EU regions (NUTS 2) by population

Name: EU regions (NUTS 2) by population, 2016
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Ile-de-France had the highest population of 244 regions in 2016, at 12.12 million. Åland had the lowest, at 28,983. The median was 1.37 million and the figure for the European Union (27) was 444 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12,117,132Ile-de-France

Lowest28,983Åland

Median1,373,227244 regions

European Union (27)444,003,268History

Top 40 regions, 2016

CSV Chart (SVG)

persons. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	Regions	2016 persons	Change on 2015
1	Ile-de-France	12,117,132	+0.3%
2	Lombardia	9,958,447	0%
3	Andalusia	8,392,046	0%
4	Catalonia	7,440,692	+0.3%
5	Rhône-Alpes	6,553,497	+0.6%
6	Community of Madrid	6,411,466	+0.6%
7	Campania	5,790,783	-0.2%
8	Lazio	5,761,508	+0.3%
9	Düsseldorf	5,173,623	+1.3%
10	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	5,021,928	+0.3%
11	Sicilia	5,004,400	-0.5%
12	Valencian Community	4,939,888	-0.1%
13	Veneto	4,890,648	-0.2%
14	Oberbayern	4,588,944	+1.5%
15	Śląskie	4,520,567	-0.3%
16	Emilia-Romagna	4,435,480	0%
17	Köln	4,422,371	+1.4%
18	Piemonte	4,384,226	-0.4%
19	Nord-Pas de Calais	4,074,448	-0.1%
20	Stuttgart	4,069,533	+1.5%
21	Puglia	4,043,735	-0.5%
22	Darmstadt	3,922,369	+1.5%
23	Attiki	3,841,279	-0.8%
24	Pays de la Loire	3,737,632	+0.5%
25	Toscana	3,726,422	-0.3%
26	Norte	3,605,791	-0.4%
27	Arnsberg	3,597,297	+1.1%
28	Zuid-Holland	3,587,874	+0.6%
29	Berlin	3,520,031	+1.4%
30	Wielkopolskie	3,450,966	+0.1%
31	Aquitaine	3,393,297	+0.7%
32	Małopolskie	3,330,031	+0.2%
33	Bretagne	3,306,529	+0.4%
34	Nord-Est	3,256,734	-0.4%
35	Sud-Muntenia	3,031,555	-1%
36	Midi-Pyrénées	3,015,132	+0.5%
37	Warszawski stołeczny	2,979,942	+0.7%
38	Dolnośląskie	2,864,624	-0.1%
39	Schleswig-Holstein	2,858,714	+1%
40	Languedoc-Roussillon	2,793,303	+0.7%
41	Noord-Holland	2,784,854	+0.8%
42	Karlsruhe	2,761,977	+1.5%
43	Galicia	2,719,095	-0.5%
44	Münster	2,614,229	+1.3%
45	Centre - Val de Loire	2,577,866	-0%
46	Nord-Vest	2,576,567	-0.3%
47	Noord-Brabant	2,498,749	+0.4%
48	Weser-Ems	2,496,176	+1.4%
49	Brandenburg	2,484,826	+1.1%
50	Łódzkie	2,479,350	-0.4%
51	Sud-Est	2,469,868	-0.9%
52	Castile and León	2,452,721	-0.9%
53	Mazowiecki regionalny	2,343,325	-0.3%
54	Centru	2,341,964	-0.3%
55	Lorraine	2,337,788	-0.2%
56	Eastern and Midland	2,311,578	+1.5%
57	Bucureşti-Ilfov	2,288,203	+0.2%
58	Pomorskie	2,277,059	+0.2%
59	Sachsen-Anhalt	2,245,470	+0.4%
60	Stockholm	2,231,439	+1.5%
61	Freiburg	2,224,535	+1.5%
62	Basque Country	2,174,426	+0.1%
63	Thüringen	2,170,714	+0.6%
64	Hannover	2,132,290	+1.1%
65	Lubelskie	2,118,528	-0.4%
66	Canary Islands	2,103,436	+0.1%
67	Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas	2,099,118	-1.3%
68	Podkarpackie	2,083,496	-0%
69	Yugozapaden	2,080,898	-0.5%
70	Kujawsko-pomorskie	2,062,006	-0.2%
71	Detmold	2,057,996	+1.4%
72	Castilla-La Mancha	2,049,336	-0.6%
73	Grande Lisboa	2,041,875	+0.4%
74	Gelderland	2,035,351	+0.4%
75	Rheinhessen-Pfalz	2,031,780	+1%
76	Sud-Vest Oltenia	1,993,482	-1.1%
77	Latvija	1,968,957	-0.9%
78	Västsverige	1,963,466	+1.1%
