Country Digest

The population of Portland, Oregon is 632,309 (latest US census data). Portland is the largest city in the US state of Oregon, and the 26th largest city in the United States.

Portland is located in northern Oregon on the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It is the largest city and the seat (capital) of Multnomah county. It is also the second largest city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle and just ahead of Vancouver.

The wider Portland metropolitan area has a population of 2,389,228 people, and is the 23rd largest metropolitan area in the US by population.

Portland population growth

The population of Portland is growing more rapidly than the population of Oregon or the United States as a whole. Between 2010 and 2015 Portland’s population grew by 8.3%, compared with 5.2% for Oregon and 4.1% for the United States.

Population growth in Portland was explosive in the city’s early years. For example, in the first decade of the 20th century number of people living in: grew by 129%. Growth stagnated between 1940 and 1990 – in fact in the 1970s put’s population actually fell by 4.2%.

Recent decades have seen a return to population growth in Portland, averaging between 10 and 21% every decade since 1980.

The table below lists the population of Portland at the time of each U.S. Census since 1860.

Portland ethnicity and race

Portland is less diverse than the US average, but more diverse than the state of Oregon.

The 2010 census revealed 72.2% of people in Portland are White (non-Hispanic). For comparison, 63.7% of people in the entire United States White, while 78.5% of people in Oregon are White.

The next most common races in Portland are Hispanic or Latino (9.4%), Asian (7.1%), Black or African-American (6.3%).

The table below lists each group, comparing it to Oregon and the United States as a whole.

Portland economy / income statistics

Per capita income in Portland is higher than the US average, although not by much. Between 2011 and 2015, the average income was $32,938.

Poverty rates are slightly higher than the state average, which is slightly higher again than the national average.

Portland demographics – education

The number of high school graduates in Portland is 91.3%. This is slightly higher than the statewide average (89.8%), and higher again than the US average (86.7%).

Almost half (45.5%) of Portland residents have a bachelors degree or higher. This compares to 30.8% across the rest of Oregon, and 29.8% nationwide.

Unless otherwise noted, data is from the US Census Bureau.

The population of Catalonia is 7,522,596 (source: Idescat).

The Catalonian parliament declared independence from Spain on 27 October 2017. The Spanish government has refused to accept this declaration of independence, so Catalonia remains a part of Spain.

Catalonia is the second largest autonomous community (region) in Spain, with 16% of Spain’s population.

Barcelona (population: 1,608,746) is the largest city in Catalonia, and the second-largest city in Spain.

Spanish is the most widely spoken language in Catalonia, 47% of people speak Spanish as their own language. This is followed by Catalan, with 37%.

Largest cities in Catalonia

Barcelona is the largest city in Catalonia. In 2016 the population of Barcelona was 1,608,746. The urban area of Barcelona has a population of 4,740,000, and the wider metro area is home to 5,375,774 people (2015 data).

The table below lists the largest cities or municipalities in Catalonia by population.

Language in Catalonia

Catalonia is a multilingual region. The four official languages of Catalonia are Catalan, Spanish, Aranese and Catalan Sign Language. Almost everyone in Catalonia as a working knowledge of both Catalan and Spanish.

A 2008 survey indicated that 46% of people in Catalonia usually spoke Spanish in their day-to-day lives. A further 36% usually spoke Catalan, and 12% said they used both languages regularly. People living in major cities such as Barcelona were more likely to speak Spanish on a day-to-day basis, whereas people living in rural areas of Catalonia were more likely speak Catalan.

Aranese is a dialect of the Occitan language, which is spoken across Southern France and Northern Italy. Aranese is spoken by an estimated 4,700 people in the Val d’Aran region of Catalonia, where it has had a special protected status for some time. It was made an official language of Catalonia in 2006.

Catalonia Population Growth

The table below lists the population of Catalonia and population growth since 1900.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)

Religion in Catalonia

Christianity is the largest religion in Catalonia. Data from 2014 show that 56.5% of Catalans were Christian, over 90% of whom were Catholic. 

Atheists are the next largest single group, comprising 18.2% of people in Catalonia, followed by agnostics (12%), Muslims (7.3%) and Buddhists (1.3%).

A further 2.3% of Catalonia’s population reported that they were members of another religion.

The population of Slovenia (2021) is 2,063,317. This figure is provided by the Slovenian Government (see below for detail).

