European Union - Population density (people per sq. km of land area)

The value for Population density (people per sq. km of land area) in European Union was 111.88 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 59 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 111.88 in 2020 and a minimum value of 89.96 in 1961.

Definition: Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.

See also:

1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
Year Value
1961 89.96
1962 90.76
1963 91.59
1964 92.42
1965 93.21
1966 93.97
1967 94.69
1968 95.36
1969 96.01
1970 96.54
1971 97.05
1972 97.70
1973 98.34
1974 98.94
1975 99.54
1976 100.08
1977 100.57
1978 101.03
1979 101.47
1980 101.93
1981 102.35
1982 102.69
1983 102.96
1984 103.20
1985 103.45
1986 103.73
1987 104.04
1988 104.38
1989 104.76
1990 105.11
1991 105.42
1992 105.73
1993 106.07
1994 106.33
1995 106.54
1996 106.71
1997 106.87
1998 107.01
1999 107.19
2000 107.34
2001 107.49
2002 107.77
2003 108.14
2004 108.55
2005 108.95
2006 109.32
2007 109.69
2008 110.06
2009 110.29
2010 110.41
2011 110.22
2012 110.53
2013 110.76
2014 111.00
2015 111.26
2016 111.48
2017 111.66
2018 111.74
2019 111.81
2020 111.88

Development Relevance: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries; in developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required conducting and analyzing a full census. Population density is a measure of the intensity of land-use, and can be calculated for a block, city, county, state, country, continent or the entire world. Considering that over half of the Earth's land mass consists of areas inhospitable to human inhabitation, such as deserts and high mountains, and that population tends to cluster around seaports and fresh water sources, a simple number of population density by itself does not give any meaningful measurement of human population density. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states, microstates, or dependencies.[6][7] These territories share a relatively small area and a high urbanization level, with an economically specialized city population drawing also on rural resources outside the area, illustrating the difference between high population density and overpopulation.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack recent census data and pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in the model and in the data. Because the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used, interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. This ratio can be calculated for any territorial unit for any point in time, depending on the source of the population data. Populationestimates are prepared by World Bank staff from variety of sources. They are based on the de facto definition of population and include all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship, within the physical boundaries of a country and under the jurisdiction of that country's political control. Refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum are considered part of the population of their country of origin. Population numbers are either current census data or historical census data extrapolated through demographic methods. The count also excludes visitors from overseas. Population density is calculated by dividing midyear population by land area in a country. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship - except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Density & urbanization