EU regions (NUTS 2) by population

Name: EU regions (NUTS 2) by population, 2017
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 2017, at 12.17 million. Åland had the lowest, at 29,214. The median was 1.37 million and the figure for the European Union (27) was 444.67 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12,174,880Ile-de-France

Lowest29,214Åland

Median1,369,634244 regions

European Union (27)444,670,605History

Top 40 regions, 2017

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	Regions	2017 persons	Change on 2016
1	Ile-de-France	12,174,880	+0.5%
2	Lombardia	9,970,419	+0.1%
3	Andalusia	8,394,017	0%
4	Catalonia	7,480,778	+0.5%
5	Rhône-Alpes	6,584,131	+0.5%
6	Community of Madrid	6,459,297	+0.7%
7	Campania	5,776,654	-0.2%
8	Lazio	5,774,092	+0.2%
9	Düsseldorf	5,190,790	+0.3%
10	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	5,030,890	+0.2%
11	Sicilia	4,977,900	-0.5%
12	Valencian Community	4,943,821	+0.1%
13	Veneto	4,883,373	-0.1%
14	Oberbayern	4,633,323	+1%
15	Śląskie	4,510,528	-0.2%
16	Emilia-Romagna	4,439,768	+0.1%
17	Köln	4,439,416	+0.4%
18	Piemonte	4,370,348	-0.3%
19	Stuttgart	4,098,278	+0.7%
20	Nord-Pas de Calais	4,072,379	-0.1%
21	Puglia	4,024,067	-0.5%
22	Darmstadt	3,951,234	+0.7%
23	Attiki	3,843,136	0%
24	Pays de la Loire	3,757,600	+0.5%
25	Toscana	3,721,391	-0.1%
26	Zuid-Holland	3,615,475	+0.8%
27	Norte	3,596,590	-0.3%
28	Arnsberg	3,586,313	-0.3%
29	Berlin	3,574,830	+1.6%
30	Wielkopolskie	3,457,473	+0.2%
31	Aquitaine	3,414,585	+0.6%
32	Małopolskie	3,339,803	+0.3%
33	Bretagne	3,318,904	+0.4%
34	Nord-Est	3,239,540	-0.5%
35	Midi-Pyrénées	3,034,719	+0.6%
36	Sud-Muntenia	3,003,394	-0.9%
37	Warszawski stołeczny	3,002,278	+0.7%
38	Schleswig-Holstein	2,881,926	+0.8%
39	Dolnośląskie	2,866,218	+0.1%
40	Languedoc-Roussillon	2,810,383	+0.6%
41	Noord-Holland	2,809,483	+0.9%
42	Karlsruhe	2,779,314	+0.6%
43	Galicia	2,708,955	-0.4%
44	Münster	2,619,376	+0.2%
45	Centre - Val de Loire	2,576,252	-0.1%
46	Nord-Vest	2,568,282	-0.3%
47	Noord-Brabant	2,512,531	+0.6%
48	Weser-Ems	2,506,155	+0.4%
49	Brandenburg	2,494,648	+0.4%
50	Łódzkie	2,471,620	-0.3%
51	Sud-Est	2,447,270	-0.9%
52	Castile and León	2,433,535	-0.8%
53	Eastern and Midland	2,351,142	+1.7%
54	Mazowiecki regionalny	2,339,206	-0.2%
55	Centru	2,332,785	-0.4%
56	Lorraine	2,331,863	-0.3%
57	Bucureşti-Ilfov	2,287,208	-0%
58	Pomorskie	2,285,800	+0.4%
59	Stockholm	2,269,060	+1.7%
60	Freiburg	2,239,734	+0.7%
61	Sachsen-Anhalt	2,236,252	-0.4%
62	Basque Country	2,179,944	+0.3%
63	Thüringen	2,158,128	-0.6%
64	Hannover	2,139,976	+0.4%
65	Canary Islands	2,115,233	+0.6%
66	Lubelskie	2,112,787	-0.3%
67	Podkarpackie	2,084,722	+0.1%
68	Yugozapaden	2,069,800	-0.5%
69	Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas	2,063,989	-1.7%
70	Kujawsko-pomorskie	2,060,575	-0.1%
71	Detmold	2,054,205	-0.2%
72	Gelderland	2,047,901	+0.6%
73	Grande Lisboa	2,047,531	+0.3%
74	Rheinhessen-Pfalz	2,045,138	+0.7%
75	Castilla-La Mancha	2,041,422	-0.4%
76	Västsverige	1,992,116	+1.5%