Slovenia is the 143rd largest country in the world by population and the 38th largest country in Europe. Slovenia, which joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, is the 23rd largest country in the EU (out of 28 countries).

How many people live in Slovenia today?

The Slovenian Government’s Statistical Office releases population estimates four times a year. In its last release (July 2016) it reported that the population of Slovenia on 1 April 2016 was 2,063,371.

This represented a small drop (817 people) in population since 1 January 2016, but an increase of 1,419 since 1 April 2015. This is a year on year increase of 0.07%.

The last census to take place in Slovenia was in 2011. It reported a population of 2,050,189 on 1 January 2011, and all subsequent population estimates are based on data from the census.

Slovenia population growth

Slovenia’s birth rate is below replacement rate. Additionally, around 250,000 Slovenes live abroad, mostly in other parts of the EU.

Because of this, population growth in Slovenia comes from immigration into the country.

According to the Statistical Office there are 108,899 (5.3% of the population) of Slovenia’s citizens were born outside of the EU.

For a table detailing population growth since the 1940s, see the end of this article.

Largest cities in Slovenia

Ljubljana is the largest city in Slovenia, as well as the country’s capital city. On 1 January 2016, the population of Ljubljana was 279,756.

Other major cities are Maribor (population 111,832), Celje (population 37,787), Kranj (population 37,586) and Koper/Capodistria (population 25,306).

Here is a table listing the ten most populous cities in Slovenia.

Note: Koper, a city on near the border with Italy and with a large Italian population, is called Capodistria in Italian.

Ethnic groups in Slovenia

Slovenes are the largest ethnic group in Slovenia. They made up 83.1% of the population in 2002, the last year for which official data is available.

Slovenia’s history as a former republic of Yugoslavia means that Slovenia has significant Serb, Croat, Muslim and Bosniak minorities.

Slovenia also has small Italian and Hungarian minorities. Unlike minorities from the former Yugoslavia, Italians and Hungarians have rights under the Slovenian Constitution, including guaranteed seats in the National Assembly.

Religion in Slovenia

Slovenia is primarily a Roman Catholic country. At the 2002 census (latest data available) 57.8% of Slovenians reported that they were Catholic.

Leaving aside non-religious groups and those who didn’t declare a religion, the next largest religious groups in Slovenia are Islam (2.4%) and Eastern Orthodoxy (2.3%). Islam is practised primarily by Bosniaks and Slavic Muslims, which Eastern Orthodoxy is practised primarily by ethnic Serbs.

Languages in Slovenia

Slovene, which is more commonly known as Slovenian, is the official language of Slovenia, and an official language of the EU. It is the first language of 87.8% of people in Slovenia and is spoken at home by 92% of people.

Other first languages spoken in Slovenia are Croatian (2.8%), Serbian (1.6%), Serbo-Croatian (1.6%), Albanian (0.4%), Macedonian (0.2%), Romany (0.2%).

Hungarian and Italian are also official languages in a number of regions within Slovenia, and are spoken by 0.4% and 0.2% of the population respectively.

Other demographic data

Population density

The area of Slovenia is 20,273 square km or 7,827 sq miles. Based on the population on 1 April 2016 (2,063,371), population density in Slovenia is 101.78 people per square kilometre and 263.62 people per square mile.

Literacy rate

The literacy rate in Slovenia is 99.7%.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in Slovenia at birth is 80 years. For Slovenian women it is 84 years and for Slovenian men it is 77 years.

Birth and death rate

The birth rate in Slovenia was 10.0 births per 1,000.

This represents an increase over the birth rate at the turn of the century (it was 8.7/1,000 in 2003). But, as noted earlier, Slovenia’s birth rate is lower than needed to maintain the population. Instead, Slovenian population growth is driven by immigration into Slovenia.

The death rate in Slovenia was 9.6 deaths per 1,000.

Slovenia population pyramid

Slovenia population by year (census year)

This table list the population of Slovenia at the time of each census.

For the latest, post-2011 census, population estimates, see the top of this article.

The population of Jamaica is 2,950,210. This makes Jamaica the fourth largest country in the Caribbean by population (after Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti), the 13th largest country in North America and the 138th largest country in the world.

Despite its small population, Jamaica is a formidable competitor at the Olympics. Its sprinters have won 23 medals (10 gold medals, 7 silver and 6 bronze) at the last two Olympics (London and Beijing). As a result, Jamaica ranked second on our table of London 2012 Olympic medals per capita.

