On 1 January 2019, the population of the European Union (EU) was estimated at almost 513.5 million, compared with 512.4 million on 1 January 2018. During 2018, more deaths than births were recorded in the EU (5.3 million deaths and 5.0 million births), meaning that the natural change of the EU population was negative for a second consecutive year. The population change (positive, with 1.1 million more inhabitants) was therefore due to net migration.