77	Sud-Vest Oltenia	1,972,979	-1%
78	Latvija	1,950,116	-1%
79	Calabria	1,935,097	-0.4%
80	Picardie	1,931,436	-0.1%
81	Alsace	1,889,589	+0.3%
82	Wien	1,867,582	+1.5%
83	Schwaben	1,857,991	+0.6%
84	Haute-Normandie	1,856,221	-0.1%
85	Kentriki Makedonia	1,849,839	-0.4%
86	Prov. Antwerpen	1,838,863	+0.5%
87	Tübingen	1,834,567	+0.6%
88	Západné Slovensko	1,830,751	-0.1%
89	Hamburg	1,810,438	+1.3%
90	Poitou-Charentes	1,807,865	+0.1%
91	Hovedstaden	1,807,404	+1%
92	Vest	1,792,491	-0.5%
93	Mittelfranken	1,750,059	+0.7%
94	Budapest	1,728,929	-0.6%
95	Lüneburg	1,703,945	+0.2%
96	Jihovýchod	1,687,764	+0.2%
97	Zachodniopomorskie	1,681,246	-0.2%
98	Centro (PT)	1,672,492	-0.6%
99	Niederösterreich	1,665,753	+0.7%
100	Östra Mellansverige	1,664,145	+1.5%
101	Helsinki-Uusimaa	1,638,293	+1.1%
102	Sardegna	1,636,839	-0.3%
103	Bourgogne	1,632,887	-0.3%
104	Východné Slovensko	1,620,413	+0.2%
105	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	1,610,674	-0.1%
106	Dresden	1,600,155	-0.2%
107	Southern	1,596,373	+1.3%
108	Braunschweig	1,595,609	-0.2%
109	Liguria	1,551,379	-0.4%
110	Marche	1,532,460	-0.4%
111	Severovýchod	1,508,527	+0.1%
112	Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen	1,498,483	+0.6%
113	Koblenz	1,492,187	+0.3%
114	Sydsverige	1,483,018	+1.6%
115	Region of Murcia	1,475,275	+0.5%
116	Basse-Normandie	1,474,257	-0.2%
117	Oberösterreich	1,465,045	+0.8%
118	Észak-Alföld	1,459,130	-0.5%
119	Chemnitz	1,454,144	-0.8%
120	Warmińsko-mazurskie	1,410,641	-0.3%
121	Länsi-Suomi	1,380,593	+0.1%
122	Yuzhen tsentralen	1,375,112	-1.3%
123	Auvergne	1,364,156	+0.1%
124	Jadranska Hrvatska	1,353,140	-1%
125	Stredné Slovensko	1,342,287	-0.1%
126	Prov. Hainaut	1,342,053	+0.1%
127	Střední Čechy	1,338,982	+0.9%
128	Champagne-Ardenne	1,328,134	-0.4%
129	Utrecht	1,319,251	+0.9%
130	Eesti	1,315,635	-0%
131	Aragon	1,315,411	-0.2%
132	Abruzzo	1,313,930	-0.4%
133	Unterfranken	1,309,209	+0.2%
134	Midtjylland	1,304,253	+0.8%
135	Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi	1,296,023	-0.2%
136	Praha	1,280,508	+1%
137	Dél-Alföld	1,246,137	-0.9%
138	Pest	1,240,780	+1%
139	Świętokrzyskie	1,237,518	-0.4%
140	Steiermark	1,237,298	+0.4%
141	Niederbayern	1,219,397	+0.6%
142	Kassel	1,218,211	+0.4%
143	Střední Morava	1,217,623	-0.1%
144	Jihozápad	1,217,411	+0.2%
145	Syddanmark	1,217,224	+0.5%
146	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	1,212,809	-0.3%
147	Moravskoslezsko	1,209,879	-0.3%
148	Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest	1,199,095	-0.2%
149	Prov. West-Vlaanderen	1,188,407	+0.3%
150	Franche-Comté	1,178,536	-0.2%
151	Etelä-Suomi	1,159,174	-0.1%
152	Podlaskie	1,156,947	-0.2%
153	Overijssel	1,147,687	+0.3%
154	Észak-Magyarország	1,142,892	-0.8%
155	Prov. Vlaams-Brabant	1,130,644	+0.7%
156	Balearic Islands	1,128,492	+1%
157	Panonska Hrvatska	1,123,545	-2.2%
158	Severozápad	1,118,126	-0.2%
159	Limburg (NL)	1,117,546	+0.1%
160	Prov. Liège	1,106,039	+0.2%
161	Oberpfalz	1,098,378	+0.6%
162	Vzhodna Slovenija	1,091,159	-0.1%
163	Extremadura	1,079,108	-0.6%
