Urbanization

Projecting Europe’s Metro Population Growth from 2021‒2100

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

Gilbert Fontana

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Aran Ali

Top 50 metropolitan regions in Europe population growth

Projecting Europe’s Metro Population Growth from 2021‒2100

European cities have a storied history as global destinations, both for tourism and for immigration.

Despite lengthy histories, they are not immune to the global shifts in population patterns or urbanization. Even though the majority of the EU’s population already lives in urban areas, Europe’s urbanization rate is expected to rise to 84% by 2050.

However, not all cities are subject to that same growth. This visual from Gilbert Fontana uses data from Eurostat and breaks down the expected EU population growth rates for the 50 largest metropolitan regions from 2021 to 2100.

Drivers of Growth

It may come as no surprise that economic prosperity is a key driver of population growth.

Countries like Sweden, France, and Ireland are expected to see large swaths of population growth. Sweden’s largest three cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, are forecasted to experience the largest population growth by 2100 in percentage terms.

Metro region	Country	Population (2021)	Population (2100)	Growth rate (%)
Malmö	Sweden	1,389,336	2,009,510	44.6%
Stockholm	Sweden	2,391,990	3,424,317	43.1%
Gothenburg	Sweden	1,734,443	2,449,552	41.2%
Toulouse	France	1,434,439	1,906,359	32.8%
Bordeaux	France	1,661,929	2,185,090	31.4%
Dublin	Ireland	2,160,781	2,831,088	31.0%
Barcelona	Spain	5,639,523	7,319,537	29.7%
Lyon	France	1,899,599	2,401,553	26.4%
Madrid	Spain	6,755,828	8,486,429	25.6%
Nantes	France	1,461,267	1,828,155	25.1%
Rotterdam	Netherlands	1,834,417	2,196,555	19.7%
Prague	Czech Republic	2,733,081	3,204,493	17.2%
Lisbon	Portugal	2,869,033	3,232,623	12.6%
Vienna	Austria	2,890,577	3,244,857	12.2%
Helsinki	Finland	1,702,678	1,899,420	11.5%
Berlin	Germany	5,351,765	5,968,365	11.5%
Utrecht	Netherlands	1,361,153	1,472,055	8.1%
Munich	Germany	2,932,668	3,163,220	7.8%
Dresden	Germany	1,339,330	1,441,602	7.6%
Paris	France	12,348,605	13,212,212	6.9%
Málaga - Marbella	Spain	1,696,463	1,797,664	5.9%
Murcia - Cartagena	Spain	1,513,076	1,599,781	5.7%
Marseille	France	3,146,578	3,318,086	5.4%
Milan	Italy	4,339,269	4,521,518	4.1%
Frankfurt	Germany	2,735,932	2,837,843	3.7%
Cologne	Germany	2,000,289	2,057,925	2.8%
Hamburg	Germany	3,353,084	3,445,284	2.7%
Warsaw	Poland	3,095,025	3,163,505	2.2%
Amsterdam	Netherlands	3,316,712	3,384,305	2.0%
Stuttgart	Germany	2,787,858	2,839,242	1.8%
Alicante - Elche	Spain	1,895,192	1,911,954	0.8%
Lille - Dunkirk - Valenciennes	France	2,607,879	2,628,268	0.7%
Gdansk	Poland	1,345,623	1,344,322	0.0%
Nürnberg	Germany	1,352,318	1,350,907	-0.1%
Ruhr	Germany	5,102,484	5,080,567	-0.4%
Düsseldorf	Germany	1,556,846	1,516,349	-2.6%
Copenhagen	Denmark	2,067,916	1,996,277	-3.4%
Rome	Italy	4,231,451	3,969,742	-6.1%
Kraków	Poland	1,510,714	1,402,230	-7.1%
Budapest	Hungary	3,033,638	2,797,722	-7.7%
Valencia	Spain	2,574,888	2,332,960	-9.3%
Brussels	Belgium	3,328,568	2,873,299	-13.6%
Seville	Spain	1,960,919	1,635,001	-16.6%
Torino	Italy	2,219,206	1,844,613	-16.8%
Sofia	Bulgaria	1,667,314	1,373,429	-17.6%
Naples	Italy	2,986,745	2,299,616	-23.0%
Bucharest	Romania	2,327,057	1,683,124	-27.6%
Porto	Portugal	1,727,774	1,103,722	-36.1%
Katowice	Poland	2,668,790	1,663,542	-37.6%
Athens	Greece	3,547,391	2,206,511	-37.7%

This forecasted growth underscores the strength of Sweden’s economy and global identity, with a very high GDP-per-capita and consistently ranking highly in economic freedom and prosperity.

Europe’s largest population growth in raw numbers, meanwhile, is expected in Spain. The populations of both Madrid and Barcelona are each forecasted to grow by more than 1.6 million people between 2021 and 2100.

On the flip side, some of the regions with the lowest levels of expected growth face challenging economic environments.

For example, Greece is still suffering from the fallout of its sovereign debt crisis in the 2010s, which significantly harmed economic prospects for everyday people. Even though many working-class people have already left the country, Athens is currently expected to see a further population reduction of 1.3 million people or 38% of its population by the end of the century.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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United States

Ranked: U.S. Cities With the Longest Commutes

In 2023, the average one-way commute time for U.S. workers was 26.8 minutes. Which cities recorded the highest commute times?

Published

5 months ago

December 29, 2024

Kayla Zhu

Longest Commutes by U.S. City

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

After a brief pause during the remote-first pandemic era, long commutes have once again become a significant part of workers’ daily routines, with many spending substantial time traveling to and from their workplaces.

In 2023, the average one-way commute time for U.S. workers was 26.8 minutes.

This visualization shows the 10 U.S. cities with the longest average one-way commutes in 2022. Commute times are in minutes and includes workers aged 16 or older.

The data comes from a LLC analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from 2022. The analysis included 170 of the most populated cities in the U.S.

Which U.S. Cities Have The Longest Commutes?

Below, we show the top 10 cities with the longest average one-way commutes in minutes.

Rank	City	State	Average commute in minutes (one-way)
1	Palmdale	California	45.5
2	New York	New York	40.7
3	Jersey City	New Jersey	37.4
4	Yonkers	New York	36.4
5	Moreno Valley	California	35
6	Corona	California	34.2
7	Chicago	Illinois	33.5
8	Fontana	California	33.3
9	Lancaster	California	32.9
10	Stockton	California	32.7

Based on the rankings, California commuters endure some of the longest commutes to work. Six of the top 10 cities with the longest commutes are located in Golden State, mainly suburbs in the Bay Area or near Los Angeles.

California’s sprawling suburban landscape often necessitates long commutes due to a combination of housing unaffordability pushing residents farther from job hubs and inadequate public transit options.

Cities like Palmdale and Moreno Valley are known to be commuter towns, where many residents travel to urban centers like Los Angeles for work.

As California continues to grapple with high housing costs and urban sprawl, experts say addressing transit infrastructure and local job creation could ease these burdens.

Studies have shown that long commute times can negatively impact workers’ mental health and wellbeing.

A South Korean study found a significant link between long commutes (60 minutes and over) and increased depressive symptoms, while a University of Waterloo study found that longer commutes are associated with lower life satisfaction and higher time pressure.