Counting Crowds: Exploring the 20 Most Populated Countries in Europe

The overwhelming level of population in Europe, particularly in the West is alarming! We’ll tell you all about Europe’s most populated countries in this article.

About 67 million people live in the small European country, France, which is five times smaller than the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In most European countries people have access to numerous educational institutions, efficient transit systems, and reliable electricity. These people choose to reside in nations that have a strong agricultural sector and other amenities. The infrastructure receives significant funding.

Additionally, in most of these countries, there are high birth rates, which is another factor contributing to the high population density.

These are the twenty most populated countries in Europe.

Russia – 144,373,540 people

In Europe, Russia has the largest population. More than 144 million people call it home, the majority of them (73.7%) live in cities. The least densely populated of the top ten most populous countries in Europe is Russia, which has a population density of 23 persons per square mile (9 per sq km). 

With a population of more than 12 million, Moscow, the nation’s capital, is the largest population centre and the second-most populous city in Europe. St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, and Voronezh are only a few of Russia’s other major population centres.

Germany – 83,132,800 people

More than 83 million people live in Germany. The urban population makes up a little over 75 per cent of the total. Germany has a density of 623 persons per square mile (240 per square kilometre).

Berlin, the capital and ninth-most populous city in Europe is the largest metropolis in the nation with a population of more than 3.5 million. 

Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne are some other significant German cities.

France – 67,059,890 people

Approximately 67 million people live in France. Eighty-two per cent of the nation’s population lives in metropolitan areas. 309 people per square mile (119 per square km) is the population density of France. Paris, the capital and third-most populous city in Europe is the largest metropolis in the nation, with a population of more than 11 million. Marseille, Lille, and Lyon are a few other significant French cities.

United Kingdom – 66,834,400 people

With over 66 million inhabitants, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the world’s third-largest country. In the United Kingdom, England is home to the great majority of these individuals—about 56 million. A 727 people per square mile (281 per square km) density exists in the United Kingdom.

83% of the residents live in urban areas. With 9.3 million residents and serving as both the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, London ranks fourth in Europe in terms of population. 

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow are a few more significant British cities.

Italy – 60,297,400 people

More than 60 million people are living in Italy, and 69% of them reside in cities. 206 people live in each square kilometre, or 532 people every square mile. With a growth rate of -0.15% annually, Italy’s population is currently in decline.

With more than 4 million inhabitants, Rome, the capital of Italy, is also the largest city in the nation. As the former capital of the Roman Empire, Rome ranks as the eighth-largest city in Europe. Turin, Milan, and Naples are a few other significant Italian cities. 

Spain – 47,076,780 people

Somewhat more than 47 million people are living in Spain. There are 243 persons per square mile (94 per square km) in the nation.

Spain’s capital and largest city is Madrid, which has 6.6 million citizens. Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is the country’s other significant metropolis. 80% of the country’s population lives in urban areas.

Ukraine – 44,385,150 people

In 2023, there will be 36,744,636 people living in Ukraine, according to the UN. From 2020, when approximately 44 million people were living there, this is a significant decrease. Both the ongoing refugee problem in Ukraine and the area lost as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine plays a significant role in this.

The only census conducted in post-Soviet Ukraine was in 2001, more than 20 years ago, which is also crucial to remember. Because of this, a lot of the information offered here may be wrong or outdated.

Poland – 37,970,870 people

Poland had 37,970,870 people living there as of the end of 2011, according to the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) census.

With 5.4% of the population of Europe, Poland ranks eighth in Europe and is the thirty-seventh most populous nation in the world. Poland’s overall population is essentially flat (growth in the population was 0.08%). In 2018, men and women both had average life expectancies of 74.1 years and 82 years, respectively. The population is distributed unevenly.

Romania – 19,356,540 people

According to the Romanian census of 2022, 89.3% of the country’s population is of ethnic Romanian descent. Romanian is a Balkan Romance language that has traces of French, German, English, Greek, Italian, Slavic, and Hungarian as well as Latin (more precisely, Vulgar Latin).

With up to 6.0% of the total population, the Hungarian minority in Romania is the largest in the nation. According to the United Nations (UN), Romania welcomed 989,357 Ukrainian refugees on May 27, 2022, with a population of around 19,659,267.

Kazakhstan, 19,196,465 people

According to estimates from the government, Kazakhstan had 18,137,300 people as of December 2017, with 56% of them living in cities and 44% in rural areas. The estimated population in 2009 is 6.8% greater than the estimated population in January 1999, which was slightly less than 15 million.

The 2009 census of the population validated these projections, which indicates that the population drop that started in 1989 has been stopped and reversed.

According to Worldometer’s elaboration of the most recent United Nations data, Kazakhstan’s population will be 19,632,585 as of Sunday, August 13, 2023.

