Cyprus population reverses decline, shows growth

The population of the European Union has increased again after two years of decrease according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU, on the occasion of World Population Day. Meanwhile, the population of Cyprus has continued to increase, as it has even during the pandemic.

After a decline in population in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU’s population increased in 2022, from 446.7 million on 1 January 2022 to 448.4 persons on 1 January 2023.

The negative natural change (more deaths than births) was outnumbered by the positive net migration according to Eurostat. The observed population growth can be primarily attributed to the increased migratory movements post-COVID-19 and to the mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine who received temporary protection status in EU countries, as a consequence of the Russian invasion in February 2022, according to the same analysis.

The population of Cyprus in 2019 was at 875,899 people and has continued to increase to 888,005 in 2020, to 896,007 in 2021, and 904,705 in 2022, before increasing again to 920,701 by January 1st, 2023 according to preliminary data.

There is no updated data on Cyprus regarding the natural population change (i.e. birth compared to deaths) or net migration. However, data both before, during the pandemic, and during 2022, show more births than deaths every year and positive net migration.

Over a longer period, the population of the EU grew from 354.5 million in 1960 to 448.4 million on 1 January 2023, an increase of 93.9 million people. The rate of population growth has slowed down gradually in recent decades: for example, the EU population increased, on average, by about 0.8 million persons per year during the period 2005–2022 compared with an average increase of around 3.0 million persons per year during the 1960s.

While the EU population shortly declined in 2020 by around half a million persons and in 2021 by almost 0.3 million persons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has started to regain its growth as the new figures show.

The population of individual EU countries on 1 January 2023 ranged from 0.5 million in Malta to 84.4 million in Germany. Germany, France, and Italy together comprised almost half (47%) of the total EU population on 1 January 2023.

While the EU population increased in 2022, population increases were not observed in every Member State. In total, seven countries recorded a decrease in population between 1 January 2022 and 2023, with the largest decrease reported in Italy (179,419 persons) and the smallest in Slovakia (5,920).

Increases were observed in the other 20 countries, with the largest in Germany (1,121,721) and the smallest in Latvia (7,251).