EU regions (NUTS 2) by population

Name: EU regions (NUTS 2) by population, 2018
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 2018, at 12.21 million. Åland had the lowest, at 29,489. The median was 1.36 million and the figure for the European Union (27) was 445.3 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12,213,447Ile-de-France

Lowest29,489Åland

Median1,362,195244 regions

European Union (27)445,301,376History

Top 40 regions, 2018

CSV Chart (SVG)

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

Full ranking

Rank	Regions	2018 persons	Change on 2017
1	Ile-de-France	12,213,447	+0.3%
2	Lombardia	9,986,962	+0.2%
3	Andalusia	8,396,464	0%
4	Catalonia	7,539,364	+0.8%
5	Rhône-Alpes	6,625,923	+0.6%
6	Community of Madrid	6,529,923	+1.1%
7	Lazio	5,774,606	0%
8	Campania	5,762,889	-0.2%
9	Düsseldorf	5,198,820	+0.2%
10	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	5,052,832	+0.4%
11	Valencian Community	4,958,584	+0.3%
12	Sicilia	4,942,188	-0.7%
13	Veneto	4,880,936	-0%
14	Oberbayern	4,649,534	+0.3%
15	Śląskie	4,500,863	-0.2%
16	Köln	4,454,228	+0.3%
17	Emilia-Romagna	4,445,920	+0.1%
18	Piemonte	4,349,911	-0.5%
19	Stuttgart	4,126,688	+0.7%
20	Nord-Pas de Calais	4,072,977	0%
21	Puglia	4,000,966	-0.6%
22	Darmstadt	3,978,050	+0.7%
23	Attiki	3,835,480	-0.2%
24	Pays de la Loire	3,781,423	+0.6%
25	Toscana	3,712,048	-0.3%
26	Zuid-Holland	3,646,010	+0.8%
27	Berlin	3,613,495	+1.1%
28	Norte	3,592,401	-0.1%
29	Arnsberg	3,583,590	-0.1%
30	Wielkopolskie	3,465,605	+0.2%
31	Aquitaine	3,437,398	+0.7%
32	Małopolskie	3,349,498	+0.3%
33	Bretagne	3,335,414	+0.5%
34	Nord-Est	3,222,732	-0.5%
35	Midi-Pyrénées	3,055,135	+0.7%
36	Warszawski stołeczny	3,025,034	+0.8%
37	Sud-Muntenia	2,965,415	-1.3%
38	Schleswig-Holstein	2,889,821	+0.3%
39	Dolnośląskie	2,865,358	-0%
40	Noord-Holland	2,831,182	+0.8%
41	Languedoc-Roussillon	2,830,361	+0.7%
42	Karlsruhe	2,795,783	+0.6%
43	Galicia	2,703,048	-0.2%
44	Münster	2,621,153	+0.1%
45	Centre - Val de Loire	2,572,853	-0.1%
46	Nord-Vest	2,560,504	-0.3%
47	Noord-Brabant	2,528,286	+0.6%
48	Weser-Ems	2,516,457	+0.4%
49	Brandenburg	2,504,040	+0.4%
50	Łódzkie	2,462,448	-0.4%
51	Sud-Est	2,423,059	-1%
52	Castile and León	2,417,013	-0.7%
53	Eastern and Midland	2,380,989	+1.3%
54	Mazowiecki regionalny	2,334,793	-0.2%
55	Lorraine	2,328,460	-0.1%
56	Centru	2,325,371	-0.3%
57	Stockholm	2,308,143	+1.7%
58	Bucureşti-Ilfov	2,302,291	+0.7%
59	Pomorskie	2,294,926	+0.4%
60	Freiburg	2,254,674	+0.7%
61	Sachsen-Anhalt	2,223,081	-0.6%
62	Basque Country	2,187,254	+0.3%
63	Thüringen	2,151,205	-0.3%
64	Hannover	2,144,120	+0.2%
65	Canary Islands	2,131,581	+0.8%
66	Lubelskie	2,105,442	-0.3%
67	Podkarpackie	2,085,877	+0.1%
68	Gelderland	2,060,103	+0.6%
69	Kujawsko-pomorskie	2,059,748	-0%
70	Yugozapaden	2,058,448	-0.5%
71	Grande Lisboa	2,056,718	+0.4%
72	Detmold	2,054,343	0%
73	Rheinhessen-Pfalz	2,051,027	+0.3%
74	Castilla-La Mancha	2,034,409	-0.3%
75	Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas	2,031,066	-1.6%