This year Usain Bolt is one of the favourites to win the Rio 2016 Olympic 100m and 200m titles. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is also a strong challenger for the women’s 100m title. Others in the hunt for medals are Omar McLeod and Hansle Parchment (110m hurdles). Jamaica is also expected to feature strongly in the sprint relay races.

Click here to see where Jamaica stand in the Rio 2016 per capita medal table.

How many people live in Jamaica today?

Unfortunately, no official estimates of the population of Jamaica in 2016 are available yet. The latest estimate (2,950,210) is for mid-2015 and is provided by the CIA Factbook.

The most recent official population estimate comes from the Government of Jamaica, who reported that at the end of 2014 Jamaica’s population was 2,720,554.

The population at the time of the last Jamaican census (2011) was 2,697,983. To see the Jamaica population increase over time, refer to the table at the end of this article.

Largest cities in Jamaica

Kingston is both the capital city of Jamaica and the largest city in Jamaica, with a population of 584,627 (2011 census).

The population of Kingston has increased by 5% since the previous census in 2001, which reported a population of 993,581.

There are two other cities in Jamaica with a population of more than 100,000 people – Spanish Town (147,512) and Montego Bay (110,115).

Here is a table listing the largest cities in Jamaica.

Ethnic groups in Jamaica

Most Jamaicans are descended from African slaves brought to the island to work on British sugar plantations in the 18th century. There is also a significant number of Jamaicans who are descended from East Indians and Chinese workers brought to the islands after the abolition of slavery.

More than 92% of Jamaicans identified as Black in the 2011 census. A further 6.1% identified as Mixed.

Jamaican diaspora – Jamaicans Abroad

Over the last 50 years around a million Jamaicans have emigrated to other countries – mostly the UK, Canada and the USA.

The USA Jamaican population is the largest in the world. In 2013 the US Census bureau reported that there were 1,091,482 Jamaican Americans in the US. It is thought that around 60% were born in Jamaica, the rest are descended from earlier immigrants. More than half of Jamaican Americans live in New York State and Florida.

The UK’s Jamaican population is the second largest in the world. Around 150,000 people born in Jamaica live in the UK, but the total number of people who are Jamaican British (either born in Jamaica or of Jamaican descent) is estimated to be approximately 800,000 people. The majority live in British cities, primarily London and Birmingham.

Religion in Jamaica

Protestant Christians are the largest religious group in Jamaica, although they are broken into a number of different denominations.

In total, 64.8% of Jamaicans are estimated to be Protestant. Other major groups are Roman Catholic (2.2%), Jehova’s Witness (1.9%) and Rastafarian (1.1%). Just over a fifth of Jamaicans (21.3%) reported that they had no religion.

Languages in Jamaica

There are two languages in common use in Jamaica – Jamaican Standard English and Jamaican Patois.

Jamaican Standard English is the language used in formal communications, the media and education. Jamaican Patois is a creole language derived from English and is more commonly used in spoken conversation.

Detailed statistics about usage are not available, although a 2007 survey indicated that 46.4% of Jamaicans were effectively bilingual. The remainder could speak only one language – either Jamaican Standard English (17.1%) or Jamaican Patois (36.5%).

Population density in Jamaica

The total area of Jamaica is 10,991 square km or 4,244 square miles.

If we take the 2015 population estimate (2,950,210) and divide it by the area we can work out that Jamaica’s population density is 268 people per square km or 695 people per square mile.

Jamaican Literacy Rate

The literacy rate in Jamaica is estimated to be 88% (2013, World Bank).

Jamaican Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth in Jamaica is 73.55 years. Female life expectancy is 75.24 years and male life expectancy is 71.93 years.

Jamaica population pyramid

Jamaica population by year table

Note: this table details the end of the year population figures provided by the Jamaican Government, via the Statistics Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

The population of Brazil is 210,147,125 people.

Brazil’s population is growing at a rate of 0.8% per year, so it is likely that Brazil’s population will reach 207 million by the beginning of 2017.

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, the largest country in South America, and the second largest country in the Americas (after the United States).

In August 2016 Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the Olympic games for the first time. The Games took place during a period of concern about the Zika virus. The Brazilian government urged women to delay pregnancies and there is speculation that this could cause an alarming drop in the birth rate in Brazil.

How many people live in Brazil today?

The latest up to date population estimates can be found by visiting the official government of Brazil population clock, which is constantly updating.

