The population growth/decline of European countries

The Demographics of Europe refers to the changing number and composition of the population of Europe. Image File history File links Europe_population_growth_2006. ... Image File history File links Europe_population_growth_2006. ... World map exhibiting the location 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. Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ...

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. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Immigration. ... Race relations are relations between races, sometimes involving racism. ... Although human migration has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, immigration in the modern sense refers to movement of people from one nation-state to another, where they are not citizens. ... In demographics population ageing occurs when the average age of a regions population gets older. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Voluntary euthanasia is suicide for medical reasons, normally associated with terminal illness. ...

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] The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Antarctica Oceania Africa Asia Europe North America South America Middle East Caribbean Central Asia East Asia North Asia South Asia Southeast Asia SW. Asia Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Central America Latin America Northern America Americas C. Africa E. Africa N. Africa Southern Africa W. Africa C. Europe E. Europe N... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

Total population

Current population of European countries

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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1153x844, 44 KB) Summary Population of Europe, information from Image:World population. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1153x844, 44 KB) Summary Population of Europe, information from Image:World population. ...

Population of European countries

Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (other categorisations may vary): ██ Northern Europe ██ Western Europe ██ Eastern Europe ██ Southern Europe

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. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (984x924, 72 KB) Summary Map: Europe (location), subregions as delineated by United Nations geographic classification scheme:  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  (Northern) Asian portion of Russia  Southern Europe  Countries of Western Asia with partial territory in Southern Europe – Turkey (Trakya... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (984x924, 72 KB) Summary Map: Europe (location), subregions as delineated by United Nations geographic classification scheme:  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  (Northern) Asian portion of Russia  Southern Europe  Countries of Western Asia with partial territory in Southern Europe – Turkey (Trakya... Look up Region in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked salmon):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium... Southern Europe is a region of the European continent. ... The UN geoscheme divides the world into macro regions[1] and subregions, all in alphabetical order. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

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. Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ...

Name of region[3] and territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (1 July 2002 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
Eastern Europe
Belarus	207,600	10,335,382	49.8	Minsk
Bulgaria	110,910	7,621,337	68.7	Sofia
Czech Republic	78,866	10,256,760	130.1	Prague
Hungary	93,030	10,075,034	108.3	Budapest
Moldova[4]	33,843	4,434,547	131.0	Chişinău
Poland	312,685	38,625,478	123.5	Warsaw
Romania	238,391	21,698,181	91.0	Bucharest
Russia[5]	3,960,000	106,037,143	26.8	Moscow
Slovakia	48,845	5,422,366	111.0	Bratislava
Ukraine	603,700	48,396,470	80.2	Kiev
Northern Europe
Åland (Finland)	1,552	26,008	16.8	Mariehamn
Denmark	43,094	5,368,854	124.6	Copenhagen
Estonia	45,226	1,415,681	31.3	Tallinn
Faroe Islands (Denmark)	1,399	46,011	32.9	Tórshavn
Finland	336,593	5,157,537	15.3	Helsinki
Guernsey[6]	78	64,587	828.0	St Peter Port
Iceland	103,000	304,334	2.7	Reykjavík
Ireland	70,280	4,234,925	55.3	Dublin
Isle of Man[7]	572	73,873	129.1	Douglas
Jersey[8]	116	89,775	773.9	Saint Helier
Latvia	64,589	2,366,515	36.6	Riga
Lithuania	65,200	3,601,138	55.2	Vilnius
Norway	324,220	4,525,116	14.0	Oslo
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (Norway)	62,049	2,868	0.046	Longyearbyen
Sweden	449,964	9,090,113	19.7	Stockholm
United Kingdom	244,820	60,201,000	244.2	London
Southern Europe
Albania	28,748	3,544,841	123.3	Tirana
Andorra	468	68,403	146.2	Andorra la Vella
Bosnia and Herzegovina	51,129	3,964,388	77.5	Sarajevo
Croatia	56,542	4,390,751	77.7	Zagreb
Gibraltar (UK)	5.9	27,714	4,697.3	Gibraltar
Greece	131,940	10,645,343	80.7	Athens
Italy	301,230	58,751,711	191.6	Rome
Macedonia	25,333	2,054,800	81.1	Skopje
Malta	316	397,499	1,257.9	Valletta
Montenegro[9]	13,812	616,258	44.6	Podgorica
Portugal[10]	91,568	10,084,245	110.1	Lisbon
San Marino	61	27,730	454.6	San Marino
Serbia[11]	88,361	9,663,742	109.4	Belgrade
Slovenia	20,273	1,932,917	95.3	Ljubljana
Spain[12]	498,506	40,077,100	80.4	Madrid
Vatican City	0.44	900	2,045.5	Vatican City
Western Europe
Austria	83,858	8,169,929	97.4	Vienna
Belgium	30,510	10,274,595	336.8	Brussels
France[13]	547,030	59,765,983	109.3	Paris
Germany	357,021	83,251,851	233.2	Berlin
Liechtenstein	160	32,842	205.3	Vaduz
Luxembourg	2,586	448,569	173.5	Luxembourg
Monaco	1.95	31,987	16,403.6	Monaco
Netherlands[14]	41,526	16,318,199	393.0	Amsterdam
Switzerland	41,290	7,301,994	176.8	Bern
Central Asia
Kazakhstan[15]	370,373	1,245,701	3.4	Astana
Western Asia[16]
Azerbaijan[17]	39,730	4,198,491	105.7	Baku
Georgia[18]	49,240	2,447,176	49.7	Tbilisi
Turkey[19]	24,378	11,044,932	453.1	Ankara
Total	10,396,619	708,903,245	68.1

