The population of the euro area (EA16) was estimated at 328.7 million on 1 January 2009, compared with 327.1 million on 1 January 2008. The population of the euro area grew by 1.6 million in 2008, an annual rate of +0.5%, due to a natural increase of 0.4 million and net migration of 1.2 million.
These figures come from a report published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, on demography in the EU27 Member States, EU Candidate, EFTA and other European countries.
EU27 birth rate increased in 2008
5.4 million children were born in the EU27 in 2008. The crude birth rate in the EU27 was 10.9 per 1000 inhabitants, an increase of 0.3 live births per 1000 inhabitants compared with 2007. Between 2007 and 2008 the crude birth rate increased in all Member States except Germany. The highest increases were recorded in Lithuania (10.4‰ in 2008 compared with 9.6‰ in 2007), Ireland (16.9‰ compared with 16.2‰), Cyprus (11.6‰ compared with 10.9‰) and Poland (10.9‰ compared with 10.2‰).
There were 4.8 million deaths registered in the EU27 in 2008. The EU27 death rate remained stable at 9.7 deaths per 1000 inhabitants in 2008, the same as in 2007. The highest increases in the death rate were recorded in Germany (10.3‰ in 2008 compared with 10.1‰ in 2007), Malta (7.9‰ compared with 7.6‰) and France (8.5‰ compared with 8.3‰), and the largest decreases in Latvia (13.7‰ compared with 14.5‰), Luxembourg (7.4‰ compared with 8.1‰), and Estonia (12.4‰ compared with 13.0‰).
