Demographics of France

The demography of France is monitored by the Institut national d'études démographiques (INED) and the Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE). On the 1 October 2016, 66,821,000 people lived in the French Republic, including all the overseas departments. 64,695,000 of these lived in Metropolitan France, the part of France located in Europe.

France was historically Europe's most populous nation. During the Middle Ages, more than one quarter of Europe's total population was French; by the 17th century, this had decreased slightly to one fifth. By the beginning of the 20th century, other European nations, such as Germany and Russia, had caught up with and overtaken it. However, the country's population sharply increased with the baby boom following World War II.

According to INSEE, since 2004, 200,000 immigrants entered annually into the country. One out of two was born in Europe and one in three in Africa. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of Europeans entering France increased sharply (+ 12% per year on average).^[3]

The national birth rate, after dropping for a time, began to rebound in the 1990s and currently the country's fertility rate is close to the replacement level. According to an INSEE 2006 study, "The natural increase is close to 300,000 people, a level that has not been reached in more than thirty years."^[4]

Among the 802,000 newborns in metropolitan France in 2010, 80.1% had two French parents, 13.3% had one French parent, and 6.6% had two non French parents.^[5][6] For the same year, 27.3% of newborns in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and 23.9% had at least one parent born outside of Europe (parents born in overseas territories are considered as born in France).^[5][7] Between 2006 and 2008, about 40% of newborns in France had one foreign-born grandparent (11% born in another European country, 16% born in Maghreb and 12% born in another region of the world).^[8]

Racial and ethnic censuses have been banned by the French government since 1978, since the term "race" in France invokes associations with Nazi Germany.^[9]

Historical overview

1800 to 20th century

France was historically the largest nation of Europe. During the Middle Ages more than one quarter of Europe's population was French; during the 17th century it was still one fifth. Starting around 1800, the historical evolution of the population in France has been extremely atypical in the Western World. Unlike the rest of Europe, there was no strong population growth in France in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The birth rate in France diminished much earlier than in the rest of Europe. Thus population growth was quite slow in the 19th century, and the nadir was reached in the first half of the 20th century when France, surrounded by the rapidly growing populations of Germany and the United Kingdom, had virtually zero growth. The slow growth of France's population in the 19th century was reflected in the country's very low emigration rate. While millions of people from all other parts of Europe migrated to the Americas, few French did so. Most people of French extraction in the United States are descended from immigrants from Quebec, whose population was rapidly growing at this time.

The French population only grew by 8.6% between 1871 and 1911, while Germany's grew by 60% and Britain's by 54%.^[10] Ferdinand Foch joked that the only way for France to permanently improve its relationship with Germany was to castrate 20 million Germans.^[11] If the population of France had grown between 1815 and 2000 at the same rate as that of Germany during the same time period, France's population would have been 110 million in 2000; Germany grew at a much faster rate despite its very substantial emigration to the Americas, and its larger military and civilian losses during the World Wars than France. If France's population had grown at the same rate as that of England and Wales (which was also siphoned off by emigration to the Americas, Australia and New Zealand), France's population could have been as much as 150 million in 2000. Should one start the comparison at the time of King Louis XIV, then France would now have approximately the same population as the United States. While France was Europe's leading military power at the time of Louis XIV and then Napoleon, the country lost this advantage due to its relative demographic decline after 1800.

French concerns about the country's slow population growth began after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. For four years in the 1890s, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births. The National Alliance for the Growth of the French Population (ANAPF) was formed in 1896, and the Cognacq-Jay and other prizes were created for the parents of large families. Émile Zola's 1899 novel Fécondité is representative of contemporary concerns about the birthrate. The 1.3 million French deaths in World War I, along with even more births forgone by potential fathers being off at war, caused a drop of 3 million in the French population, and helped make Dénatalité a national obsession; by 1920 ANAPF had 40,000 members. The society proposed that parents of large families receive extra votes, and the belief that women's suffrage in other countries caused birth rates to decline helped defeat proposals before World War II to permit women to vote. Concern further increased during the "hollow years" of the 1930s, when the number of new conscripts declined because of the lack of births during World War I. Even the French Communist Party ended its opposition to anti-birth control and anti-abortion laws in 1936, and its leader Maurice Thorez advocated for the "protection of family and childhood". Already existing financial incentives for large families increased in 1939, enough double the income of a family with six children.^[10] Also, France encouraged immigration, chiefly from other European countries such as Italy, Poland, and Spain. (In fact, with its low birth rate, stagnating or declining native-born population, and role as a destination for migrants from other parts of Europe, France's situation before World War II was not unlike that of Germany today.)