The figures are estimated, based on extrapolations from the 2010 Brazilian census, which indicated that the Brazil population in 2008 was 190.8 million people.

The population of Brazil has been steadily growing since records were first kept. This chart shows population growth since the first census was taken in 1872. The underlying population data used to create this chart can be found in the table at the end of this article.

Ethnic groups in Brazil

Brazil is an ethnically diverse country, descended from three main populations:

• Indigenous Brazilian peoples
• European (mainly Portuguese) settlers
• Sub-Saharan Africans, sent to Brazil as slaves

Over time the ethnic groups have mixed, leading to an ethnically diverse society.

Brazilian census data classifies people as one of five main groups. They are:

• Branco (white)
• Pardo (brown)
• Preto (black)
• Amaerlo (yellow)
• Indigenous

The 2010 census reported the following breakdown:

Racial identity is more fluid in Brazil than in many countries of the world. People often define their race based on physical appearance rather than genetic heritage, and people who are more successful are more likely to be considered (or to consider themselves) white.

Mixed into these groupings are substantial Japanese-Brazilian (largely in the São Paulo region) and Jewish (largely based in the Rio de Janeiro area) communities.

The indigenous people of Brazil are, as you would expect for such a geographically large country, from many distinct ethnic groups. Povos Indigenas no Brasil estimates that there are 246 different indigenous Brazilian peoples.

Around 100 indigenous Brazilian tribes are still isolated and uncontacted.

Religions in Brazil

Christianity is the largest religion in Brazil. According to the 2010 census, 86.8% of Brazilians are Christian.

Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian grouping within Brazil – 64.6% of Brazilians are Catholic, and Brazil has the largest single Roman Catholic population in the world today.

Another 22.2% are Protestants, largely Evangelical and Pentecostal. Protestantism, particularly Evangelicalism, is growing rapidly while the proportion of Roman Catholics is falling.

The other significant groupings are those with no religion (8%) and those who practise Spiritism (2%).

A further 3.2% practice other religions, including small Buddhist, Jewish and Islamic populations.

Languages in Brazil

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, and is spoken by almost everyone in the country.

Brazil is the only country in South America to have Portuguese as its official language. Over time, Brazilian Portuguese has diverged slightly from European Portuguese – in much the same way that American English has diverged from European English.

In addition to Portuguese at least a further 200 indigenous languages are spoken in Brazil today. They are all spoken by relatively small communities, however.

The most widely spoken indigenous language in Brazil is Kaiwa Guarani which has around 15,000 native speakers. Most are in the Southern Brazilian province of Mato Grosso do Sul. A few hundred additional speakers are across the border in Northern Argentina.

There are also substantial numbers of Japanese speakers (around 380,000), Spanish speakers (around 480,000) and Korean speakers (around 37,000) in Brazil.

Education and literacy rate

Brazil has a comprehensive and well funded state education system. The constitution of Brazil guarantees that a proportion of state taxes (25%) and federal taxes (18%) is set aside each year for education funding.

The administration of education in Brazil is decentralised, being mostly run by individual states and municipalities.

Education is compulsory for all children aged from 6-14 years.

There are more than 2,400 universities in Brazil. Around ten percent of Brazilian universities are publicly funded; the remaining 90% are private universities or run by charitable organisations.

Access to university education in Brazil is limited – only 11% of the working age population has a degree. The university sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, however, from just under 600,000 students in 1997 to 1.6 million students in 2010. Most of this growth has been in the private university sector.

The University of São Paulo is regarded as the best university in Brazil. According to the Times (UK) it is ranked between 201st and 250th in the world.

Literacy rate

The literacy rate in Brazil (2015 UN estimate) is 92.6%. The literacy rate for women (92.9%) is slightly higher than for men (92.2%).

Literacy rates for younger Brazilians are higher, at 98.9% for people aged 15-24 years. For males aged 15-24 the literacy rate is 98.6% and for females it is 99.2%.

Altho gh lower than the Brazilian government would like, the Brazilian literacy rate has improved dramatically over the past 50 years. In 1960 the literacy rate was around 60%.

Literacy rates vary widely across Brazil, however. The 2010 census indicated that rates ranged from 97% in Distrito Federal to 77% in Alagoas.

Population density in Brazil

Brazil is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

Population density in Brazil is 23.8 people per square kilometer or 62 people per square mile.

This makes Brazil the 192nd most densely populated country in the world.

