World Immigration News

Immigration was sole driver of EU population growth last year

Release Date: 2025-07-12
Media: The Telegraph
Summary: The EU's population reached a record 450.4 million on January 1, 2025, increasing by about 1 million from the previous year. This growth was entirely due to net migration, as deaths (4.82 million) continued to exceed births (3.56 million) for the twelfth consecutive year.

In 2024, net migration of 2.3 million offset a natural population decline of 1.3 million. Without increased birth rates, future EU population trends will depend heavily on migration.

Germany, France, and Italy remain the most populous EU countries, with Germany at the top (83.6 million). Malta is the least populous (0.6 million). Since 1960, the EU population has grown by nearly 96 million.

Nineteen of the 27 EU countries saw population growth, with Malta, Ireland, and Luxembourg recording the highest increases. Latvia and Hungary experienced the largest declines, with Latvia seeing both negative natural change and negative net migration.

Only six countries—Ireland, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, and Sweden—had more births than deaths in 2024. All EU countries had positive net migration, but it was not enough to offset natural decline in eight states, including Italy, Hungary, and Poland.

While immigration is essential for addressing labor shortages and an aging population, many EU governments are tightening migration policies amid rising public concern and a shift to the political right.
Tags: Europe

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