The European Office for Statistics, Eurostat has published its latest population projections, according to which, the EU’s population will decrease by six per cent by 2100, accounting for 27.3 million fewer people.
The EU population has experienced two most prominent differences in the last three years; during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 and 2021, namely, when the population recorded a decrease. The other one was related to the mass influx of refugees from Ukraine in the EU, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
More specifically, the population is estimated to have reached 451 million persons by 2023, showing the impact of incoming people from Ukraine after the Russian military. The EU population is expected to reach 453 million in 2026, before dropping to 420 million in 2100.
“The proportion of children and young people (aged 0 to 19 years) in the total population is projected to decrease from 20 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to 18 per cent by 2100. Similarly, the share of working-age people (aged 20-64 years) in the EU’s total population is projected to decrease from 59 per cent in 2022 to 50 per cent in 2100,” Eurostat explains.
Furthermore, the share of older age groups is also expected to increase with those aged between 65 and 79, which is expected to increase by two per cent – from 15 per cent of all population in 2022 to 14 per cent in 2100. In addition, the share of people aged 80 years and more, is expected to double from six per cent to 15 per cent.
A pyramid of the European population for 2100 shows decreases in the shares of children and young people below the age of 20, in addition to those working as the share of those aged 65 years and more, will continue to grow.
The population pyramid for the year 2100 also shows more people will be 100 years old, with women aged 100 or more being projected to account for 0.3 per cent of the total population in 2100 compared to 0.02 per cent in 2022.
On the other hand, Eurostat previously revealed that EU migrant flows intensified in 2021, with 2.3 million immigrants coming to the EU. Furthermore, the same shows that an estimated five immigrants per 1,000 people are in the EU. Countries with the highest rate of immigration this year were Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus, having 40, 35 and 27 immigrants per 1,000 people, respectively.
Countries with lower rates of immigration, on the other hand, include Slovakia, with one migrant per 1,000 people, followed by Portugal and France, with five migrants per 1,000 people, respectively.