Source: Felipe Menegaz

The majority of the Brazilian population is located in Brazil’s eastern, coastal states. As a result, it’s north-western, interior, states are much less densely populated.

The most densely populated states in Brazil are the Distrito Federal (493.5 people per square km) and Rio de Janeiro (376.0 people per square km).

The least densely populated states are Roraima (2.2 people per square km) and Amazons (2.5 people per square km). These two states are about as densely populated as Mongolia.

Largest cities in Brazil

The population of São Paulo is 12,038,175 (2016 estimate). This makes São Paulo the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in South America, the largest city in the Americas and the 11th largest city in the world today.

The next largest city is Rio de Janeiro, with a population of 6,453,682.

Brasília, the capital city, is the fourth largest city in Brazil. Although Brasília was only founded in 1960, today it is home to 2,852,372 people.

Here is a list of the ten largest cities in Brazil.

Other Brazilian demographic data

Unless otherwise stated, data in this section is from the CIA Factbook, and dated 2015.

Sex ratio

The sex ratio at birth in Brazil is 1.05 male(s) to every female. The overall sex ratio is 0.97 male(s) to every female.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in Brazil at birth is 73.53 years. For males, life expectancy is 69.99 years and for females it is 77.25 years.

Median age

The median age in Brazil is 31.1 years. For males it is 30.3 years and for females it is 31.9 years.

Birth and death rate

Brazil’s birth rate is 14.46 births / 1,000 population.

Its death rate is 6.58 deaths / 1,000 people.

Fertility rate

Fertility rate in Brazil is 1.77 children per woman.

This relatively low fertility rate is causing some concern because it is below the replacement rate of 2.33 children per woman and lower than the fertility rate in the United States (1.88 children per woman).

Brazil population pyramid

Here is the latest (2016) Brazil population pyramid.

It demonstrates that Brazil has a comparatively young population.

Brazil population by year table

This table details the population growth of Brazil, with an entry for every year in which a census took place in Brazil.

The first census was held in 1872 and censuses have been held roughly every ten years since then.

The table also includes population data for 2016, based on the official Brazilian population clock on 9 June 2016.

Latest government data (from the 2016 census) puts the Cook Islands population at 17,459 people.

This figure includes short term visitors to the island, mainly tourists on holiday. The resident population of the Cook Islands (from September 2016) is estimated to be 11,700.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics in this article are drawn from the results of the 2011 Cook Islands census.

How many people live in the Cook Islands today?

Results from the 2011 census indicated that there were 17,794 people on the Cook Islands on 1 December 2011. This was made up of 14,974 residents and 2,820 visitors, mostly tourists holidaying in the Cook Islands.

Of the Cook Islands residents, 7,409 were male and 7,484 were female.

Rarotonga is the most populous island in the Cooks, home to 10,572 residents and 2,523 of the 2,820 visitors.

Population Growth in the Cook Islands

Population in the Cook Islands varies from year to year.

This is partly because within a small population a slightly higher than normal number of deaths or births in one year can have a dramatic affect on population figures.

It is also partly because many Cook Islanders spend time off the islands, living in other countries – primarily New Zealand, where they have citizenship.

The Cook Islands population grew steadily during the first half of the 20th century, from around 8,000 people in 1900 to just over 20,000 people (visitors and residents) in 1971.

After a small dip in the 1970s the population has stabilised at around 18,000 people, including around 15,000 residents.

The resident population of the Cook Islands at the last three censuses is as follows:

Ethnic Groups in the Cook Islands

Cook Islands Maori are the largest ethnic group on the Cook Islands. 81% (12,180 people) reported that they were Cook Islands Maori and a further 7% (1,005 people) reported that they were part Cook Islands Maori.

The remaining 12% of respondents (1,789 people) reported that they were of another ethnic origin – most commonly of New Zealand European origin.

The ethnic composition of Rarotonga, the largest island, is different to the other islands in the country – almost all of the respondents who reported that they were of another ethnic origin live on Rarotonga.

Religion in the Cook Islands

94% of Cook Islanders reported that they were religious, and almost all of those respondents reported that they were associated with a Christian faith.

The four main churches on the Cook Islands are the protestant Cook Islands Christian Church (49%, 7,535 members), followed by the Roman Catholic Church (17%, 2,540 members), the Seventh Day Adventist Church (8%, 1,190 members) and the Mormon Church of the Latter Day Saints (5%, 656 members).

