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Urbanization

Projecting Europe’s Metro Population Growth from 2021‒2100

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1 year ago

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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 regionCountryPopulation (2021)Population (2100)Growth rate (%)
MalmöSweden1,389,3362,009,51044.6%
StockholmSweden2,391,9903,424,31743.1%
GothenburgSweden1,734,4432,449,55241.2%
ToulouseFrance1,434,4391,906,35932.8%
BordeauxFrance1,661,9292,185,09031.4%
DublinIreland2,160,7812,831,08831.0%
BarcelonaSpain5,639,5237,319,53729.7%
LyonFrance1,899,5992,401,55326.4%
MadridSpain6,755,8288,486,42925.6%
NantesFrance1,461,2671,828,15525.1%
RotterdamNetherlands1,834,4172,196,55519.7%
PragueCzech Republic2,733,0813,204,49317.2%
LisbonPortugal2,869,0333,232,62312.6%
ViennaAustria2,890,5773,244,85712.2%
HelsinkiFinland1,702,6781,899,42011.5%
BerlinGermany5,351,7655,968,36511.5%
UtrechtNetherlands1,361,1531,472,0558.1%
MunichGermany2,932,6683,163,2207.8%
DresdenGermany1,339,3301,441,6027.6%
ParisFrance12,348,60513,212,2126.9%
Málaga - MarbellaSpain1,696,4631,797,6645.9%
Murcia - CartagenaSpain1,513,0761,599,7815.7%
MarseilleFrance3,146,5783,318,0865.4%
MilanItaly4,339,2694,521,5184.1%
FrankfurtGermany2,735,9322,837,8433.7%
CologneGermany2,000,2892,057,9252.8%
HamburgGermany3,353,0843,445,2842.7%
WarsawPoland3,095,0253,163,5052.2%
AmsterdamNetherlands3,316,7123,384,3052.0%
StuttgartGermany2,787,8582,839,2421.8%
Alicante - ElcheSpain1,895,1921,911,9540.8%
Lille - Dunkirk - ValenciennesFrance2,607,8792,628,2680.7%
GdanskPoland1,345,6231,344,3220.0%
NürnbergGermany1,352,3181,350,907-0.1%
RuhrGermany5,102,4845,080,567-0.4%
DüsseldorfGermany1,556,8461,516,349-2.6%
CopenhagenDenmark2,067,9161,996,277-3.4%
RomeItaly4,231,4513,969,742-6.1%
KrakówPoland1,510,7141,402,230-7.1%
BudapestHungary3,033,6382,797,722-7.7%
ValenciaSpain2,574,8882,332,960-9.3%
BrusselsBelgium3,328,5682,873,299-13.6%
SevilleSpain1,960,9191,635,001-16.6%
TorinoItaly2,219,2061,844,613-16.8%
SofiaBulgaria1,667,3141,373,429-17.6%
NaplesItaly2,986,7452,299,616-23.0%
BucharestRomania2,327,0571,683,124-27.6%
PortoPortugal1,727,7741,103,722-36.1%
KatowicePoland2,668,7901,663,542-37.6%
AthensGreece3,547,3912,206,511-37.7%

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.

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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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Urbanization

Charted: China’s Energy Needs Keep on Rising

After rapid industrialization in the 1990s, mass urbanization is driving demand even higher.

Published

2 days ago

on

September 12, 2024

By

Line chart showing electricity demand in selected regions between 1991-2025F, in terawatt-hours (TWh).

Charted: China’s Energy Needs Keep on Rising

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.

Beginning in the 1990s, rapid industrialization in China led to increased electricity demand for factories and infrastructure. Now, mass migration to cities and improved living conditions are pushing demand even higher.

This graphic compares electricity demand in China with that of the U.S., EU, and India from 1991 to 2025 (forecasted), measured in terawatt-hours (TWh) according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The Impact of Urbanization

In China, cities have surpassed the industrial sector to become the largest consumers of energy.

According to estimates by China’s national statistics department, a 1% increase in the urbanization rate leads to a rise in total energy consumption by at least 60 million tons of coal.

Additionally, urban households consume 50% more energy per capita than rural households.

As a result, electricity demand in China is forecasted to reach 10,498 TWh in 2025, compared to 4,475 TWh in the U.S.

Country/BlocForecasted Electricity Demand in 2025 (TWh)
🇨🇳 China10,498
🇺🇸 United States4,475
🇪🇺 European Union2,692
🇮🇳 India1,734

At the bottom of the graphic, India is also showing increasing energy consumption due to impressive economic growth, particularly in the last 10 years.

With the largest population in the world and a heavy reliance on fossil fuels like crude oil, natural gas, and coal, India is taking steps to decouple its economic growth from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among these efforts, the government has announced several new initiatives to promote green hydrogen, battery storage, and offshore wind.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To see more data on electricity usage, see how the G20 countries generate their electricity in this visualization on Voronoi.

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