How many countries are in the EU?

As of 1 November 2026, the European Union has 27 member states. In alphabetical order: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The number has changed over time. Six countries founded the European Economic Community in 1958. Successive enlargements brought the total to 28 when Croatia joined on 1 July 2013. The United Kingdom then became the first country to leave: it withdrew on 31 January 2020, and the Union has had 27 members since.

Membership is not the same as taking part in every EU policy. Of the 27, only 21 use the euro, and 25 are fully in the Schengen Area without internal border checks. Some countries outside the EU, such as Norway or Switzerland, take part in parts of EU cooperation without being members.

Example

Nine countries are officially candidates to join: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine. Kosovo has applied and is a potential candidate. Being a candidate does not mean membership is close. Accession talks with Türkiye opened in October 2005 and, in the words of the Council of the EU, have effectively come to a standstill. The European Council considers the process with Georgia halted in practice since 2024. Any new member would need the unanimous approval of the existing 27 and ratification in every one of them.

Debates and limits

Counting is less simple at the edges. Kosovo is listed by the EU without prejudice to its status, and five member states (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) do not recognise it as a state. Some territories of member states are outside the EU, such as Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which left the European Communities in 1985.