European Union Countries: All 27 Member States in 2026

The European Union (EU) has 27 member states in 2026. The Union is a political and economic partnership that began with six founding members under the 1957 Treaty of Rome and grew through successive enlargements to its current size. Its newest member is Croatia, which joined in 2013, while the United Kingdom became the first country to leave when Brexit took effect on January 31, 2020.

All 27 EU Member States in 2026

The table below lists every current member of the European Union, the year each joined, and whether it belongs to the Eurozone (countries using the euro) and the Schengen Area (countries without internal border checks). The six founding members are marked accordingly.

How the EU Was Built: A Brief History

The European Union grew out of the desire to make another European war unthinkable. After the devastation of World War II, leaders reasoned that nations whose economies were tightly bound together would have far more to lose from conflict than to gain. The first concrete step was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), created in 1951 to pool the very industries that fuelled war machines. Its six members were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

That cooperation deepened with the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which formed the European Economic Community (EEC) and a common market. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty rebranded the project as the European Union, introduced shared citizenship, and laid the groundwork for a single currency. Over the following decades the bloc expanded eastward and southward, more than quadrupling its membership.

Major Enlargements at a Glance

• 1957: Six founding members (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands)
• 1973: Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom join
• 1981: Greece joins
• 1986: Spain and Portugal join
• 1995: Austria, Finland, and Sweden join
• 2004: The largest single expansion -- ten countries join (Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia)
• 2007: Bulgaria and Romania join
• 2013: Croatia joins (the most recent member)
• 2020: The United Kingdom leaves (Brexit)

EU vs. Schengen vs. Eurozone: What's the Difference?

One of the most common points of confusion is that "the EU," "the Schengen Area," and "the Eurozone" are three overlapping circles, not the same thing. Understanding them is the key to making sense of European travel and trade rules.

The European Union is the political and economic union of 27 member states sharing common laws, a single market, and institutions such as the European Parliament and European Commission. The Schengen Area is a borderless travel zone of 29 countries that have abolished passport checks at their shared frontiers. Most EU countries belong to Schengen, but not all: Ireland has an opt-out, and Cyprus has not yet fully joined. At the same time, several non-EU states -- Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein -- are full Schengen members. Bulgaria and Romania joined Schengen for air and sea borders in 2024.

The Eurozone is the group of 20 EU countries that use the euro as their currency. Denmark negotiated a permanent opt-out, while Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria still use their own currencies. Croatia became the newest euro adopter in January 2023. A country can therefore be in the EU but outside both Schengen and the Eurozone, or even a Schengen member without being in the EU at all.

EU Candidate Countries

The EU is still growing. Several nations are working through the accession process, which requires aligning their laws, democratic institutions, and economies with EU standards before they can join.

• Official candidates: Turkey (applied 1987), North Macedonia (2004), Montenegro (2008), Serbia (2009), Albania (2009), Ukraine (candidate status 2022), Moldova (2022), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022), and Georgia (2023)
• Potential candidate: Kosovo

Progress varies widely. Montenegro and Albania are seen as the most advanced in the Western Balkans, while Turkey's talks have been effectively frozen since 2018. Ukraine's application, lodged days after Russia's 2022 invasion, was fast-tracked to candidate status, though full membership is still expected to take many years of negotiation and reform.

Brexit: The First Country to Leave

The United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23, 2016, by a narrow margin of 52% to 48%. After years of negotiation, Brexit formally took effect on January 31, 2020, followed by a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020. The UK had been a member for 47 years. Departure introduced new customs checks, trade paperwork, and immigration controls between Britain and the bloc. To avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland operates under a special arrangement known as the Windsor Framework, keeping it aligned with parts of the EU single market.

The EU by the Numbers

• Population: About 448 million people, the third-largest in the world after China and India
• Combined GDP: Roughly $16.6 trillion, the second-largest economy after the United States
• Total area: About 4.23 million km²
• Largest member by area: France (551,695 km²)
• Smallest member by area: Malta (316 km²)
• Most populous member: Germany (about 84 million)
• Least populous member: Malta (about 520,000)
• Official languages: 24

Key Facts

• Members: 27 in 2026, down from 28 before Brexit
• Newest member: Croatia, which joined in 2013
• Founding year: 1957, via the Treaty of Rome, with six original members
• Euro users: 20 of the 27 member states
• Schengen overlap: Most EU members plus four non-EU countries
• Candidates: Nine official candidate countries, including Ukraine and Moldova
• Single market: Allows free movement of goods, services, capital, and people

Fun Facts

• Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita of any EU country, exceeding $120,000.
• Malta is both the smallest and the most densely populated EU member state.
• An EU passport lets citizens live and work freely in any other member state.
• Germany is the largest net contributor to the EU budget, while Poland has long been the largest net recipient.
• The European Parliament shuttles between Brussels and Strasbourg, moving staff and documents every month.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many countries are in the European Union in 2026?

The EU has 27 member states in 2026. This dropped from 28 after the United Kingdom formally left the bloc on January 31, 2020, in the event known as Brexit.

Which is the newest country to join the EU?

Croatia is the most recent member, having joined on July 1, 2013. It also adopted the euro and entered the Schengen Area in 2023, completing its integration into the bloc's core structures.

Is the United Kingdom still in the EU?

No. The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020, with a transition period ending December 31, 2020. It is the only country ever to withdraw from the Union after 47 years of membership.

Do all EU countries use the euro?

No. Only 20 of the 27 members use the euro. Denmark has a permanent opt-out, while Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria still use their own national currencies.