After World War II

France experienced a baby boom after 1945; it reversed a long-term record of low birth rates.^[12] The sense that the population was too small, especially in regard to more powerful Germany, was a common theme in the early twentieth century . Put in a list policies were proposed in the 1930s, and implemented in the 1940s.^[13][14]

After 1945, France suddenly underwent a demographic recovery. In the 1930s the French government, alarmed by the decline of France's population, had passed laws to boost the birth rate, giving state benefits to families with children. Nonetheless, nobody can explain this sudden recovery, which was often portrayed inside France as a "miracle". It was also atypical of the Western world: although there was a baby boom in other Western countries after the war, the baby boom in France was much stronger, and lasted longer than in most other Western countries (the United States was one of the few exceptions). In the 1950s and 1960s France's population grew at 1% per year: the highest growth in the history of France, higher even than the best periods of the 18th or 19th centuries.

Since 1975, France's population growth rate has significantly diminished, but it still remains slightly faster than that of the rest of Europe, and much faster than at the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. In the first decade of the third millennium, population growth in France is the fastest of Europe, matched only by Ireland, which has also historically undergone stagnant growth and even decline relative to the rest of Europe until recently. However, it is slower than in the United States, largely because of the higher net migration rate to the USA.

Historical summary

The following compares the past, present, and future size of the French population with other entities in Europe and in the world. All statements refer to France as understood in its modern borders; this pertains also to other countries. Historians suggest that France has been the most populous state in Europe since at least the period of Charlemagne and the Frankish Empire, or even earlier. A definitive date is impossible to determine and we can only rely on historical estimates.

• until 1795 metropolitan France was the most populous country of Europe, above Russia, and the third most populous country in the world, behind only China and India;
• between 1795 and 1866, metropolitan France was the second most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, and the fourth most populous country in the world, behind China, India, and Russia;
• between 1866 and 1909, metropolitan France was the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia and Germany;
• between 1909 and 1933, metropolitan France was the fourth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom;
• between 1933 and 1991, metropolitan France was the fifth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy;
• between 1991 and 2000, metropolitan France recovered its rank as the fourth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom;
• since 2000, metropolitan France has recovered its rank as the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia and Germany. Worldwide, France's ranking has fallen to twentieth most populous country;
• In 2005 it was projected that if current demographic trends continued (i.e. declining population in Germany, and slightly rising population in France and the UK), around 2050 metropolitan France could again surpass the population of Germany, becoming the most populous state of the countries now in the European Union.^[15] But more recent (2009) UN projections say that the stronger-growing United Kingdom could be more populous than metropolitan France in 2050, leaving metropolitan France third amongst European nations, behind Russia and the UK,^[16]

In the above list, Turkey is not considered a European country. Turkey was less populous than metropolitan France until 1992, and has been more populous since then.^[17]

Historical population figures

Please note:

• figures are for metropolitan France only, not including overseas departments and territories, as former French colonies and protectorates. Algeria and its départements, although they were an integral part of metropolitan France until 1962, are not included in the figures.
• to make comparisons easier, figures provided below are for the territory of metropolitan France within the borders of 2004. This was the real territory of France from 1860 to 1871, and again since 1919. Figures before 1860 have been adjusted to include Savoie and Nice, which only became part of France in 1860. Figures between 1795 and 1815 do not include the French départements in modern-day Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, although they were an integral part of France during that period. Figures between 1871 and 1919 have been adjusted to include Alsace and part of Lorraine, which both were at the time part of the German Empire.
• figures before 1801 are modern estimates; figures from 1801 (included) onwards are based on the official French censuses.