Netherlands – 17,332,850 people 

The Netherlands has the 67^th-highest population density worldwide. 17,821,419 people are living in the Netherlands as of January 2023.

Due to its dense population, the Netherlands has also used soldering to regain land from the sea. A whole province, Flevoland, was established from 1927 until 1968. It will have 447,193 inhabitants as of May 2023. These measures have allowed the Dutch to combine a high population density with a very high level of agricultural production.

Belgium 11,611,419 people

With a population of more than 11.5 million and a land area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi), Belgium ranks sixth in Europe in terms of most densely populated and 22^nd in the world.

Belgian population is large, yet it also has one of the highest tax burdens in the world. The average Belgian worker returned to the government 42% of his or her annual income in 2014. Tax revenue is used to pay for government services and programs like social security.

The nation has a first-rate transport network. The government has made investments in a strong transport system, including roads, rivers, and highways that are utilized to convey commodities into and out of Western Europe, given the high population of the nation.

Greece 10,445,365 people

Greece has had a fall in population since 2005, going from 11.23 million to 10.42 million in 15 years. By 2050 and 2099, the population is expected to be 9.03 million and 6.61 million, respectively, according to the most latest predictions.

Since the early 1990s, Greece has welcomed a sizable number of immigrants. The vast bulk of them are from nearby nations. 911,299 foreigners out of a total population of 10,815,197 were counted as of 2011.

Czech Republic 10,510,751 people

Due to low birth rates and population loss during and after World Wars I and II, the Czech Republic’s population growth has been constrained, with an expected population of 10,516,707 in 2022 as opposed to 9.3 million at the start of the 20^th century.

95 per cent of the country’s 10.5 million residents are of Czech linguistic and racial descent. They are descended from Slavic colonists from the Black Sea-Carpathian region who arrived in Bohemia, Moravia, and some areas of modern-day Austria in the sixth century AD. Germans, Roma, Poles, and Hungarians are among more ethnic groups.

Sweden 10,467,097 people

Sweden had a population of 10,538,026 people as of April 2023, making it the 87^th-most populous nation in the world, ranking it as the 10^th-most populous member state of the European Union, and the 15^th-most populous country in all of Europe. In 2020, the estimated total fertility rate was 1.66, which is considerably lower than the replacement rate of 2.1.

Portugal 10,290,103 people

One of the most populated European countries, Portugal had 10,467,366 residents as of December 31, 2022.

Portugal is a country with a largely homogenous linguistic and religious population. The Portuguese ethnic group makes up a sizable portion of Portugal’s overall population. Ancient paleolithic populations, proto-Celtic, Celtic, and Iberian tribes, as well as para-Celtic Lusitanians, make up the majority of the Portuguese population.

Azerbaijan 10,312,992 people

Azerbaijan is a country in Eurasia’s South Caucasus area that is on the border of Western Asia and Eastern Europe.

Azerbaijan’s entire land area is roughly 86,600 square kilometres, less than 1% of the land area of the former Soviet Union, making it roughly the size of Portugal or the US state of Maine.

According to forecasts using the most recent United Nations data, Azerbaijan has a population of 10,418,656.

Hungary 9,709,786 people

9.7 million people call Hungary home, the majority of them are ethnic Hungarians with a sizable Romani minority. The world’s most commonly spoken Uralic language and one of the few non-Indo-European languages, Hungarian, is the official language of Hungary. Budapest is both the capital and the largest city of the nation; other significant cities include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs, and Gyr.

Belarus 9,578,167 people

A landlocked nation in Eastern Europe, Belarus is formally known as the Republic of Belarus. In addition to Poland’s western and eastern borders, it also shares a northwest border with Lithuania and Latvia. Its eastern and northeastern borders are with Russia. 9.2 million people live in Belarus, the 19^th-most populous country in Europe, which has an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 square miles). 

The nation is organized administratively into six regions and has a hemiboreal climate. The largest city in the nation is Minsk.

Austria 8,922,082 people

In 2020, Statistik Austria predicted that there will be 8.9 million people living in Austria. Vienna, the nation’s capital, has a population of more than 1.9 million people (2.6 million when including the suburbs), or nearly a quarter of the total. It has a high standard of living and is renowned for its cultural attractions.

City-wise, Vienna is by far the biggest in the nation. Linz (206,604), Salzburg (155,031), Innsbruck (131,989), and Klagenfurt (101,303) are the next largest cities by population after Graz (291,007). Less than 100,000 people live in each of the other cities.

Conclusion

Some of Europe’s most populous countries are Russia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

The majority of Europe is experiencing sub-replacement fertility, meaning that every new generation has a smaller population than the one before it. Even so, immigration from inside and outside of Europe, as well as some resulting from rising life expectancy and population momentum, is the main cause of the majority of West European countries’ growing populations.

Emigration, ethnic relations, economic immigration, a declining birth rate, and an aging population are some present and historical issues affecting European demography.