​wcde-v3/
6 Bongaarts, J. and T. Sobotka 2012. A demographic explanation for the recent rise in European fertility. Population and Development Review 38(1): 83–120.
7 Bongaarts, J. and G. Feeney 1998. On the quantum and tempo of fertility. Population and Development Review 24(2): 271–291.
8 HFD: Human Fertility Database 2024. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and Vienna Institute of Demography. Available at https://www.humanfertility.org
9 HFC: Human Fertility Collection 2024. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and Vienna Institute of Demography. Available at: https://www.fertilitydata.org
10 RFMD: Russian Fertility and Mortality Database 2024. Center for Demographic Research, Moscow. Available at https://www.nes.ru/demogr-fermort-data?lang=en
11 Microcensus. Research Data Centre of the Federal Statistical Office. Available at https://www.forschungsdatenzentrum.de/​en/household/​microcensus
12 UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database. 2024. United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees. Available at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics


Notes

The Datasheet does not feature European countries with population below 100 thousand (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican).

Data for Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine exclude territories that are not under government control.

Definition of regions takes into account geographical, historical and geopolitical divisions, as well as similarity in demographic trends. Countries are grouped into regions as follows:

  • Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden)
  • Western Europe (Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom)
  • Germany, Austria and Switzerland
  • Southern Europe (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain)
  • Central-Eastern Europe (Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia)
  • South-Eastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia)
  • Eastern Europe (Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine)
  • Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)
Türkiye is not included in any region.

European Union refers to the current territory of 27 member states.

Authors and Acknowledgements

Authors

Kryštof Zeman, Tomáš Sobotka and Zuzanna Brzozowska (Main authors, data collection and coordination, text editing)
Kryštof Zeman and Tomáš Sobotka (Main data table, maps, rankings, regional overview)
Tomáš Sobotka and Kryštof Zeman (Boxes: Tempo effect and adjusted total fertility; Unstable fertility during the COVID-19 pandemic: A big slide or a “rollercoaster” pattern?)
Vanessa di Lego (Box: Changes in life expectancy during the COVID-19 pandemic)
Bernhard Rengs (Box: Refugees in Europe following the outbreak of Russia’s war against Ukraine)
Bernhard Rengs and Kryštof Zeman (Front-side box Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian refugees in Europe; collection of data on refugees)
Anne Goujon and Philipp Ueffing (Box: Ukraine’s population decline after the war: Several scenarios)
Anne Goujon (Box: Population and human capital projections up to 2100)
Michaela Potančoková, Jakub Bijak, and Guillaume Marois (Box: High-migration events to Europe: Limited long-term impacts on population and labour force sizes)

Copy editing

Miriam Hils

Administrative assistances

Lisa Janisch

Graphic design (poster)

Christian Högl creativbox.at

Website

Bernhard Rengs

Suggested citation

Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) 2024. European Demographic Datasheet 2024. Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/OEAW, University of Vienna), Vienna. Available at www.populationeurope.org

Acknowledgements

Dmytro Shushpanov (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) for providing selected recent indicators for Ukraine.

Maria Winkler-Dworak (VID) and Aiva Jasilioniene (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) for their help with collecting, documenting and estimating monthly fertility data (box Unstable fertility during the COVID-19 pandemic).

Olga Pötzsch (DESTATIS) for the estimates from the German Microcensus 2022.

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