Source:^[18]

Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population
50 BC	2,500,000	1806	29,648,000	1896	40,158,000
1	5,500,000	1811	30,271,000	1901	40,681,000
120	7,200,000	1816	30,573,000	1906	41,067,000
400	5,500,000	1821	31,578,000	1911	41,415,000
850	7,000,000	1826	32,665,000	1921	39,108,000
1226	16,000,000	1831	33,595,000	1926	40,581,000
1345	20,200,000	1836	34,293,000	1931	41,524,000
1400	16,600,000	1841	34,912,000	1936	41,502,000
1457	19,700,000	1846	36,097,000	1946	40,506,639
1580	20,000,000	1851	36,472,000	1954	42,777,162
1594	18,500,000	1856	36,715,000	1962	46,519,997
1600	20,000,000	1861	37,386,000	1968	49,780,543
1670	18,000,000	1866	38,067,000	1975	52,655,864
1700	21,000,000	1872	37,653,000	1982	54,334,871
1715	19,200,000	1876	38,438,000	1990	56,615,155
1740	24,600,000	1881	39,239,000	1999	58,520,688
1792	28,000,000	1886	39,783,000	2006	61,399,733
1801	29,361,000	1891	39,946,000	2016	64,513,000

Population projections

The population of France is predicted to hit the 70 million mark between the year 2025/2030 and to overtake Germany's between 2050/2060, with 75,6 million French for 71 million Germans in 2060. Although the UK is predicted to overtake France by 2030. By 2080, the population of France is estimated to reach 78,8 million (with overseas department, but without the overseas territories).

Figures from eurostat for metropolitan France and the overseas departments:

Year	Population
2010	64,677,000
2020	67,658,000
2030	70,396,000
2040	72,767,000
2050	74,297,000
2060	75,599,000
2070	77,109,000
2080	78,842,000

Source:^[19]

Vital statistics

The vital statistics below refer to France Métropolitaine and do not include the overseas departments.

