Demography of Europe
From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia
The Demography 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 demography are important not only historically, but also in understanding current international relations and population issues.
Some current and past issues in European demography 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 to the 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.[citation needed]
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[edit] 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, peaked in the early 2000s at more than 700 million and has since then begun a decline.[1]
| Year | Population in thousands[1] |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 547,405 |
| 1960 | 604,406 |
| 1970 | 655,862 |
| 1980 | 692,435 |
| 1990 | 721,390 |
| 2000 | 728,463 |
| 2005 | 728,389 |
| 2010 | 725,786 |
| 2020 | 714,959 |
| 2030 | 698,140 |
| 2040 | 677,191 |
| 2050 | 653,323 |
[edit] Regions
The countries in this table are categorised according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.
According to different definitions, such as consideration of the concept of Central Europe, the following territories and regions may be subject to various other categorisations.
[edit] 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.[35]
[edit] Sex
There are slightly more men born than women, but men have a slightly shorter life span.
[edit] Religion
Religion in Europe spans approximately 10,000 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 Christianity, Judaism 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; the second-largest religion in Europe is Islam, followed by Judaism. Europe also has the largest number and proportion of agnostics and atheists in the Western world.
[edit] Nationality
- Further information: European ethnic groups
[edit] Language
Europe has 30-40 major languages depending on definition. The European Union (EU), which currently excludes Norway and many eastern European countries, recognises 23 official languages as of 2007.[36] According to the same source, the seven most natively spoken languages in the EU are (percentage of total European population[37]):
These figures change slightly when foreign language skills are taken into account. The list below shows the top eight European languages ordered by total number of speakers in the EU:[38]
- 51% English
- 32% German
- 26% French
- 16% Italian
- 15% Spanish
- 10% Polish
- 7% Russian
- 6% Dutch
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.
[edit] 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. 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, Germany, Italy and Spain.[39] [40]
[edit] 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, Frisian, and regional Jewish languages and Breton.[41]
[edit] 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
- Genetic history of Europe
[edit] Notes
- ↑ a b c UNPP, 2004 Revision World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Population Database. United Nations Population Division, 2005. Last accessed October 25, 2006.
- ^ Continental regions as per UN categorisations/map. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below may be in one or both of Europe and Asia, Africa, or Oceania.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Includes Transnistria, a region that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it is not recognised de jure by sovereign states.
Data for 2007. - ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Asia, with European territory west of the Ural Mountains and both the Ural and Emba rivers; population and area figures are for European portion only.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Guernsey is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.
- ^ Isle of Man is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.
- ^ Jersey is a crown dependency affiliated with the United Kingdom.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Montenegro declared independence from the union of Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June, 2006.
Data for 2007. - ^ Figures for Portugal include the Azores west of Portugal but exclude the Madeira Islands, west of Morocco in Africa.
- ^ Figures for Serbia include Kosovo and Metohia, a province administrated by the UN (UNMIK) as per Security Council resolution 1244.
Data from 2007. - ^ Data for 2007.
- ^ Figures for Spain exclude the Canary Islands, west of Morocco in Africa, and the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which are on the northwest of the African continent.
- ^ Figures for France include only metropolitan France: some politically integral parts of France are geographically located outside Europe.
- ^ Netherlands population for July 2004. Population and area details include European portion only: Netherlands and two entities outside Europe (Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean) constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the official capital, while The Hague is the administrative seat.
- ^ Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe, with European territory west of the Ural Mountains and both the Ural and Emba rivers; area figures are for European portion out of total.
- ^ Armenia and Cyprus are sometimes considered transcontinental countries: both are physiographically in Western Asia but have historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe.
- ^ Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion (north of the crest of the Caucasus and the Kura River) out of total. This excludes the exclave of Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh (a region that has declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, it is not recognised de jure by sovereign states).
- ^ Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for European portion (north of the crest of the Caucasus and the Kura River) out of total. Also includes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that have declared, and de facto achieved, independence; however, they are not recognised de jure by sovereign states.
- ^ Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia (UN region) and Southern Europe: the region of Rumelia (Trakya) – which includes the provinces of Edirne, Kırklareli, Tekirdağ, and the western parts of the Çanakkale and Istanbul Provinces – is west and north of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles; population and area figures are for European portion (including all of Istanbul) out of total population.</small>
- ^ The total area figure includes only European portions of transcontinental countries.
- ^ The total population figure includes only European portions of transcontinental countries.
- ^ United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision Highlights. 2005
- ^ http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#Official%20eu
- ^ see http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#languages%20of%20EU%2015 for full list
- ^ see http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#Foreign%20language%20skills for full list
- ^ http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/barolang_en.pdf
- ^ http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html#EU%20and%20new%20memberstates
- ^ http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html
[edit] External links
| Europe |
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