City statistics – demography

Last updated: 5 November 2024.

Highlights

This subchapter on demography statistics is 1 of 9 thematic subchapters that provide a comprehensive glossary of variable definitions used within city statistics. The glossary is designed to ensure a clear understanding and interpretation of data disseminated by Eurostat, thereby improving the clarity of data requirements for the providers of these statistics in national statistical offices, while supporting the standardisation of statistical concepts across Europe.

This subchapter forms part of Eurostat’s City statistics manual.

Full article

Population by age and sex

Table 3: Population by age groups and sex

The population on 1 January (variable codes DE1001V to DE1139V) is the usual resident population, representing the number of inhabitants of a given area on 1 January of the year in question.

The definition of the usual resident population is provided in Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 on European demographic statistics and refers to all people having their usual residence in the territory on the reference date.

Usual residence means the place where people normally spend their daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. The following people shall be considered to be usual residents of a specific geographical area: i) those who have lived in their place of usual residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months before the reference date; or ii) those who arrived in their place of usual residence during the 12 months before the reference date with the intention of staying there for at least 1 year. Where the circumstances described in point i) or ii) can’t be established, usual residence can be taken to mean the place of legal or registered residence.

Age at a given date (either a reference date or the date of an event) means the interval of time between the date of birth and the given date, expressed in completed years. The age breakdowns used for the disaggregation of population data requested under Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 are defined in Annex 1 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 205/2014 laying down uniformed conditions on European demographic statistics, as regards breakdowns of data, deadlines and data revisions.

The reference date for European demographic statistics (for national and regional data) is 31 December of the reference year, as specified under Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013. Eurostat typically publishes these data referring to 1 January of the following year (reference year, y+1). European city statistics follow similar principles concerning reference dates. Eurostat aims to collect population statistics as of 1 January of the year in question or, in some cases, as of 31 December of the previous reference year. For census years, the reference date of the census may be used, and this should be indicated in a footnote, specifying the exact date.

Population structure

Table 4: Population structure

The median age (DE1073V) is the age that divides a population into 2 numerically equal groups: half of the population is younger than this age, and half is older. It represents the midpoint in the age distribution of a population.

Population by citizenship and country of birth

Table 5: Population by citizenship and country of birth

The definitions of citizenship and country of birth are provided by Regulation (EU) No 862/2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 311/76 on the compilation of statistics on foreign workers.

Citizenship refers to the particular legal bond between an individual and his or her State, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, choice, marriage or other means according to national legislation. The following breakdowns are used for the disaggregation of statistical data by citizenship, according to Implementing Regulation (EU) 205/2014

number of nationals (DE2001V) – a count of citizens of the country in which they currently reside
number of foreigners (DE2012V) – a count of people who aren’t citizens of the country in which they currently reside
number of EU foreigners (DE2002V) – a count of citizens of an EU country different from that in which they currently reside
number of non-EU foreigners (DE2003V) – a count of people who aren’t citizens of an EU country
people with 2 or more citizenships are allocated to only 1 country of citizenship, to be determined following the order of precedence specified in Commission Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 on migration and international protection as regards the definitions of the categories of the groups of country of birth, groups of country of previous usual residence, groups of country of next usual residence and groups of citizenship.

Recognised non-citizens are people who aren’t citizens of the reporting country nor of any other country, but who have established links to the reporting country including some, but not all, rights and obligations of full citizenship. This category is particularly relevant in the Baltic countries. For example, in the case of Latvia, the government issues a non-citizen (non-EU) passport to these people, a majority of whom are citizens of the former USSR; they should be counted as ‘non-EU foreigners’. Recognised non-citizens aren’t included in the number/count of EU citizens.

The country of birth of an individual is the country of usual residence (in its current borders, if the information is available) of the individual’s mother at the time of the delivery, or, failing this, the country (in its current borders, if the information is available) in which the birth took place. The following breakdowns are used for the disaggregation of statistical data by country of birth, according to Implementing Regulation (EU) 351/2010

number of native-born (DE2008V) – a count of people born in their country of usual residence, regardless of their citizenship
number of foreign-born (DE2009V) – a count of people born outside of their country of usual residence, regardless of their citizenship
number of foreign-born in an EU country (DE2010V) – a count of people born in an EU country other than their country of usual residence, regardless of their citizenship
number of foreign-born in a non-EU country (DE2011V) – a count of people born outside the EU, regardless of their citizenship.

Previous place of usual residence

Table 6: Population by place of usual residence compared with a year earlier

The definition of the place of usual residence compared with a year earlier refers to a classification of people based on any change in their place of usual residence (contrasting where they usually live on the reference date with where they lived a year earlier). Children under 1 year of age shouldn’t be classified/counted. The breakdowns for the place of (usual) residence compared with a year before are as follows

usual residence unchanged (DE4001V)
usual residence changed within the reporting country
- usual residence 1 year earlier within the same city/FUA as the current residence (DE4002V)
- usual residence 1 year earlier outside the same city/FUA as the current residence (DE4003V)
usual residence changed from outside the reporting country
- usual residence 1 year earlier within another EU country (DE4004V)
- usual residence 1 year earlier outside the EU (DE4005V).

Legislation in force and other documents

Source data for tables and graphs

City statistics manual 2024: tables and figures