What is the population of the EU and how is it distributed?
Population
The population of Europe varies as per the exact definition of Europe. However, as per 2009 the population of the EU was estimated to be about 499 million. Non EU countries situated entirely in Europe account for another 94 million. Another 5 transcontinental countries account for 240 million, of which about half reside in Europe.
As it stands now, around 12% of the world's people live in Europe, but if demographic trends keep their pace, Europe's share may fall to around 7% in 2050.
Language
The European Union (EU), which currently excludes Norway, Switzerland and many eastern European countries, recognises 23 official languages as of 2007.[8] According to the same source, the seven most natively spoken languages in the EU are (percentage of total European population[9]):
Modern Linguistic Map of Europe
- 19% German
- 13% French
- 12% English
- 11% Italian
- 9% Spanish
- 9% Polish
- 6% Romanian
- 5% Dutch
