Changes in the EU-27 and the global population

The population of the EU-27 grew from 354.5 million in 1960 to 447.7 million in 2019. Yet, as regards live births, figures shrank from around 6.69 million in 1960 to 4.15 million in 2019. With about 3.54 million deaths in 1960, the natural population increased by nearly 3.15 million people that year. In contrast, the 4.65 million deaths in 2019 meant that the natural population declined by about 0.5 million that year. Eurostat’s baseline projections suggest that the EU-27 population will grow more slowly than in the past, peaking at 525 million persons in 2044, before declining to 416.1 million by 2100.
According to United Nations data, the global population has risen dramatically – from 3.03 billion in 1960, to about 7.71 billion in 2019 – and is projected to rise further, passing 10 billion in 2057 to reach about 10.87 billion in 2100. Therefore, even when it was growing strongly, the EU-27 population represented an ever-shrinking proportion of the global population, down from 11.68 % in 1960 to 5.8 % in 2019, and is projected to be smaller still at just 4.35 % in 2057 and 3.83 % in 2100.