79	Calabria	1,943,085	-0.4%
80	Picardie	1,932,422	0%
81	Alsace	1,884,150	+0.3%
82	Haute-Normandie	1,858,580	-0.1%
83	Kentriki Makedonia	1,857,588	-0.8%
84	Schwaben	1,846,020	+1.4%
85	Wien	1,840,226	+2.4%
86	Západné Slovensko	1,832,159	-0.1%
87	Prov. Antwerpen	1,828,927	+0.7%
88	Tübingen	1,823,573	+1.6%
89	Poitou-Charentes	1,806,291	+0.2%
90	Vest	1,802,212	-0.5%
91	Hovedstaden	1,789,174	+1.2%
92	Hamburg	1,787,408	+1.4%
93	Mittelfranken	1,738,686	+1.4%
94	Budapest	1,738,570	-0.2%
95	Lüneburg	1,699,969	+1.3%
96	Jihovýchod	1,684,500	+0.1%
97	Zachodniopomorskie	1,684,025	-0.3%
98	Centro (PT)	1,683,103	-0.6%
99	Niederösterreich	1,653,691	+1%
100	Sardegna	1,642,492	-0.4%
101	Östra Mellansverige	1,638,825	+1.1%
102	Bourgogne	1,637,941	-0.2%
103	Helsinki-Uusimaa	1,620,261	+1.1%
104	Východné Slovensko	1,617,347	+0.1%
105	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	1,612,362	+0.8%
106	Dresden	1,602,754	+0.6%
107	Braunschweig	1,598,164	+1.2%
108	Southern	1,575,504	+0.5%
109	Liguria	1,557,742	-0.7%
110	Marche	1,538,442	-0.5%
111	Severovýchod	1,507,209	0%
112	Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen	1,489,084	+0.7%
113	Koblenz	1,488,308	+0.8%
114	Basse-Normandie	1,477,349	-0.1%
115	Region of Murcia	1,468,367	+0.2%
116	Észak-Alföld	1,466,389	-0.5%
117	Chemnitz	1,465,612	+0.2%
118	Sydsverige	1,459,880	+1.2%
119	Oberösterreich	1,453,948	+1.2%
120	Warmińsko-mazurskie	1,414,734	-0.3%
121	Yuzhen tsentralen	1,393,542	-1.3%
122	Länsi-Suomi	1,379,116	+0.1%
123	Jadranska Hrvatska	1,367,338	-1.1%
124	Auvergne	1,363,392	+0.1%
125	Stredné Slovensko	1,343,458	-0.2%
126	Prov. Hainaut	1,341,267	+0.3%
127	Champagne-Ardenne	1,333,248	-0.4%
128	Střední Čechy	1,326,876	+0.9%
129	Abruzzo	1,319,294	-0.5%
130	Aragon	1,318,042	-0.6%
131	Eesti	1,315,944	+0.2%
132	Utrecht	1,308,042	+0.8%
133	Unterfranken	1,306,048	+0.6%
134	Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi	1,298,457	-0.2%
135	Midtjylland	1,293,309	+0.8%
136	Praha	1,267,449	+0.7%
137	Dél-Alföld	1,257,756	-0.7%
138	Świętokrzyskie	1,241,895	-0.5%
139	Steiermark	1,232,012	+0.9%
140	Pest	1,228,755	+0.6%
141	Střední Morava	1,219,394	-0.1%
142	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	1,216,208	-0.4%
143	Jihozápad	1,214,450	+0.2%
144	Kassel	1,213,712	+1.1%
145	Moravskoslezsko	1,213,311	-0.4%
146	Niederbayern	1,212,119	+1.2%
147	Syddanmark	1,211,770	+0.5%
148	Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest	1,201,285	+1.5%
149	Prov. West-Vlaanderen	1,184,418	+0.3%
150	Franche-Comté	1,180,397	+0.1%
151	Etelä-Suomi	1,160,491	-0.1%
152	Podlaskie	1,158,945	-0.3%
153	Észak-Magyarország	1,152,668	-1%
154	Panonska Hrvatska	1,149,380	-2%
155	Overijssel	1,144,280	+0.3%
156	Prov. Vlaams-Brabant	1,122,600	+0.7%
157	Severozápad	1,120,654	-0.2%
158	Balearic Islands	1,117,353	+0.6%
159	Limburg (NL)	1,116,260	-0.2%
160	Prov. Liège	1,103,490	+0.4%
161	Oberpfalz	1,092,339	+0.9%
162	Vzhodna Slovenija	1,092,193	-0.1%
163	Extremadura	1,086,153	-0.6%
164	Közép-Dunántúl	1,062,306	-0.2%
165	Oberfranken	1,059,358	+0.3%
166	Asturias	1,040,407	-0.9%
167	Gießen	1,040,091	+1.1%
168	Yugoiztochen	1,017,950	-1.3%
169	Leipzig	1,016,485	+1.7%
170	Lubuskie	1,005,159	-0.2%
171	Saarland	995,597	+0.7%
172	Nyugat-Dunántúl	973,166	-0.3%
173	Zahodna Slovenija	971,995	+0.3%
174	Opolskie	952,557	-0.5%
175	Dél-Dunántúl	900,042	-0.9%
176	Severoiztochen	895,980	-1.6%
177	Umbria	884,092	-0.5%
178	Prov. Limburg (BE)	866,970	+0.6%
179	Kýpros	863,764	+0.3%
180	La Réunion	852,924	+0.3%
181	Northern and Western	839,204	+0.6%
182	Norra Mellansverige	838,747	+0.6%
183	Småland med öarna	834,276	+1%
184	Sjeverna Hrvatska	829,724	-1.1%
185	Sjælland	827,499	+0.9%
186	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	816,032	-0.5%
187	Sostinės regionas	796,455	-0.4%
188	Península de Setúbal	787,533	+0.2%
189	Grad Zagreb	784,673	-0.4%
190	Severen tsentralen	781,422	-2.1%
191	Severozapaden	768,967	-2.1%
192	Tirol	739,139	+1.4%
193	Limousin	736,015	-0.3%
194	Thessalia	719,597	-0.8%
195	Dytiki Elláda	672,152	-0.6%
196	Bremen	671,489	+1.5%
197	Friesland (NL)	646,040	-0%
198	Navarre	638,922	+0.3%
199	Bratislavský kraj	633,288	+1.3%
200	Kriti	627,576	-0.1%
201	Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki	588,101	-0.8%
202	Nordjylland	585,499	+0.5%
203	Groningen	583,721	-0%
204	Cantabria	582,494	-0.5%
205	Luxembourg	576,249	+2.4%
206	Basilicata	569,887	-0.6%
207	Peloponnisos	569,261	-0.8%
208	Kärnten	560,482	+0.5%
209	Salzburg	545,815	+1.3%
210	Provincia Autonoma di Trento	539,513	+0.2%
211	Sterea Elláda	535,909	-1.1%
212	Trier	532,715	+2.1%
213	Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen	520,252	+0.4%
214	Övre Norrland	513,111	+0.1%
215	Prov. Namur	492,074	+0.7%
216	Drenthe	488,629	0%
217	Alentejo	486,367	-1%
218	Algarve	451,679	+0.4%
219	Malta	449,635	+2.5%
220	Guadeloupe	429,856	-0.9%
221	Flevoland	404,068	+0.6%
222	Prov. Brabant wallon	397,745	+0.9%
223	Vorarlberg	384,147	+1.5%
224	Zeeland	381,252	+0.1%
225	Martinique	376,480	-1.2%
226	Mellersta Norrland	371,273	+0.4%
227	Ipeiros	330,678	-1%
228	Corse	330,455	+1%
229	Notio Aigaio	326,662	-0.5%
230	La Rioja	314,025	-0.1%
231	Molise	310,026	-0.4%
232	Burgenland	291,011	+0.9%
233	Prov. Luxembourg (BE)	283,257	+1.1%
234	Dytiki Makedonia	271,646	-1.1%
235	Guyane	269,352	+3.7%
236	Região Autónoma da Madeira	254,521	-1.2%
237	Região Autónoma dos Açores	241,653	-0.7%
238	Mayotte	240,987	+3.8%
239	Ionia Nisia	209,073	-0.2%
240	Voreio Aigaio	185,893	-1.8%
241	Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste	127,030	-0.7%
242	Melilla	85,457	+0.5%
243	Ceuta	84,558	-0%
244	Åland	28,983	+0.2%

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 regions 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 2026-10-08.

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 regions by population using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"region","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=region&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which region has the highest population?

Ile-de-France, with 12.12 million in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest population?

Åland, with 28,983 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 2026-10-08.