The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. ... The Dannebrog, national flag of Denmark. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of capital) is the principal city or town associated with a countrys government. ... Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked salmon):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belarus. ... Location Location of Minsk, shown within the Minsk Voblast Government Country Subdivision Belarus Minsk Founded 1067 Mayor Mikhail Pavlov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 305. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(bordered). ... Position of Sofia in Bulgaria Coordinates: Country Bulgaria Province Sofia-City Mayor Boyko Borisov Area    - City 1,310 km²  - Land (?) km²  - Water (?) km² Elevation 550 m Population (15 September 2006)  - City 1,246,791  - Density 907/km²  - Metro 1,377,761 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_(bordered). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Moldova. ... County ChiÅŸinău Status Municipality Mayor Vasile Ursu, since 2005 Area 635 km² Population (2004) 647,513 [1] Density 1114 inh/km² Geographical coordinates Founded in 1436 Dialing code +373 22 Web site http://www. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_(bordered). ... Warsaw (Polish: , , in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto StoÅ‚eczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland, its largest city, and a gamma world city. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... Status Capital of Romania Mayor Adriean Videanu, since 2005 Area 228 km² Population (2003) 1,929,615[1] Density 9131. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia_(bordered). ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   8537. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Slovakia_(bordered). ... Bratislava (see below for name alternatives), is the capital of Slovakia and the countrys largest city, with a population of some 450,000. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... Location Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted. ... Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Aaland. ... Motto: none Anthem: Ã…länningens sÃ¥ng Capital (and largest city) Mariehamn Swedish Government Autonomous province  - Governor Peter Lindbäck1  - Premier Roger Nordlund Autonomy    - Declared 1920   - Recognized 19212  Accession to EU January 1, 19953 Area  - Total 13,517 km² (n/a) 5,267 sq mi   - Water (%) 89 Population  - 2005 estimate... Founded 1861 Province Ã…land Region Ã…land Sub-region Mariehamn Area - Of which land - Rank 11. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Copenhagen (IPA: , rhyming with pagan (the way the Danes themselves pronounce the name of the capital in English), or , with a as in spa; Danish   IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city (metropolitan population 1,211,542 (2006)). It is also the name of the... Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia_(bordered). ... County Harju County Mayor Jüri Ratas Area 159. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Faroe_Islands_(bordered). ... The peninsula Tinganes is seat of the Faroese Government in Tórshavn. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Guernsey. ... This is a map of Guernsey. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Iceland. ...   (IPA: ) is the capital of Iceland, its largest city and, with a latitude at 64°08 N, the worlds most northern national capital. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_isle_of_man. ... Location within the British Isles Douglas (Doolish in Manx) is the capital of the Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin) and its largest town. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Jersey. ... Saint Helier (Jèrriais: St Hélyi) is one of the twelve parishes and the largest town on Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Latvia. ... Map of Latvia Coordinates: Founded 1201 Mayor Aivars Aksenoks Area    - City 307. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Lithuania. ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Vilnius County Municipality Vilnius city municipality Coordinates Number of elderates 20 General Information Capital of Lithuania Vilnius County Vilnius city municipality Vilnius district municipality Population 540,318 in 2005 (1st) First mentioned 1323 Granted city rights 1387 Not to be confused with Vilnius city... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... County Oslo NO-03 District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Svalbard and Jan Mayen are two separate parts of Norway located in the Arctic Ocean. ... Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard, Norway and its capital. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...   (IPA: ; UN/LOCODE: SE STO) is the capital of Sweden, and consequently the site of its Government and Parliament as well as the residence of the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Southern Europe is a region of the European continent. