Data / Rankings / Natural population change / EU countries

EU countries by natural population change

France had the highest natural population change of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 149,452. Italy had the lowest, at -193,386. The median was -1,384 and the figure for the European Union (27) was -449,223. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest149,452France
Lowest-193,386Italy
Median-1,38427 EU countries
European Union (27)-449,223History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Austria: 1,560 personsBelgium: 7,626 personsBulgaria: -46,329 personsCyprus: 3,561 personsCzechia: 1,116 personsGermany: -167,351 personsDenmark: 6,244 personsEstonia: -1,384 personsSpain: -54,326 personsFinland: -6,950 personsFrance: 149,452 personsGreece: -33,856 personsCroatia: -15,761 personsHungary: -37,780 personsIreland: 29,882 personsItaly: -193,386 personsLithuania: -12,782 personsLuxembourg: 1,956 personsLatvia: -9,506 personsMalta: 756 personsNetherlands: 15,162 personsPoland: -26,022 personsPortugal: -26,031 personsRomania: -61,167 personsSweden: 23,647 personsSlovenia: -900 personsSlovakia: 3,346 persons
  • Under -41K
  • -41K to -15K
  • -15K to 0
  • 0 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 10K
  • 10K and over
persons, 2018. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Source: Eurostat, Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2018

France: 149,452 personsFrance149,452Ireland: 29,882 personsIreland29,882Sweden: 23,647 personsSweden23,647Netherlands: 15,162 personsNetherlands15,162Belgium: 7,626 personsBelgium7,626Denmark: 6,244 personsDenmark6,244Cyprus: 3,561 personsCyprus3,561Slovakia: 3,346 personsSlovakia3,346Luxembourg: 1,956 personsLuxembourg1,956Austria: 1,560 personsAustria1,560Czechia: 1,116 personsCzechia1,116Malta: 756 personsMalta756Slovenia: -900 personsSlovenia-900Estonia: -1,384 personsEstonia-1,384Finland: -6,950 personsFinland-6,950Latvia: -9,506 personsLatvia-9,506Lithuania: -12,782 personsLithuania-12,782Croatia: -15,761 personsCroatia-15,761Poland: -26,022 personsPoland-26,022Portugal: -26,031 personsPortugal-26,031Greece: -33,856 personsGreece-33,856Hungary: -37,780 personsHungary-37,780Bulgaria: -46,329 personsBulgaria-46,329Spain: -54,326 personsSpain-54,326Romania: -61,167 personsRomania-61,167Germany: -167,351 personsGermany-167,351Italy: -193,386 personsItaly-193,386France: 149,452 personsFrance149,452Ireland: 29,882 personsIreland29,882Sweden: 23,647 personsSweden23,647Netherlands: 15,162 personsNetherlands15,162Belgium: 7,626 personsBelgium7,626Denmark: 6,244 personsDenmark6,244Cyprus: 3,561 personsCyprus3,561Slovakia: 3,346 personsSlovakia3,346Luxembourg: 1,956 personsLuxembourg1,956Austria: 1,560 personsAustria1,560Czechia: 1,116 personsCzechia1,116Malta: 756 personsMalta756Slovenia: -900 personsSlovenia-900Estonia: -1,384 personsEstonia-1,384Finland: -6,950 personsFinland-6,950Latvia: -9,506 personsLatvia-9,506Lithuania: -12,782 personsLithuania-12,782Croatia: -15,761 personsCroatia-15,761Poland: -26,022 personsPoland-26,022Portugal: -26,031 personsPortugal-26,031Greece: -33,856 personsGreece-33,856Hungary: -37,780 personsHungary-37,780Bulgaria: -46,329 personsBulgaria-46,329Spain: -54,326 personsSpain-54,326Romania: -61,167 personsRomania-61,167Germany: -167,351 personsGermany-167,351Italy: -193,386 personsItaly-193,386
persons. Source: Eurostat, Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2018
persons		Change on 2017
1France149,452-8.7%
2Ireland29,882-4.9%
3Sweden23,647+0.9%
4Netherlands15,162-22.7%
5Belgium7,626-23.9%
6Denmark6,244-23.3%
7Cyprus3,561+10.1%
8Slovakia3,346-17.5%
9Luxembourg1,956+2.4%
10Austria1,560-64.2%
11Czechia1,116-62.3%
12Malta756+1.1%
13Slovenia-900-235.8%
14Estonia-1,384+21.3%
15Finland-6,950-104.5%
16Latvia-9,506-19.9%
17Lithuania-12,782-4.5%
18Croatia-15,761+6.9%
19Poland Series break-26,022-2,891%
20Portugal-26,031-10.3%
21Greece-33,856+5.8%
22Hungary-37,780-1.5%
23Bulgaria-46,329-1.1%
24Spain-54,326-76.5%
25Romania-61,167-18.2%
26Germany-167,351-13.6%
27Italy-193,386-1.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Live births minus deaths during the year. A negative value means more deaths than births (Eurostat).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

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APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind) (EU countries by natural population change, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table

MLA 9

Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind), EU countries by natural population change, 2018. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). EU countries by natural population change, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind), EU countries by natural population change, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_natural_2018,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population change, natural change of population (demo\_gind): EU countries by natural population change, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population (demo\_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo\_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind): EU countries by natural population change, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-population-change/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest natural population change?

France, with 149,452 in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest natural population change?

Italy, with -193,386 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population change, natural change of population (demo_gind). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Natural population change: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings