The 10 "youngest" and "oldest" regions in Italy, Germany, France, the UK, and Spain in Jan. 2013. Only the regions in Europe are listed here.
Population 65 y/o and older:
- Liguria: 27.7% (i.e. 27.7% of Liguria's population was 65 y/o and older in Jan. 2013)
- Saxony: 24.7%
- Saxony-Anhalt: 24.5%
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia: 24.3%
- Tuscany: 24.2%
- Umbria: 23.8%
- Piedmont: 23.8%
- Limousin: 23.5%
- Thuringia: 23.5%
- Castile and León: 23.3%
Population less than 20 y/o:
- Nord-Pas de Calais: 26.7% (i.e. 26.7% of Nord-Pas de Calais's population was less than 20 y/o in Jan. 2013)
- Northern Ireland: 26.4%
- Picardy: 25.9%
- Paris Region (Île-de-France): 25.9%
- Pays de la Loire: 25.5%
- Upper Normandy: 25.4%
- Rhône-Alpes: 25.3%
- West Midlands: 24.7%
- London Region (Greater London): 24.5%
- Franche-Comté: 24.5%
After 40 years of depressed German fertility, there are now stark contrasts in the age structures of the neighboring regions at the Franco-German border. Alsace has 23.9% of its population which is less than 20 y/o, whereas only 19.6% of Baden-Württemberg's population is less than 20 y/o. Moselle has 22.9% of its population which is less than 20 y/o, whereas only 16.6% of the Saarland population is less than 20 y/o.
22.1% of the people in Saarland are 65 y/o and older, whereas only 16.8% of the people in Moselle are 65 and older. 19.5% of the people in Baden-Württemberg are 65 and older, whereas only 16.3% of the people in Alsace are 65 and older.
These figures suggest that some very interesting phenomenons are going to take place at the Franco-German border in the coming 30 years (more and more Francophone presence in the German border regions probably, both in terms of commuters, shoppers, and probably also dwellers, as is already the case in Kehl, the German suburb of Strasbourg).
Finally, the future ranking of the European regions should change a lot, as some regions have lots of children, whereas other regions have few children and lots of old people who are going to die within the next 30 years.
The 10 most populated regions of It, Ger, Fr, UK, Sp in Jan. 2013 were the following:
1-North Rhine-Westphalia: 17,554,329
2- Bavaria: 12,519,571
3- Paris Region (Île-de-France): 11,978,363
4- Baden-Württemberg: 10,569,111
5- Lombardy: 9,794,525
6- South East England: 8,724,737
7- Andalusia: 8,393,159
8- London Region (Greater London): 8,308,369
9- Lower Saxony: 7,778,995
10- Catalonia: 7,480,921
The 10 regions with the most people less than 20 y/o in Jan. 2013 were the following:
1- North Rhine-Westphalia: 3,320,581
2- Paris Region (Île-de-France): 3,098,719
3- Bavaria: 2,359,433
4- South East England: 2,091,919
5- Baden-Württemberg: 2,066,529
6- London Region (Greater London): 2,038,997
7- Lombardy: 1,834,891
8- Andalusia: 1,833,521
9- North West England: 1,688,317
10- Rhône-Alpes: 1,619,020
If administrative borders remain unchanged, it's quite likely that the Paris Region will become the most populated European region sometime in this century. Lombardy and Catalonia are going to become less and less relevant as economic regions if they don't improve their birth rates, whereas Rhône-Alpes should become one of Europe's top regions (especially if it is enlarged with Auvergne, home of Global Fortune 500's Michelin, as the French government is suggesting at the moment).