Europe is aging and shrinking with populations decreasing in 18 countries by 2100, including Romania, according to population estimates published Thursday by Eurostat.
By the start of the new century, the continent will have 134 million people over the age of 65, up from 68 million now.
In the same period, the EU population is expected to go down by 11.7%, or 53 million people, from 451.8 million in 2025 to 398.8 million in 2100.
According to Eurostat, Romania’s population is expected to decrease by about a quarter (24.3%), from 19.04 million inhabitants on January 1, 2025, to 14.4 million on January 1, 2100.
The largest decreases are forecast for Poland (-31.6%), Lithuania (-33.4%) and Latvia (-33.9%).
According to Eurostat, the EU population returned to an upward trend in 2022, after the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and is expected to continue to grow over the next three years, reaching a peak of 453.3 million in 2029, after which it will gradually tail off to 398.8 million by 2100.
Germany is set to remain the biggest country in 2100, despite a projected decline from 83.6 million last year to 74.7 million in 2100.
Next is France which will have 67.2 million inhabitants in 2100 (down from 68.8 million in 2025) and Spain, whose population is expected to grow from 49.1 million to 49.8 million.
On the other hand, Malta and Luxembourg are expected to remain the least populated countries, with less than one million people.
An ageing population
Between 2025 and 2100, the share of children, young people and working age adults across the EU population will decline. Children and young people (aged 0-19) is expected to decrease from 20% to 17%, while the share of working-age people (aged 20-64) is expected to decrease from 58% to 50% by 2100.
The average age of a EU citizen is expected to increase by 6.6 years between 2025 and 2100, while the number of people aged 65 +I s expected to double by 2100.
The share of older people (aged 65 and over) in the total EU population is projected to increase from 12.4% (67.9 million) at the beginning of 2025 to 33.6% (133.8 million) in 2100, the only major demographic group that is expected to grow in relative and absolute terms..
Eurostat is the European Commission’s statistical body.
Romania’s declining birthrate seen in villages where it’s years since the last birth
