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The population of European Union increased to almost 512 million people mainly due to migration to the bloc, according to an estimate published by the EU’s Statistical Office, Eurostat, on Monday in Brussels.
Eurostat said that on January 1, 2017, the population of the EU was estimated at 511.8 million, compared with 510.3 million in 2016.
Since the number of recorded births and deaths were equal in 2016, the increase of 1.5 million more inhabitants was attributed to migration.
With 82.8 million residents, Germany is the most populous EU member state, ahead of France (67 million) and Britain (65.8 million.)
The largest population increases were reported in Luxemburg, Sweden and Malta, while Lithuania, Latvia and Croatia witnessed the largest decrease.
About 5.1 million babies were born in the EU in 2016.
The highest birth rates were registered in Ireland, Sweden and Britain, while Italy, Portugal and Greece have the lowest birth rates in the bloc. (NAN)
