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Most populous countries in Europe, 1960 to 2025

Russia is Europe's most populous country at about 143.5 million in 2025, ahead of Germany at 83.5 million and the United Kingdom at 69.5 million.

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What the data shows

  • In 2025, Russia ranks #1 with 143.5M, ahead of Germany (83.5M) and United Kingdom (69.5M).
  • Russia holds #1 for the whole period, 1960 to 2025.

About this chart

Russia has the largest population in Europe at about 143.5 million in 2025, up from 119.9 million in 1960. Germany is second at 83.5 million, and the United Kingdom and France are close at 69.5 million and 68.7 million. The gap between third and fourth has narrowed: in 1960 the UK had 52.4 million and France 47.4 million, a difference of 5 million, compared with under 1 million now.

Italy (58.9 million), Spain (49.4 million), Ukraine (39.0 million), Poland (36.4 million), Romania (19.0 million) and the Netherlands (18.1 million) complete the top ten. Italy was fourth in 1960 at 50.2 million, ahead of France, and is now fifth. Figures are World Bank population estimates, and this page counts Russia as a European country in full, including its land east of the Urals.

The data

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), population, millions; Europe. Retrieved November 4, 2026.

Most populous countries in Europe, Population, millions, 1960–2025
Date🇷🇺 Russia🇩🇪 Germany🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇫🇷 France🇮🇹 Italy🇪🇸 Spain🇺🇦 Ukraine🇵🇱 Poland🇷🇴 Romania🇳🇱 Netherlands
1960119.9M72.8M52.4M47.4M50.2M30.5M42.8M29.6M18.4M11.5M
1961121.2M73.4M52.8M47.9M50.5M30.7M43.4M30.0M18.6M11.6M
1962122.6M74.0M53.2M48.4M50.9M31.0M43.9M30.3M18.7M11.8M
1963124.0M74.7M53.6M48.9M51.3M31.3M44.5M30.7M18.8M12.0M
1964125.3M75.3M54.0M49.4M51.7M31.6M45.0M31.1M18.9M12.1M
1965126.7M76.0M54.3M49.9M52.1M32.0M45.4M31.4M19.0M12.3M
1966127.5M76.6M54.6M50.3M52.5M32.3M45.8M31.7M19.2M12.5M
1967128.2M77.0M54.9M50.7M52.9M32.7M46.2M32.0M19.5M12.6M
1968128.9M77.3M55.2M51.1M53.2M33.1M46.6M32.3M19.8M12.7M
1969129.7M77.9M55.4M51.5M53.5M33.4M47.0M32.5M20.0M12.9M
1970130.4M78.2M55.7M52.0M53.8M33.8M47.3M32.7M20.3M13.0M
1971131.2M78.3M55.9M52.5M54.1M34.2M47.6M32.8M20.5M13.2M
1972131.9M78.7M56.1M53.0M54.4M34.6M47.9M33.1M20.7M13.3M
1973132.7M78.9M56.2M53.4M54.8M35.0M48.3M33.4M20.8M13.4M
1974133.4M79.0M56.2M53.7M55.1M35.4M48.6M33.7M21.0M13.5M
1975134.2M78.7M56.2M54.0M55.4M35.8M48.9M34.0M21.3M13.7M
1976135.1M78.3M56.2M54.2M55.7M36.1M49.1M34.4M21.6M13.8M
1977136.1M78.2M56.2M54.5M56.0M36.5M49.3M34.7M21.8M13.9M
1978137.1M78.1M56.2M54.7M56.2M36.9M49.5M35.0M22.0M13.9M
1979138.0M78.1M56.2M55.0M56.3M37.2M49.7M35.2M22.1M14.0M
1980139.0M78.3M56.3M55.3M56.4M37.5M50.0M35.6M22.2M14.1M
1981139.9M78.4M56.3M55.6M56.5M37.8M50.2M35.9M22.4M14.2M
1982140.8M78.3M56.3M55.8M56.5M38.0M50.4M36.2M22.5M14.3M
1983141.7M78.1M56.3M56.1M56.6M38.2M50.6M36.6M22.6M14.4M
1984142.7M77.9M56.4M56.4M56.6M38.3M50.9M36.9M22.6M14.4M
1985143.9M77.7M56.6M56.7M56.6M38.5M51.1M37.2M22.7M14.5M
1986144.9M77.7M56.7M57.0M56.6M38.6M51.3M37.5M22.8M14.6M
1987145.9M77.8M56.8M57.3M56.6M38.7M51.5M37.7M22.9M14.7M
1988146.9M78.1M56.9M57.6M56.6M38.8M51.7M37.8M23.1M14.8M
1989147.7M78.8M57.1M57.9M56.7M38.8M51.9M38.0M23.2M14.8M
1990148.0M79.4M57.2M58.3M56.7M38.9M52.1M38.1M23.2M15.0M
1991148.4M80.0M57.4M58.6M56.8M39.0M52.2M38.2M23.0M15.1M