76	Västsverige	2,015,607	+1.2%
77	Sud-Vest Oltenia	1,949,813	-1.2%
78	Latvija	1,934,379	-0.8%
79	Picardie	1,931,131	-0%
80	Calabria	1,924,257	-0.6%
81	Alsace	1,898,533	+0.5%
82	Wien	1,888,776	+1.1%
83	Schwaben	1,873,368	+0.8%
84	Haute-Normandie	1,855,845	-0%
85	Prov. Antwerpen	1,849,523	+0.6%
86	Tübingen	1,846,280	+0.6%
87	Kentriki Makedonia	1,841,440	-0.5%
88	Hamburg	1,830,584	+1.1%
89	Západné Slovensko	1,828,428	-0.1%
90	Hovedstaden	1,822,659	+0.8%
91	Poitou-Charentes	1,811,095	+0.2%
92	Vest	1,784,296	-0.5%
93	Mittelfranken	1,759,643	+0.5%
94	Budapest	1,723,033	-0.3%
95	Lüneburg	1,706,464	+0.1%
96	Jihovýchod	1,692,123	+0.3%
97	Östra Mellansverige	1,687,810	+1.4%
98	Zachodniopomorskie	1,678,873	-0.1%
99	Niederösterreich	1,670,668	+0.3%
100	Centro (PT)	1,663,802	-0.5%
101	Helsinki-Uusimaa	1,655,624	+1.1%
102	Sardegna	1,631,040	-0.4%
103	Bourgogne	1,628,737	-0.3%
104	Východné Slovensko	1,623,043	+0.2%
105	Southern	1,614,582	+1.1%
106	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	1,611,119	0%
107	Dresden	1,598,573	-0.1%
108	Braunschweig	1,595,734	0%
109	Liguria	1,541,541	-0.6%
110	Marche	1,526,331	-0.4%
111	Severovýchod	1,510,726	+0.1%
112	Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen	1,506,232	+0.5%
113	Sydsverige	1,504,060	+1.4%
114	Koblenz	1,493,055	+0.1%
115	Region of Murcia	1,478,718	+0.2%
116	Oberösterreich	1,473,576	+0.6%
117	Basse-Normandie	1,471,632	-0.2%
118	Észak-Alföld	1,450,191	-0.6%
119	Chemnitz	1,444,953	-0.6%
120	Warmińsko-mazurskie	1,408,415	-0.2%
121	Länsi-Suomi	1,380,365	-0%
122	Auvergne	1,368,536	+0.3%
123	Yuzhen tsentralen	1,355,853	-1.4%
124	Střední Čechy	1,352,795	+1%
125	Prov. Hainaut	1,343,756	+0.1%
126	Stredné Slovensko	1,340,811	-0.1%
127	Jadranska Hrvatska	1,337,048	-1.2%
128	Utrecht	1,330,518	+0.9%
129	Champagne-Ardenne	1,323,396	-0.4%
130	Eesti	1,319,133	+0.3%
131	Midtjylland	1,313,596	+0.7%
132	Aragon	1,313,493	-0.1%
133	Unterfranken	1,313,375	+0.3%
134	Abruzzo	1,306,059	-0.6%
135	Praha	1,294,513	+1.1%
136	Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi	1,290,651	-0.4%
137	Pest	1,254,436	+1.1%
138	Steiermark	1,240,214	+0.2%
139	Dél-Alföld	1,237,501	-0.7%
140	Świętokrzyskie	1,232,016	-0.4%
141	Niederbayern	1,230,037	+0.9%
142	Jihozápad	1,221,012	+0.3%
143	Syddanmark	1,220,763	+0.3%
144	Kassel	1,219,405	+0.1%
145	Střední Morava	1,216,234	-0.1%
146	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	1,211,155	-0.1%
147	Moravskoslezsko	1,205,886	-0.3%
148	Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest	1,205,492	+0.5%
149	Prov. West-Vlaanderen	1,192,254	+0.3%
150	Franche-Comté	1,179,070	0%
151	Etelä-Suomi	1,157,001	-0.2%
152	Podlaskie	1,154,856	-0.2%
153	Overijssel	1,151,501	+0.3%
154	Balearic Islands	1,141,233	+1.1%
155	Prov. Vlaams-Brabant	1,138,546	+0.7%
156	Észak-Magyarország	1,133,848	-0.8%
157	Limburg (NL)	1,117,198	-0%
158	Severozápad	1,116,766	-0.1%
159	Prov. Liège	1,108,371	+0.2%
160	Oberpfalz	1,104,407	+0.5%
161	Panonska Hrvatska	1,090,451	-2.9%
