IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: European Union

European Union

449,206,579
Population (as of Jan. 1, 2024)

355,349,870
Registered Voters (as of June 9, 2024)

46.90%
Average Turnout

6
Elections in our database

V-Dem Score: N/A

CEDAW Status: N/A

SIGI* Score: 13.4
Level of Discrimination: Very Low
*Social Institutions and Gender Index (2023)

CRPD Status: Signed and Ratified
Signed Date: March 30, 2007
Ratified Date: Dec. 23, 2010

HDI Score: N/A

Name	Official Name	Type
European Commission Presidency	European Commission President	Head of State
European Council Presidency	President of the European Council	Head of Government
European Parliament		Assembly

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: European Commission President Ursula VON DER LEYEN (since 1 December 2019)
Head of Government: President of the European Council António COSTA (since 1 December 2024)
Assembly: two legislative organs; the European Parliament (720 seats as of 2025) and the Council of the European Union (27 seats)

Description of electoral system:

The Council of the European Union is composed of heads of state or government from each of the 27 EU member states.
Member states may choose their own electoral systems for European Parliament elections so long as they are based on proportional representation or the single transferable vote. Members serve 5-year renewable terms. By law, Parliament may contain up to 750 seats, and each member state is allocated 6 to 96 seats depending on its population. Seats are reapportioned each election, and 720 members were elected in 2024 according to the following country-seat divisions:
- Germany: 96 seats
- France: 81
- Italy: 76
- Spain: 61
- Poland: 53
- Romania: 33
- Netherlands: 31
- Belgium: 22
- Greece: 21
- Czechia: 21
- Sweden: 21
- Portugal: 21
- Hungary: 21
- Austria: 20
- Bulgaria: 17
- Denmark: 15
- Finland: 15
- Slovakia: 15
- Ireland: 14
- Croatia: 12
- Lithuania: 11
- Slovenia: 9
- Latvia: 9
- Estonia: 7
- Cyprus: 6
- Luxembourg: 6
- Malta: 6

Elections

2024-06-06
European Parliament
Votes 180,270,769
Registered 355,349,870
Turnout 50.73

2019-05-23
European Parliament
Votes 202,138,136
Registered 396,592,288
Turnout 50.97

2014-05-22
European Parliament
Votes -
Registered 385,000,000
Turnout -

2009-06-10
European Parliament
Votes 163,355,823
Registered 382,682,177
Turnout 42.69

2004-06-10
European Parliament
Votes -
Registered 350,000,000
Turnout -

1999-06-10
European Parliament
Votes 125,761,064
Registered 290,956,955
Turnout 43.22

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
European Parliament	2024-06-06	180,270,769	355,349,870	50.73
European Parliament	2019-05-23	202,138,136	396,592,288	50.97
European Parliament	2014-05-22	-	385,000,000	-
European Parliament	2009-06-10	163,355,823	382,682,177	42.69
European Parliament	2004-06-10	-	350,000,000	-
European Parliament	1999-06-10	125,761,064	290,956,955	43.22

Voter Turnout

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