At the beginning of 2015, there were 641,000 inhabitants in Riga and it ranked 30th by population number among 38 European capitals and large cities with population of more than one million.
According to Eurostat data, London (8.5 mln), Berlin (3.5 mln) and Madrid (3.1 mln) are the three largest European capitals by population, whereas the smallest capitals are Valleta (5.7 thsd), Luxembourg (111 thsd) and Ljubljana (287 thsd).
The population number of most of these European cities grew in 2014, however, the population of Riga decreased by 0.4 %. In turn, the population number of the two other Baltic capitals increased – by 0.7 % in Tallinn and by 0.5 % in Vilnius.
Riga ranks first among the largest European cities by the number of women per 100 men, having 127 female residents per 100 male residents. Moreover, the two other Baltic capitals sit next behind Riga on the respective list, as there are 123 women per 100 men in Vilnius and 121 women per 100 men in Tallinn.
In comparison, Luxembourg has an equal amount of male and female residents, in Oslo there are 101 women per 100 men, whereas in London and Valleta there are 102 women per 100 men.
At the beginning of 2015, the highest number of births per 1000 inhabitants was recorded in Athens – 22.7. The number of newborns in Riga was lower by almost a half – 11.7. According to the data on 37 European capitals and large cities, Riga ranks 16th by crude birth rate, whereas Tallinn (11.5) and Vilnius (11.5) share the 18th and 19th place on the list.