In 2020, the European Union registered the highest number of deaths in 60 years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Accordingly, this has led to a slight decline in the population, Eurostat announced today, AFP reported.
Last year, EU countries registered 534,000 additional deaths compared to 2019, an 11 percent increase. The death toll rose from 4.7 to 5.2 million. This number reflects the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Eurostat.
A Eurostat spokeswoman said the annual death toll was the highest since 1961, the first year in which statistics were available for all countries combined.
The number of deaths increased in all EU countries in 2020, but especially in Italy (18 percent more, or 111,700 additional deaths), Spain (18 percent more, or 75,500 additional deaths), and Poland (17 percent more, or 67,600 additional deaths).
This over-mortality has contributed to a slight decline in the EU’s population in 2020, from 447.3 million to 447 million (minus 312,000).
The birth rate continues to decline. Natural growth, ie. the difference between the number of births and that of deaths is negative, as this trend has been observed since 2012 (excluding 2014, when it was zero) and has been declining since 2016.
From 2001 to 2019, inclusive, the EU population grew by 4 percent, a growth mainly fueled by a positive migration balance. But that balance narrowed in 2020, as migration was also affected by the effects of the pandemic, which closed borders. In addition, due to the pandemic, some people chose to return to their home countries because they lost their jobs or for some other reason, says Eurostat expert Giampaolo Lanzieri.
But the main element that could explain the EU’s population decline in 2020 is the impact of the pandemic on mortality, he added.
The most significant population decline was observed in Italy (minus 384,000 or minus 0.6 percent of the population), followed by Romania (minus 143,000, ie minus 0.7 percent) and Poland (minus 118,000, t). ie minus 0.3 percent).
A total of 9 of the 27 member states saw a decline in population over the past year, while the other 18 reported a slight increase. This is the case, for example, with France (plus 119,000 or 0.2 percent).
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