Brussels, 27/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - The population of the European Union has gone over the 500 million mark, Eurostat, the European Statistical Office, revealed on Tuesday 27 July. On 1 January 2010, the 27 EU countries had a combined population of 501.1 million, compared with 499.7 million the previous year. In all, 5.4 million children were born in the EU27 in 2008, a birth rate of 10.7 per 1000 inhabitants, slightly down on the 10.9 in 2008. The highest birth rates were recorded in Ireland (16.8), the United Kingdom (12.8) and France (12.7), and the lowest in Germany (7.9), Austria (9.1), Portugal (9.4) and Italy (9.5). There were 4.8 million deaths registered in the EU in 2009. The death rate of 9.7 per 1000 inhabitants was the same as in 2008. Immigration played a large role in the increase in the population of the EU. In 2009, just over 60% of the increase in the EU27 population came from migration, Eurostat says in a press release. (L.C./transl.rt)