Changes

The first map shows the [[:Archivo:Europa_Densidad-de-poblacion-en-la-Union-Europea_2019_mapa_18193_spa.jpg|''Population density in the European Union'']]. There is a sharp contrast between some very densely populated areas and other less inhabited areas. However, it shall be borne in mind that densities are conditioned by the size of the territorial units represented. At one end of the scale, some regions have a density over 500 inhabitants/km². One of these areas is the axis that runs from the Netherlands to northern Italy, encompassing a set of highly urbanised and developed territories that also happen to be the wealthiest and most urbanised area in Europe; these are the regions that French geographer Roger Brunet named the Blue Banana at the end of the 1980s. At the other end of the scale, some regions have a density under 50 inhabitants/km², and although they may be few in number, they occupy large territories in the north of the continent (much of Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States), in the southwest [the inland regions in Spain, Alentejo region in Portugal, and Limousin and Corsica (Corse) in France], in the southeast (various parts of Greece and Bulgaria) and in the northwest of Ireland. A priori, it seems reasonable to set a direct relationship between high population density and the ease at which any infectious disease may spread. And the most densely populated areas of the Union did, indeed, record a high number of COVID-19 cases. However, within the most populated regions, the different speed with which the decision on lockdowns was taken led to the effects of the pandemic being more severe in some regions [e.g. Lombardy (Lombardia), Île de France…] than in others [e.g. Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria (Bayern)…].

The population density map shall be combined with the Population over the age of 65 in the European Union map, which shows a part of the population that, if infected, has a higher morbidity rate due to the age. This map is clearly different to the population density map. The regions that stand out for having a higher number of people over the age of 65 are those that form the Iberian Atlantic Arc [especially Alentejo, Galicia, Asturias and Castile and León (Castilla y León)], the hinterland of France (especially Poitou-Charentes and Limousin), the north of Italy [more specifically Piedmont (Piemonte), Liguria, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Tuscany (Toscana) and Umbria], several regions in eastern Germany [Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) and Thuringia (Thüringen)], a couple in Greece [Epirus (Épeiros) and the Ionian Islands (Iónia nisiá)] and one in Bulgaria (Northwest). In the case of the Iberian regions, older sex-age pyramids are combined with low demographic densities and a highly dispersed population, making the provision of healthcare for older adults even more challenging.

If we look at the map showing the Most populous cities in the European Union, we may observe that the high rates of urbanisation in Europe translate to a network of numerous medium-sized (by global standards) cities in close proximity to one another. This urban pattern is totally different to the megacities in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It is particularly prominent in the aforementioned Blue Banana, where several cities with over half a million inhabitants are located just a short distance from one another and are included in different Member States. The density of flows between these cities played a significant role in easing the spread of the virus across the continent, which led to the roll-out of coordinated measures throughout the twenty-seven EU States. However, unlike