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Albania. ... Skanderbeg Square (Photo by Marc Morell) Tirana (Albanian: Tiranë or Tirana) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Andorra. ... Andorra la Vella by morning Andorra la Vella (2004 est. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina. ... Nickname: Olympic City Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) Coordinates: Country Bosnia and Herzegovina Entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina&Republika Srpska Canton Sarajevo Canton  - Mayor Semiha Borovac Area    - City 142 km²  (493 sq mi)  - Land 1,277 km² Elevation 500 m  (1,640. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia. ... Zagreb (pronounced: ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Gibraltar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Image File history File links Flag_of_Macedonia. ... Skopje (Macedonian: ) is the capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population of the country, as well as the political, cultural, economical and academic centre of the country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Malta_(bordered). ... Valletta, population 7048 (official estimate for 2000), is the capital city of Malta - The city is located at , (35. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Montenegro. ... Anthem: Oj, svijetla majska zoro Oh, the bright dawn of May Capital (and largest city) Podgorica Serbian (Ijekavian dialect)1 (local also Albanian) Government Republic  - President Filip Vujanović  - Prime Minister Željko Å turanović Independence from Serbia and Montenegro   - Declared June 3, 2006   - Recognised June 8, 2006  Area  - Total 13. ... Coordinates Mayor Dr. Miomir MugoÅ¡a (DPS - SDP) Municipality area 1,441 km² Population (2003 census)  - city  - municipality  - density 136,473 169,132 117,4 pop per km² Time zone  - Standard  - Summer (DST) CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) Founded Before 12th Century as Birziminium Area code +382 81 Car... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa, IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_San_Marino_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Serbia_(state)_(bordered). ... Anthem: Capital (and largest city)  Belgrade Official languages Serbian written with the Cyrillic alphabet1 Government Republic  - President Boris Tadić  - Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Establishment    - Formation 8th century   - Independence c. ... Belgrade (Serbian: Београд or Beograd  ) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Slovenia_(bordered). ...   (IPA: ) is the capital and largest city in Slovenia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Location Coordinates : 40° 23’N , 3°43′0″W Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Villa de Madrid (Spanish) Spanish name Villa de Madrid Founded 9th century Postal code 28001-28080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 91 (Madrid) Website http://www. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Vatican_City. ... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Vienna (German: Wien ) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Nickname: The Capital Of Europe, Comic City City of a 100 Museums[] Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 979 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989  - Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area    - City 162 (Region) km²  (62. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Liechtenstein. ... The city centre of Vaduz Vaduz Castle, one of the towns primary landmarks Vaduz (pronunciation in IPA: or ) is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Monaco_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 741,329 (1 August 2006) Agglomeration - up to 2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Kazakhstan. ... Coordinates:  - Mayor Askar Mamin Population (estimated)  - City 600,000 Time zone BTT (UTC+6) Astana (Kazakh: Астана; former names include Akmola, Tselinograd, and Aqmola), estimated population of 600,000 (2004), is the second largest city and the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. ... A map showing Southwest Asia - The term Middle East is more often used to refer to both Southwest Asia and some North African countries Southwest Asia, or West Asia, is the southwestern part of Asia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Azerbaijan. ... Municipality: Baku Area: 1000 km² Altitude: -28 m Population: 2,074,300 census 2003 Population density: 1280 persons/km² Postal Code: +99450 Area code: 012 Municipality code: BA Latitude: 41° 01 52 N Longitude: 21° 20 25 E Weather types: 9 of 11 Mayor: Hajibala Abutalybov The Baku region. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Georgia_(bordered). ... Coordinates:  - Governing Mayor Giorgi Gigi Ugulava Area    - City 372 km² Population (2005)  - City 1,093,000 Tbilisi (Georgian თბილისი , IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) River, at . ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Turkey. ... Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Ä°stanbul. ...

