Methodology

The following persons alone are considered to be usually residents of the geographical area in question:

• those who have lived in their place of usual residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months before the reference time
• those who arrived in their place of usual residence during the 12 months before the reference time with the intention of staying there for at least one year

However, EU legislation allows countries to use the legal or registered residence instead of the ‘usual residence’ when the circumstances described in the above described points cannot be established.

For the purpose of the qualified majority of the votes in the Council of the European Union, EU members are obliged to transmit data on their total population following strictly the uniform definition of usual residence as described above.

More information

• Usually resident population on 1 January 
• Legislation page 

The EU legislation regarding demographic statistics is output oriented. Thus, countries are free to choose the most appropriate data sources that they have available nationally and the compilation methods they consider fit-for-purpose.

They need to ensure that demographic statistics sent to Eurostat meet the quality criteria for relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability, and coherence. Therefore, the population transmitted by the countries can also be based either on:

• data from the most recent census adjusted by the components of population change produced since the last census
• population registers

More information

• Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates at national level
• Population
• Documentation on methodology/country 
• Demographic statistics: a review of definitions and methods of collection in 44 European countries.

In social surveys, according to EU regulation 2019/1700, the statistical population shall consist of all persons having their usual residence in private households in each Member State. In contrast to demographic statistics, surveys provide population figures for specific age brackets only, for example 15 to 65 years old in the Labour Force Survey. Therefore, corresponding population variables should be compared with caution.

National accounts measure the population using the concept of centre of economic interest. In national accounts, on a given date, the total population of a country consists of all persons, national or foreign, who are permanently settled in the economic territory of the country, even if they are temporarily absent from it ( please consult  European System of Accounts 2010, Chapter 11). An annual average of head counts is the basis for estimating national accounts variables or for use as a denominator in comparisons and indicators. Therefore, corresponding population variables between national accounts and demographic statistics should be compared with caution.