164	Oberfranken	1,062,394	+0.3%
165	Közép-Dunántúl	1,057,816	-0.4%
166	Gießen	1,043,643	+0.3%
167	Asturias	1,033,550	-0.7%
168	Leipzig	1,027,484	+1.1%
169	Yugoiztochen	1,004,948	-1.3%
170	Lubuskie	1,004,892	-0%
171	Saarland	996,651	+0.1%
172	Zahodna Slovenija	974,736	+0.3%
173	Nyugat-Dunántúl	970,910	-0.2%
174	Opolskie	950,710	-0.2%
175	Dél-Dunántúl	893,263	-0.8%
176	Severoiztochen	881,513	-1.6%
177	Umbria	880,992	-0.4%
178	Kýpros	869,878	+0.7%
179	Prov. Limburg (BE)	869,664	+0.3%
180	La Réunion	853,659	+0.1%
181	Northern and Western	851,642	+1.5%
182	Norra Mellansverige	848,451	+1.2%
183	Småland med öarna	847,667	+1.6%
184	Sjælland	832,553	+0.6%
185	Sjeverna Hrvatska	819,498	-1.2%
186	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	811,295	-0.6%
187	Sostinės regionas	795,088	-0.2%
188	Península de Setúbal	789,375	+0.2%
189	Grad Zagreb	782,586	-0.3%
190	Severen tsentralen	765,086	-2.1%
191	Severozapaden	753,059	-2.1%
192	Tirol	746,153	+0.9%
193	Limousin	734,528	-0.2%
194	Thessalia	714,715	-0.7%
195	Bremen	678,753	+1.1%
196	Dytiki Elláda	668,515	-0.5%
197	Friesland (NL)	646,874	+0.1%
198	Navarre	642,075	+0.5%
199	Bratislavský kraj	641,892	+1.4%
200	Kriti	627,362	-0%
201	Luxembourg Series break	590,667	+2.5%
202	Nordjylland	587,335	+0.3%
203	Groningen	583,581	-0%
204	Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki	583,497	-0.8%
205	Cantabria	581,421	-0.2%
206	Basilicata	566,405	-0.6%
207	Peloponnisos	564,957	-0.8%
208	Kärnten	561,077	+0.1%
209	Salzburg	549,263	+0.6%
210	Provincia Autonoma di Trento	540,280	+0.1%
211	Sterea Elláda	531,938	-0.7%
212	Trier	528,728	-0.7%
213	Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen	523,454	+0.6%
214	Övre Norrland	516,451	+0.7%
215	Prov. Namur	494,127	+0.4%
216	Drenthe	491,792	+0.6%
217	Alentejo	481,474	-1%
218	Malta	459,375	+2.2%
219	Algarve	453,300	+0.4%
220	Guadeloupe	425,587	-1%
221	Flevoland	407,818	+0.9%
222	Prov. Brabant wallon	399,735	+0.5%
223	Vorarlberg	388,752	+1.2%
224	Zeeland	381,568	+0.1%
225	Mellersta Norrland	374,245	+0.8%
226	Martinique	372,594	-1%
227	Corse	334,938	+1.4%
228	Notio Aigaio	328,318	+0.5%
229	Ipeiros	328,213	-0.7%
230	La Rioja	314,136	0%
231	Molise	308,400	-0.5%
232	Burgenland	291,942	+0.3%
233	Prov. Luxembourg (BE)	284,617	+0.5%
234	Dytiki Makedonia	269,000	-1%
235	Guyane	268,700	-0.2%
236	Região Autónoma da Madeira	252,313	-0.9%
237	Mayotte	250,143	+3.8%
238	Região Autónoma dos Açores	240,108	-0.6%
239	Ionia Nisia	208,753	-0.2%
240	Voreio Aigaio	189,284	+1.8%
241	Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste	126,677	-0.3%
242	Melilla	85,918	+0.5%
243	Ceuta	85,005	+0.5%
244	Åland	29,214	+0.8%

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.

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Questions

Which region has the highest population?

Ile-de-France, with 12.17 million in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest population?

Åland, with 29,214 in 2017.

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.