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.^[20]

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.

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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1475x1200, 648 KB) English Description: religions in Europe, map en Source: own map, based on the Generic Mapping Tools and ETOPO2 Author: San Jose, 26 March 2006 Other versions: map in German, map in French, map without text Deutsch Beschreibung: Religionen... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1475x1200, 648 KB) English Description: religions in Europe, map en Source: own map, based on the Generic Mapping Tools and ETOPO2 Author: San Jose, 26 March 2006 Other versions: map in German, map in French, map without text Deutsch Beschreibung: Religionen... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, preserving the traditions of the early church unchanged, accepting the canonicity of the first seven ecumenical councils held between the 4th and the... Protestantism is one of three main groups within Christianity, whose beliefs are centered on Jesus. ... Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Predominant religions in Europe  Roman Catholicism  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Sunni Islam  Shia Islam Religion in Europe spans the approximately 50,000 years of human settlement in the continent of Europe, from the earliest prehistoric spirituality to later pagan religions, such as the Ancient Greek, Roman and Nordic faiths, to the...

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.^[21] The European Union (EU), which currently excludes Norway and many eastern European countries, recognises 23 official languages as of 2007.^[22] According to the same source, the five most natively spoken languages in the EU are (percentage of total European population^[23]): Most of the many languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2879x2012, 589 KB) Beschreibung Description: The map shows the approximate current distribution of native languages in Europe. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2879x2012, 589 KB) Beschreibung Description: The map shows the approximate current distribution of native languages in Europe. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is one of the largest broadcasting corporations in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of more than £4 billion. ...

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:^[24] The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

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. 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.^{[25] [26]} Portuguese people normally understands very well French, due to the fact that in the 60's a large population have immigrated to France looking for work after the World War II. Spanish, and English is also widely used in Portugal. Spanish because they often do daily commercial trades, and English because all TV movies are not translated, like they are in Spain, Germany, or Poland.

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.^[27] Old Prussian is an extinct Baltic language spoken by the inhabitants of the area that later became East Prussia (now in north-eastern Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia) prior to German colonization of the area beginning in the 13th century. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Sami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken in parts of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. ... Frisian is a Germanic group of closely related languages, spoken by about half a million members of Frisian ethnic groups living on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. ... Breton (Breton: Brezhoneg) is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany (Breizh) and Loire-Atlantique (historically part of Brittany) in France. ...

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

The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states, constantly expanding and developing. ... Colours indicate the current population of European countries // In inhabitants/km². The whole of Russia and Turkey are referred to in the table, although they are only partly in Europe. ... Statistics in the European Union are collected by Eurostat. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... This is a list of all the urban areas of the European Union which have more than 750,000 inhabitants in 2005. ... This list includes the most up-to-date official census figures or census estimates with regards to the population of the largest cities in the European Union. ...

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