The population of the European Union on the 1st of January this year was bigger by 1,5 million in comparison to the previous year, i.e. it rose to 511,8 million inhabitants, Eurostat reported a few days ago.

According to the Eurostat data, the largest decline in the population was recorded in Croatia, Lithuania and Latvia.

Considering that the birth and the death rate in the EU were the same as in 2016, an increase of 1,5 million is attributed to migration.

Last year the EU population grew in 18 member countries, mostly in Luxembourg (1,98%), Sweden (1,45%), Malta (1,38%), and Ireland (1,06%). On the other hand, ten EU member countries recorded a decline in their population, however, the worst situation was in Lithuania (-1,45%), Latvia (-0,96%), and Croatia (-0,87%).

The Eurostat data show that on the 1st of January 2016 Croatia had a population of 4,190,700, whilst on the same date this year the country recorded 4,154,200 inhabitants.
The EU country with the largest population is Germany (82,8 million), followed by France (67 million) and Great Britain (65,8 million).

In addition, 5,1 million children were born in the 28 EU member countries in 2016 with the highest birth rate in Ireland, Sweden, and Great Britain, and the lowest birth rate in Italy, Portugal, and Greece.