EU population growth

The population of the EU on January 1 this year stood at 379 million, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities reported.

The EU population expanded by 1.3 million in 2002, an annual rate of 0.3 per cent.

The rise in the EU population was around two per cent of the 74 million increase in the world's population in 2002, Eurostat said.

Eurostat also reported that the acceding countries recorded a drop in population of 0.1 per cent in 2002.

Six out of the 10 countries recorded a fall, with the biggest declines in Latvia and Hungary. During 2002, the population increased in Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia.

In Malta, in January 2002, the population was 394,600, which was up to 397,300 a year later.