The UK's electorate is bigger than that of 24 of the EU27 countries

There are more UK voters than in more than half the EU27 countries COMBINED

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

Facts4EU.Org compares the EU’s elections on Friday with the UK’s general election on 04 July

This report helps to put the EU27 into perspective. Over the years we have attempted to correct the impression that parts of the media have presented to the British public, of the EU as 27 broadly equal countries with an equal vote in the EU Council. As we have shown before, these countries are wildly different – in the size of their economies, their average earnings per person, and many other measures.

With the EU elections starting on Friday and the UK general election four weeks later, we present the sizes of each of the EU27 countries’ electorates compared to the UK. We then explain why this should matter to the British people.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The UK’s electorate compared to those of the EU27 countries

Germany : 65,110,000
France : 50,693,220
Italy : 47,340,098
UK : 47,074,800
Spain : 38,087,379
Poland : 32,148,844
Romania : 18,966,796
Netherlands : 13,300,000
Portugal : 10,901,968
Greece : 9,809,353
Belgium : 8,537,902
Czechia : 8,460,857
Sweden : 7,950,000
Hungary : 7,822,316
Austria : 7,025,784
Bulgaria : 6,147,079
Finland : 4,563,118
Denmark : 4,525,302
Slovakia : 4,389,600
Croatia : 3,733,398
Ireland : 3,370,364
Lithuania : 2,823,559
Slovenia : 1,692,767
Latvia : 1,545,147
Estonia : 981,138
Cyprus : 684,893
Luxembourg : 489,030
Malta : 370,190

[Sources : EU Commission (Eurostat) 2024 | the UK’s Electoral Commission 2019.]

Why does it matter that most EU countries have electorates smaller than the UK’s?

It might be thought that the answer to this is self-evident. However this is not clear to large parts of the British public, thanks to the pro-EU parts of the UK’s media.

Each EU country has an equal vote in the EU Council on many important issues. It is possible for a country with an electorate smaller than that of most UK cities to exercise a veto on important decisions.

The reality is even more extreme than that presented above

The UK Electoral Commission has not yet revealed the size of the UK electorate for the general election on 04 July. We have used the figure for the UK’s electorate in the 2019 general election. This figure is therefore understated.

To give a comparison, when it comes to first-time voters (persons who have reached voting age since the last EU elections in 2019), the highest numbers are expected in Germany (an extra 5.1 million persons), France (4.5 million) and Italy (2.8 million). The highest shares of first-time voters are expected in Belgium, France and Cyprus with 9.8%, 9.0% and 8.7% of all eligible voters, respectively.

Assuming the UK also has an electorate some millions higher than that in 2019, our figures in the chart above are very (small ‘c’) conservative.

Observations

For the last eight years we have attempted to present the reality of the EU to the British public in many different ways. Today, with elections looming in the EU and in the UK, it seems like an appropriate time to draw the public’s attention to the gross imbalance in the weight of the electorates of most EU countries compared to the United Kingdom.

This matters, as we have pointed out in our report, because of the ability of a country whose electorate is no larger than the size of an average UK city to hold a veto over important policy decisions by EU governments representing electorates many times larger.

The EU suffers from structural democratic deficits. The answer to this is simple. The EU should simply be a trading bloc. As this is never going to happen any time soon, this is yet another example of why the British people were right in 2016 to deliver their vote to leave the European Union.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily. However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 48 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: EU Commission | UK Electoral Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 05 Jun 2024

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 5

1. terence patrick hewett , Wednesday, June 05, 2024, 09:33:

Yes, and we have an imported EU criminal "community" whose number is larger than many EU states.

2. Sparky , Wednesday, June 05, 2024, 12:58:

Still campaigning to leave the EU.
.
The election campaign so far has been uninspirinig. An interesting point discussed on "the rest is politics", neither of the main parties are talking about Brexit, at the last election the persistent message from the Cons was "get Brexit done", so why aren't the Cons now saying this is now delivered?

3. Gazzablack , Wednesday, June 05, 2024, 15:03:

2, sparkless
.
Stil! campaigning to rejoin the EU
.
Not interesting at all, why would they talk about Brexit?
It's a UK election not an EU one.
.
Some of Labour's policies would be dependent on the UK *** NOT *** being in the EU
.
Ed Davy's been too busy making a t*t of himself to mention Brexit

4. Gazzablack , Wednesday, June 05, 2024, 18:54:

German tour operator FTI has filed for bankruptcy.
Up to 40,000 people are at risk of losing their Canary Island holidays.
.
Hopes that an investment fund would take over the operator's debts failed to materialise.

5. John Jones , Thursday, June 06, 2024, 06:51:

"...Each EU country has an equal vote in the EU Council on many important issues. It is possible for a country with an electorate smaller than that of most UK cities to exercise a veto on important decisions..."
You're missing a trick - intentionally or otherwise.
All countries have a vote ( not necessarily equal - more shortly) plus, all countries have what is called a veto on fewer & fewer topics because the EU has also moved to Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) on many more 'competencies' - this method gives, in effect ( because of its construction) essentially more power to smaller countries who can dictate or caucus to get larger countries to do their bidding.
It is QMV by the eurozone countries that effectively marginalised the UK more & more since 2014/15 - in reality the EU hates voting & endeavours to steam roller law's/policies & directives via consensus politics meaning the outcomes are nearly all the worst possible compromise of 27 then 28 states.
Its part of the democratic deficit writ large.
But QMV caucusing really brought home the massive imbalance in the UKs voting & vetoing ability. In addition, even if the UK vetoed a measure as we did in budget & deficit procedure ( under Cameron) the Treaties allow for ' enhanced cooperation ' measures by intergovernmental treaty - this therefore effectively disables any country veto by dictat - particularly liked or initiated by Germany & France.

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.