EU countries by population
Germany had the highest population of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 82.18 million. Malta had the lowest, at 449,635. The median was 8.7 million and the figure for the European Union (27) was 444 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
All EU countries, 2016
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2016 | Change on 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 82,175,684 | +1.2% |
| 2 | France | 66,638,391 | +0.3% |
| 3 | Italy | 60,163,712 | -0.2% |
| 4 | Spain | 46,418,884 | -0% |
| 5 | Poland | 37,967,209 | -0.1% |
| 6 | Romania | 19,760,585 | -0.6% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 16,979,120 | +0.5% |
| 8 | Belgium | 11,311,117 | +0.7% |
| 9 | Greece | 10,735,415 | -0.8% |
| 10 | Czechia | 10,553,843 | +0.1% |
| 11 | Portugal | 10,368,554 | -0.3% |
| 12 | Sweden | 9,851,017 | +1.1% |
| 13 | Hungary | 9,779,652 | -0.4% |
| 14 | Austria | 8,700,471 | +1.3% |
| 15 | Bulgaria | 6,938,759 | -1.3% |
| 16 | Denmark | 5,707,251 | +0.8% |
| 17 | Finland | 5,487,308 | +0.3% |
| 18 | Slovakia | 5,426,252 | +0.1% |
| 19 | Ireland | 4,726,286 | +1% |
| 20 | Croatia | 4,131,115 | -1.2% |
| 21 | Lithuania | 2,895,573 | -1.1% |
| 22 | Slovenia | 2,064,188 | +0.1% |
| 23 | Latvia | 1,968,957 | -0.9% |
| 24 | Estonia | 1,315,944 | +0.2% |
| 25 | Cyprus | 863,764 | +0.3% |
| 26 | Luxembourg | 576,249 | +2.4% |
| 27 | Malta | 449,635 | +2.5% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.
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 on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_pjanaggr3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-07.Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank EU countries by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest population?
Germany, with 82.18 million in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which EU country has the lowest population?
Malta, with 449,635 in 2016.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). Retrieved 2026-10-07.
Population: other rankings
- Countries
- US states
- EU regions (NUTS 2)
- US counties
- Autonomous communities of Spain
- Provinces of Spain
- Municipalities of Spain
- Regions of Germany (NUTS 2)
- Regions of France (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Italy (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Poland (NUTS 2)
- Regions of Greece (NUTS 2)
EU countries: more rankings
- Activity rate
- At-risk-of-poverty rate
- Live births
- Crude birth rate
- Crude death rate
- Deaths
- Age dependency ratio (ages 15 to 64 base)
- Employment rate
- Enterprises using artificial intelligence
- Enterprises buying cloud computing services
- Total fertility rate
- Gross domestic product (GDP)
- Real GDP growth
- GDP per capita
- GDP per capita in PPS (EU27 = 100)
- GDP per capita, US dollars