A further 841 people (6%) reported that they had no religion, and the remaining respondents reported that they were members of another, smaller, church.

Cook Islands languages

The two main languages in the Cook Islands are English and Cook Islands Maori. Both are official languages of the Cook Islands and over 90% of the Cook Islands population can speak and write in both languages.

While almost everyone is able to speak and write in English, the number who can speak and write in Cook Islands Maori varies, depending on ethnicity. Those who are Cook Island Maori are most likely to be fluent, followed by those who are part Cook Islands Maori and then those of other ethnic groups.

Cook Island Maori is closely related to New Zealand Maori. The language has been placed on the UNESCO endangered language list but with government support is actively being promoted and preserved.

Other languages in the Cook Islands include Penrhynese, Pukapukan and Rakahanga-Manihiki. They are also considered to be endangered languages.

Largest cities in the Cook Islands

Avarua, the capital city of the Cook Islands, is the only town or city on the Cook Islands of any significant size. It is located on the northern shore of Rarotonga, the largest of the Cook Islands.

According to data from 2006, the population of Avarua is 5,445 people.

Largest islands in the Cook Islands

Instead of recording population by cities, it is more useful to record the Cook Islands population by island.

Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands, and the large majority of Cook Islanders live there. In 2011, the population of Rarotonga was 10,572 people.

Aitutaki is the second largest island, with a population of 1,771 people in 2011, followed by Mangaia, with a population of 562 people.

Here is a full list of the Cook Islands listing their 2011 resident population.

The Cook Islands are divided into two groups, north and south. This classification is also used at times to record population. The population of Rarotonga and the two Cook Islands groups in 2011, sorted by resident population, is as follows:

Education and Literacy Rate

The Cook Islands spends 3.1% of GDP on education. Education is compulsory for all children from 5-15 years.

The literacy rate in the Cook Islands is 95%

Many students go on to further and higher (university) education outside of the Cook Islands, normally at universities in New Zealand.

An increasing number of students are choosing to study at the University of the South Pacific, which has a Cook Islands campus and delivers many courses remotely or by distance learning.

Other Cook Islands demographic data

Data in this section is drawn from the CIA World Factbook article about the Cook Islands. Data, unless otherwise noted, is from 2015.

Sex ratio

At birth the ratio is 1.04 male(s)/female, which is slightly below the world average of 1.06 male(s)/female.

At higher ages, however, the ratio is more strongly skewed in favour of males than females compared to the rest of the world.

The ratio across the total population is 1.07 male(s)/female, which is considerably higher than the world average of 0.79 male(s)/female.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in the Cook Islands is 75.6 years. Cook Island males can expect to live for 72.7 years, and females can expect to live for 78.6 years.

Median age

The Cook Islands has a relatively young population. Median age in the Cook Islands is 35.25 years.

For males, the median age is 34.6 years and for females the median age is 35.7 years.

Birth and death rate

The birth rate in the Cook Islands is 14.33 births/1,000 population. This is below the global average of 19.15 births/1,000 population.

The death rate in the Cook Islands is 8.03 deaths/1,00 population. This is slightly above the global average of 7.89 deaths/1,000 population.

Fertility rate

The fertility rate in the Cook Islands is 2.23 children per woman.

This is only slightly below the replacement fertility rate (the rate needed to sustain a population) which is 2.33 children per woman.

Coconut consumption

The Cook Islands is one of the few countries in the world to ask a question about coconut consumption as a part of its census.

The survey revealed that 2,947 households in the Cook Islands used 28,461 coconuts every week. That’s 10 coconuts per home per week.

Coconuts are also widely used for feeding livestock. 1,645 households reported using coconuts to feed animals, going through a total of 123,427 coconuts per week. That’s 75 coconuts per household per week.

The census also reported that 5,647 coconuts were used by 117 households for other, unspecified purposes.
There are a lot of coconuts on the Cook Islands.

Cook Islands population pyramid

The image below is of the Cook Islands 2016 population pyramid.

The population of France (2021) is 67,413,000. This estimate was produced in May 2021 by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee).

France is the 20th largest country in the world, the fourth largest country in Europe, and the second largest country in the European Union.

France’s population is growing steadily, and it is today the fastest growing country in the European Union.

How many people live in France today?

When considering how many people live in France, it is important to understand that France itself is divided into two parts – Metropolitan France and the Overseas Departments and Territories of France.

