Europe's population has passed the half-a-billion mark for the first time ever. Europe’s statistics database agency Eurostat put the official figure at 501.1 million people across the 27-nation European Union. This was a rise of 1.4 million people between January 1 2009 and January 1 2010. The bulk of the increase was due to immigration, with 900,000 immigrants moving to EU countries. Eurostat said that the five countries with the biggest increases in population were Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Cyprus and Sweden. Germany’s population fell by 203,000. Over five million children were born in 2009 across the EU. The highest birth rates were in Ireland, Britain and France, and the lowest were in Germany and Austria. Europe is still far behind China, which has a population of 1.4 billion.
Increases in population are leading many European governments to worry about how to cope with the increasing numbers. More people put a great strain on a country’s resources. It can also lead to environmental damage and competition for jobs, houses and public services. The United Nations Population Fund says population growth will also cause tension due to reduced living space and increased demand for food and water, fuel and transport. Many countries in Europe are experiencing anger from people who are opposed to immigration. Sir Andrew Green of the UK’s Migration Watch think tank said: “There are always arguments in favour of immigration…but the majority of people are clear that immigration needs to be brought down.”