1992148.5M80.6M57.6M58.8M56.8M39.2M52.3M38.4M22.8M15.2M
1993148.5M81.2M57.7M59.1M56.8M39.4M52.4M38.5M22.8M15.3M
1994148.4M81.4M57.9M59.3M56.8M39.5M52.1M38.5M22.7M15.4M
1995148.4M81.7M58.0M59.5M56.8M39.7M51.7M38.6M22.7M15.5M
1996148.2M81.9M58.2M59.8M56.9M39.9M51.2M38.6M22.6M15.5M
1997147.9M82.0M58.3M60.0M56.9M40.1M50.8M38.6M22.6M15.6M
1998147.7M82.0M58.5M60.2M56.9M40.2M50.4M38.7M22.5M15.7M
1999147.2M82.1M58.7M60.5M56.9M40.4M50.0M38.7M22.5M15.8M
2000146.6M82.2M58.9M60.9M56.9M40.6M49.6M38.3M22.4M15.9M
2001146.0M82.3M59.1M61.4M57.0M40.9M49.1M38.2M22.1M16.0M
2002145.3M82.5M59.4M61.8M57.1M41.4M48.7M38.2M21.7M16.1M
2003144.6M82.5M59.6M62.2M57.4M42.2M48.3M38.2M21.6M16.2M
2004144.1M82.5M60.0M62.7M57.8M42.9M48.0M38.2M21.5M16.3M
2005143.5M82.5M60.4M63.2M58.2M43.7M47.6M38.2M21.3M16.3M
2006143.0M82.4M60.8M63.6M58.4M44.4M47.3M38.1M21.2M16.3M
2007142.8M82.3M61.3M64.0M58.8M45.2M47.1M38.1M20.9M16.4M
2008142.7M82.1M61.8M64.4M59.2M46.0M46.8M38.1M20.5M16.4M
2009142.8M81.9M62.3M64.7M59.6M46.4M46.6M38.2M20.4M16.5M
2010142.8M81.8M62.8M65.0M59.8M46.6M46.5M38.0M20.2M16.6M
2011143.0M80.3M63.3M65.3M60.0M46.7M46.3M38.1M20.1M16.7M
2012143.4M80.4M63.7M65.7M60.2M46.8M46.2M38.1M20.1M16.8M
2013143.8M80.6M64.1M66.0M60.3M46.6M46.1M38.0M20.0M16.8M
2014144.2M81.0M64.6M66.3M60.3M46.5M46.0M38.0M19.9M16.9M
2015144.6M81.7M65.1M66.5M60.2M46.4M45.8M38.0M19.8M16.9M
2016145.0M82.3M65.6M66.7M60.1M46.5M45.6M38.0M19.7M17.0M
2017145.3M82.7M66.0M66.9M60.0M46.6M45.4M38.0M19.6M17.1M
2018145.4M82.9M66.3M67.2M59.9M46.8M45.2M38.0M19.5M17.2M
2019145.5M83.1M66.6M67.4M59.7M47.1M45.0M38.0M19.4M17.3M
2020145.2M83.2M66.7M67.6M59.4M47.4M44.7M37.5M19.3M17.4M
2021144.7M83.2M67.0M67.8M59.1M47.4M44.3M37.0M19.1M17.5M
2022144.2M83.2M67.6M68.2M59.0M47.8M41.0M36.8M19.0M17.7M
2023143.8M83.3M68.5M68.4M59.0M48.4M37.7M36.7M19.1M17.9M
2024143.7M83.5M69.3M68.6M59.0M48.8M37.9M36.6M19.1M18.0M
2025143.5M83.5M69.5M68.7M58.9M49.4M39.0M36.4M19.0M18.1M

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Suggested caption: “Russia leads Europe with 143.5M people. Who has overtaken whom since 1960?” Credit the source in your caption; it heads off the 'source?' comments.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the most populous country in Europe?

In 2025, Russia ranks #1 with 143.5M, followed by Germany (83.5M) and United Kingdom (69.5M). Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), population, millions; Europe.

What is the most populous country in Europe?

Russia is the most populous country in Europe, with about 143.5 million people in 2025. Germany is second at 83.5 million and the United Kingdom third at 69.5 million.

What is the most populous country in the EU?

Within this list, Germany is the largest at 83.5 million in 2025. Russia and the United Kingdom are not EU members, and France follows Germany among EU countries at 68.7 million.

How has Europe's population ranking changed since 1960?

The top five were Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France in 1960. By 2025 France has passed Italy, with 68.7 million people against Italy's 58.9 million, while Russia and Germany keep their first and second places.

Where does this data come from?

World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), population, millions; Europe. Retrieved November 4, 2026. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

Can I turn this chart into a video?

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