Source: Godefroy

The largest part is known as Metropolitan France. This is the part of France that is actually in Europe. It has a population of 64,570,000.

The other part of France is its overseas departments which, despite being scattered all around the world (see: What Continent is France in?), are considered integral parts of France. Their residents are citizens of France, use the Euro as their currency, and are represented in the French parliament and the European Parliament.

There are five main French overseas departments, which, together with a small number of overseas territories, have a population of 2,119,000. The five French territories are:

Because parts of France are scattered across the world, it is what is known as a Trans-Continental country. See our article ‘What continent is France in?’ for more details.

Population growth in France

France has one of the highest natural population growth rates in the European Union. Although population growth was flat during the first half of the 20th century, its population has been growing steadily ever since and is currently growing at around 0.6% per annum.

France’s population is projected to rise steadily in the next few decades. By 2030, the population is expected to rise to over 70 million and, by 2055 there are likely to be more people living in France than there are living in Germany.

Because of the first and second world wars and the impact of the 1930s Depression in Europe, the population of France did not grow significantly between 1900 and 1945.

The population of France in 1914 was 41.6 million , a high that it was not to reach again until 1950.

The population of France fell by more than 2.5 million during the First World War, to 38.6 million. Although it recovered briefly in the 1920s and early 1930s to 41.5 million, the population was to be decimated again in the late 1930s and during the Second World War.

By 1945, the population of France had dropped again to just 39.6 million people. Renewed confidence after the end of the war saw a dramatic rise in birth rates, and France’s baby boom generation was born.

Ethnic groups in France

Since 1872 a law has been in place which prevents the French Government from collecting data on ethnicity, so official data is not available.

INSEE does, however, collect data on nationality. This showed that, in 2010, 89.7% of people in France were French by birth.

A further 4.4% of people in France were French by acquisition, 5.9% were foreign, and 8.6% were immigrants.

Ethnic French people are descended from a number of European peoples, including Celts, Iberians, Italians, Germans and Greeks. Immigrants into France over the past century mainly come from its former colonies and, more recently, from around the European Union and the globe.

An Institut Montaigne estimate, published in the Economist, argues that the the population of France in 2004 was made up of the following ethnic groups:

Religions in France

France is a secular country, and does not collect data on religion in its census.

However, a number of surveys have been conducted which demonstrate that Christianity remains, by far, the largest religion in France, followed by Islam as France’s second religion.

One of the most recent surveys, undertaken in 2012 by the Institut CSA (Consumer Science & Analytics) reported that 56% of French people regarded themselves as Christians, 32% had no religion, and 6% were Muslims.

This is broadly in line with other surveys undertaken in recent years.

Almost all of the reported Christians in France are Roman Catholic.

Languages in France

French is the official state language of France, and the most widely spoken language. It’s status is protected in the French constitution and it must by law be used in all official communications, as well as in any workplace or commercial communication.

France also has a wide range of regional languages, although none of them have official status. These are spoken as secondary languages, alongside French. They include Celtic languages (such as Breton), German languages (such as Alsatian and French Flemish) and Gallo-Romance languages (such as Languedocien).

Language map of France (source).

A number of additional languages have been introduced into France by immigrants, including Arabic, which is the most widely spoken second language in France, and Berber, a North African language.

There is not much data available about the number of people who speak various languages in France. The most recent available is a 1999 survey by the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE) which indicated that French was the mother tongue of 39.36 million people in France, followed by German dialects (0.97 million) and Arabic (0.94 million)

There are also a number of languages spoken alongside French in its overseas departments.

Education and literacy rate

The public education system in France is divided into primary, secondary and higher education. It is regulated centrally by the Ministry of National Education and teachers and university professors are all state employees.

Attendance at school is compulsory from the age of 6 until the age of 16, although most French children will also attend nursery school from the age of 3 or 4.

Most higher (university) education is state funded, although students do often have to pay a small tuition fee. The fees are set by the state, and the average is €190 per year. Some courses charge slightly higher fees, for example engineering (€620/year) and medicine (€452/year).

There are approximately 2.3 million students in tertiary education in France, a number that is roughly comparable with the UK (2.6 million) and Germany (2.4 million).

Literacy rate in France

Literacy rates in France have not been collected by INSEE since 2004.

Figures from 2003 show that France’s literacy rate is one of the highest in the world, at 99% for both male and female.

There is no reason to suggest that there has been a significant change in these figures since 2003.

Population Density in France

Although France