162	Vzhodna Slovenija	1,089,717	-0.1%
163	Extremadura	1,072,721	-0.6%
164	Oberfranken	1,066,840	+0.4%
165	Közép-Dunántúl	1,057,449	-0%
166	Gießen	1,045,807	+0.2%
167	Leipzig	1,037,782	+1%
168	Asturias	1,027,091	-0.6%
169	Lubuskie	1,004,127	-0.1%
170	Saarland	994,187	-0.2%
171	Yugoiztochen	991,373	-1.4%
172	Zahodna Slovenija	977,163	+0.2%
173	Nyugat-Dunántúl	971,397	+0.1%
174	Opolskie	948,808	-0.2%
175	Dél-Dunántúl	885,800	-0.8%
176	Kýpros	878,601	+1%
177	Umbria	876,477	-0.5%
178	Prov. Limburg (BE)	872,739	+0.4%
179	Severoiztochen	866,648	-1.7%
180	Northern and Western	860,162	+1%
181	Småland med öarna	856,887	+1.1%
182	La Réunion	855,961	+0.3%
183	Norra Mellansverige	852,201	+0.4%
184	Sjælland	835,024	+0.3%
185	Sjeverna Hrvatska	808,483	-1.3%
186	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	807,190	-0.5%
187	Sostinės regionas	795,134	0%
188	Península de Setúbal	792,367	+0.4%
189	Grad Zagreb	778,359	-0.5%
190	Tirol	751,140	+0.7%
191	Severen tsentralen	748,308	-2.2%
192	Severozapaden	736,788	-2.2%
193	Limousin	731,285	-0.4%
194	Thessalia	709,597	-0.7%
195	Bremen	681,032	+0.3%
196	Dytiki Elláda	664,581	-0.6%
197	Bratislavský kraj	650,838	+1.4%
198	Friesland (NL)	647,268	+0.1%
199	Navarre	646,340	+0.7%
200	Kriti	627,027	-0.1%
201	Luxembourg	602,005	+1.9%
202	Nordjylland	589,148	+0.3%
203	Groningen	582,944	-0.1%
204	Cantabria	581,533	0%
205	Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki	578,987	-0.8%
206	Basilicata	562,968	-0.6%
207	Kärnten	560,898	-0%
208	Peloponnisos	559,919	-0.9%
209	Salzburg	552,579	+0.6%
210	Provincia Autonoma di Trento	541,966	+0.3%
211	Trier	529,597	+0.2%
212	Sterea Elláda	527,789	-0.8%
213	Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen	526,772	+0.6%
214	Övre Norrland	519,760	+0.6%
215	Prov. Namur	495,158	+0.2%
216	Drenthe	492,100	+0.1%
217	Alentejo	477,138	-0.9%
218	Malta	474,837	+3.4%
219	Algarve	456,113	+0.6%
220	Guadeloupe	421,694	-0.9%
221	Flevoland	411,670	+0.9%
222	Prov. Brabant wallon	401,508	+0.4%
223	Vorarlberg	391,741	+0.8%
224	Zeeland	382,304	+0.2%
225	Mellersta Norrland	375,774	+0.4%
226	Martinique	368,783	-1%
227	Corse	338,554	+1.1%
228	Notio Aigaio	328,893	+0.2%
229	Ipeiros	326,448	-0.5%
230	La Rioja	314,890	+0.2%
231	Molise	306,564	-0.6%
232	Burgenland	292,675	+0.3%
233	Prov. Luxembourg (BE)	285,010	+0.1%
234	Guyane	276,128	+2.8%
235	Dytiki Makedonia	266,397	-1%
236	Mayotte	259,621	+3.8%
237	Região Autónoma da Madeira	251,077	-0.5%
238	Região Autónoma dos Açores	238,964	-0.5%
239	Ionia Nisia	208,083	-0.3%
240	Voreio Aigaio	192,698	+1.8%
241	Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste	126,213	-0.4%
242	Melilla	86,084	+0.2%
243	Ceuta	85,327	+0.4%
244	Åland	29,489	+0.9%

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 12.21 million in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest population?

Åland, with 29,489 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 on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). Retrieved 2026-10-08.