European people

European people or Europeans is an umbrella term for people who belong to any ethnic, racial, or national group with origins in Europe. Today, it primarily refers to people who are from Europe and reside in the continent, as well as the European diaspora. By extension, however, the term "European" may be applied to identify people in the context of demographics in certain countries outside of Europe—namely in the Americas and in Oceania—where people of European ancestry constitute the majority of the population while being part of a non-European national group. People of European descent in Africa are also included in most definitions. Additionally, any person who holds European Union citizenship may be identified as European in that particular context.

As of 2025^[update], Europe's total population is estimated to be 744 million people, with nearly 87 million international migrants in 2020. Per a 2015 estimate, over 480 million people in countries outside of Europe have at least some European ancestry. Most Indigenous Europeans are racially classified as White, which is also the most common term applied to people of European descent in non-European countries. Between the 18th and 20th centuries, a now-disproven race concept classified European people as part of the so-called Caucasian race, which broadly grouped together the populations of Europe, West Asia and North Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. Although it is generally avoided in modern academic discourse, "Caucasian" is still used in official data for United States censuses to racially classify people whose ancestry or ethnicity is European, Middle Eastern, or North African.

Population of Europe

Main articles: Demographics of Europe and Immigration to Europe

More than 744 million people live in Europe today. Many people from other parts of the world, like Asia, Africa, and Latin America, have also moved to Europe. Some of the biggest groups coming to Europe come from places such as Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia.

Russia has the most people in Europe, with 146 million, though most of this group lives in a part of Russia outside Europe. Germany is the most populous country completely inside Europe, with about 83 million people. The number of children families have in Europe is also lower than in the past, with families having about 1.5 children on average.

European diaspora

Main article: European emigration

In 2015, around 480 million people were part of the European diaspora. These are people whose ancestors came from Europe but now live outside of Europe. Many of them live in the Americas and Oceania. The United States has the largest group with European ancestry, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Australia. This spread happened mainly because of historical emigration from Europe, especially during and after the Age of Discovery, and was linked to the growth of European colonial empires, such as those of the British, the French, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese.