Enlargement of the European Union and "morally imperative", which reflected the desire of the EU to admit these countries as members, even though they were less developed than the Western European countries. Following this Romania and Bulgaria, though were deemed initially as not fully ready by the Commission to join in 2004, acceded nevertheless on 1 January 2007. These, like the countries joining in 2004, faced a series of restrictions as to their citizens not fully enjoying working rights on the territory of some of the older EU members. Bulgaria and Romania are not yet members of the Schengen area; however, their citizens can travel
Demographics of the European Union population (2008) Death rate: 9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2008) Net migration rate: 3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008) Marriage rate: 4.9 marriages/1,000 population (2007) Divorce rate: 2.0 divorces/1,000 population (2005) Sex ratio: (2006 est.) Infant mortality rate: (2005) Life expectancy: (2005) Total fertility rate: 1.59 children born/woman 2009 Live Births outside marriage: 40% of total live births in 2012 The demographics of the member states of the European Union: Demographics of the European Union The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 28 member states. As of 1 January 2018, the population of the EU is about