Demographics of Europe

The population growth/decline of European countries

The Demographics of Europe refers to the changing number and composition of the population of Europe.

Since the Renaissance, Europe has had a dominating influence in culture, economics and social movements in the world. European demographics are important not only historically, but also in understanding current international relations and population issues.

Some current and past issues in European demographics have included religious emigration, race relations, economic immigration, a declining birth rate and an ageing population. In some countries, such as the Republic of Ireland and Poland, access to abortion is currently limited; in the past, such restrictions and also restrictions on artificial birth control were commonplace throughout Europe. Furthermore, two European countries (currently The Netherlands and Switzerland) have allowed a limited form of voluntary euthanasia. It remains to be seen how much demographic impact this may have.

In 2005, the population of Europe was estimated to be 728 million according United Nations, which is slightly more than one-ninth of the world's population. A century ago, Europe had nearly a quarter of the world's population. The population of Europe has grown in the past century, but in other areas of the world (in particular Africa and Asia) the population has grown far more quickly.^[1] According to UN population projection (medium variant), Europe's share will fall to 7% in 2050, numbering 653 million. ^[2]

Total population

In 2005, the population of Europe was 728 million or 11% of the world population. It has been growing from 500 million after World War II to the present size of more than 700 million. The United Nations Population Division estimates that Europe's population peaked in early 2000s and has now begun a decline.

Population of European Countries

It has been suggested that Europe#Territories_and_regions be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Distribution of population

Age

Perhaps mirroring its declining population growth, European countries tend to have older populations overall. European countries had nine of the top ten highest median ages in national populations in 2005. Only Japan had an older population.^[3]

Sex

As Europe is a 'developed' continent, and people have a long life expectancy, there are quite a few more 75+ women than there are men.There are slightly more men born than women, but they have a slightly shorter life span.

Race and ethnicity

Europe comprises of the races of many ancient peoples and recently with the formation of the European Union peoples from European and Non-European nations are migrating to and within the individual European nations.

Religion

Predominant religions in Europe ██ Roman Catholicism ██ Orthodox Christianity ██ Protestantism ██ Sunni Islam ██ Shia Islam

Main article: Religion in Europe

Religion in Europe spans approximately 50,000 years of human settlement on the continent. It has developed from the earliest prehistoric spirituality via the Ancient Greek, Roman and Nordic faiths to the spread of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Europe has a rich and diverse religious history, and its various faiths have been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. In modern times, the overwhelming majority of religious Europeans are Christian, of which nearly half are Catholic; the second-largest religion in Europe is Islam, followed by Judaism (formerly and historically second-largest). Europe also has the largest number and proportion of agnostics and atheists in the Western world.

Nationality

Language

Main article: Languages of Europe

Map showing the approximate current distribution of languages in Europe.

Europe has 30-40 major languages depending on definition. The BBC states that there are 40 main European languages [1]. The European Union (EU), which currently excludes Norway and many eastern European countries, recognises 20 official languages as of 2006 [2]. According to the same source, the five most natively spoken languages in the EU are (percentage of total European population, see [3] for full list):

1. 24% German
2. 16% French
3. 16% English
4. 16% Italian
5. 11% Spanish

These figures change slightly when foreign language skills are taken into account. The list below shows the top five European languages ordered by total number of speakers in the EU (see [4] for full list):

1. 47% English
2. 32% German
3. 28% French
4. 18% Italian
5. 15% Spanish

This makes German the most frequently spoken native language and English the most frequently spoken language overall in the European Union, with German the second-most common language overall.

Foreign language skills

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Malta, Sweden, Slovenia, Belgium, and Finland are the EU countries with the most foreign language skills. This refers to all foreign languages. English is spoken most frequently in Malta, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Norway is probably also in the top group, but was not included in the study since it is not part of the EU. The largest countries in Europe have the following percentages of English language skills: 44% Germany, 32% France, 28% Italy, 22% Poland, 18% Spain. The countries with the least foreign language skills are the UK, Ireland, and Portugal.[5][6]

Extinct and endangered languages

Many languages have become extinct in Europe and the process is continuing. Languages that are already rated as extinct by the UNESCO Red Book include Old Prussian, Cornish, and two Jewish languages. Nearly extinct and seriously endangered languages include several Sami and regional Jewish languages, Frisian, and Breton. [7]

Occupation

See also

• Demographics of the European Union
• Area and population of European countries
• European Union Statistics
• Largest European metropolitan areas
• Largest urban areas of the European Union
• Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits

References

1. ^ ^{a b} UNPP, 2004 Revision World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Population Database. United Nations Population Division, 2005. Last accessed October 25, 2006.
2. ^ http://esa.un.org/unpp/p2k0data.asp
3. ^ United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Highlights. 2005

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