	Average population (x 1000) (1 January)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births)	Life expectancy at birth (males)	Life expectancy at birth (females)
1901	40 710	917 075	825 315	91 760	22.5	20.3	2.3	2.9028
1902	40 810	904 434	801 379	103 055	22.2	19.6	2.5	2.8530
1903	40 910	884 498	794 566	89 932	21.6	19.4	2.2	2.7840
1904	41 000	877 091	802 536	74 555	21.4	19.6	1.8	2.7483
1905	41 050	865 604	812 338	53 266	21.1	19.8	1.3	2.7059
1906	41 100	864 745	820 051	44 694	21.0	20.0	1.1	2.7000
1907	41 100	829 632	830 871	-1 239	20.2	20.2	0.0	2.5755
1908	41 190	848 982	784 415	64 567	20.6	19.0	1.6	2.6363
1909	41 240	824 739	792 798	31 941	20.0	19.2	0.8	2.5573
1910	41 350	828 140	737 877	90 263	20.0	17.8	2.2	2.5705
1911	41 420	793 506	813 653	-20 147	19.2	19.6	-0.5	2.4620
1912	41 530	801 642	726 848	74 794	19.3	17.5	1.8	2.4853
1913	41 620	795 851	736 937	58 914	19.1	17.7	1.4	2.4680
1914	41 630	757 931	774 931	-17 000	18.2	18.6	-0.4	2.3354
1915	40 620	482 968	747 968	-265 000	11.9	18.4	-6.5	1.5194
1916	40 020	384 676	697 676	-313 000	9.6	17.4	-7.8	1.2304
1917	39 420	412 744	712 744	-300 000	10.5	18.1	-7.6	1.3419
1918	38 670	472 816	867 816	-395 000	12.2	22.4	-10.2	1.5593
1919	38 600	506 960	739 901	-232 941	13.1	19.2	-6.0	1.5907
1920	38 900	838 137	675 676	162 461	21.5	17.4	4.2	2.6946
1921	39 140	816 555	697 904	118 651	20.9	17.8	3.0	2.6014
1922	39 310	764 373	692 322	72 051	19.4	17.6	1.8	2.4230
1923	39 750	765 888	670 326	95 562	19.3	16.9	2.4	2.4067
1924	40 170	757 873	683 296	74 577	18.9	17.0	1.9	2.3561
1925	40 460	774 455	712 211	62 244	19.1	17.6	1.5	2.3884
1926	40 710	771 690	716 966	54 724	19.0	17.6	1.3	2.3680
1927	40 770	748 102	679 809	68 293	18.3	16.7	1.7	2.2895
1928	40 880	753 570	678 269	75 301	18.4	16.6	1.8	2.3052
1929	41 020	734 140	742 732	-8 592	17.9	18.1	-0.2	2.2412
1930	41 340	754 020	652 953	101 067	18.2	15.8	2.4	2.2953
1931	41 550	737 611	682 816	54 795	17.8	16.4	1.3	2.2470
1932	41 510	726 299	663 705	62 594	17.5	16.0	1.5	2.2258
1933	41 520	682 394	664 133	18 261	16.4	16.0	0.4	2.1110
1934	41 570	681 518	637 713	43 805	16.4	15.3	1.1	2.1406
1935	41 550	643 870	661 722	-17 852	15.5	15.9	-0.4	2.0696
1936	41 500	634 344	645 844	-11 500	15.3	15.6	-0.3	2.0919
1937	41 530	621 453	632 896	-11 443	15.0	15.2	-0.3	2.0989
1938	41 560	615 582	650 832	-35 250	14.8	15.7	-0.8	2.1276
1939	41 510	615 599	645 677	-30 078	14.8	15.6	-0.7	2.1662
1940	40 690	561 281	740 281	-179 000	13.8	18.2	-4.4	2.0025
1941	39 420	522 261	675 261	-153 000	13.2	17.1	-3.9	1.8535
1942	39 220	575 261	656 261	-81 000	14.7	16.7	-2.1	2.0425
1943	38 860	615 780	626 780	-11 000	15.8	16.1	-0.3	2.1864
1944	38 770	629 878	666 878	-37 000	16.2	17.2	-1.0	2.2494
1945	39 660	645 899	643 899	2 000	16.3	16.2	0.1	2.3102
1946	40 287	843 904	545 880	298 024	20.9	13.5	7.4	2.9979	77.8	59.9	65.2
1947	40 679	870 472	538 157	332 315	21.4	13.2	8.2	3.0366	71.1	61.2	66.7
1948	41 112	870 836	513 210	357 626	21.2	12.5	8.7	3.0195	55.9	62.7	68.8
1949	41 480	872 661	573 598	299 063	21.0	13.8	7.2	3.0044	60.3	62.2	67.6
1950	41 829	862 310	534 480	327 830	20.6	12.8	7.8	2.9466	52.0	63.4	69.2
1951	42 156	826 722	565 829	260 893	19.6	13.4	6.2	2.8056	50.8	63.1	68.9
1952	42 460	822 204	524 831	297 373	19.4	12.4	7.0	2.7772	45.2	64.4	70.2
1953	42 752	804 696	556 983	247 713	18.8	13.0	5.8	2.7038	41.9	64.3	70.3
1954	43 057	810 754	518 892	291 862	18.8	12.1	6.8	2.7142	40.7	65.0	71.2
1955	43 428	805 917	526 322	279 595	18.6	12.1	6.4	2.6835	38.6	65.2	71.5
1956	43 843	806 916	545 700	261 216	18.4	12.4	6.0	2.6735	36.2	65.2	71.7
1957	44 311	816 467	532 107	284 360	18.4	12.0	6.4	2.6947	33.8	65.5	72.2
1958	44 789	812 215	500 596	311 619	18.1	11.2	7.0	2.6835	31.4	66.8	73.4
1959	45 240	829 249	509 114	320 135	18.3	11.3	7.1	2.7521	29.6	66.8	73.2
1960	45 684	819 819	520 960	298 859	17.9	11.4	6.5	2.7396	27.4	67.0	73.6
1961	46 163	838 633	500 289	338 344	18.2	10.8	7.3	2.8242	25.7	67.5	74.4
1962	46 998	832 353	541 147	291 206	17.7	11.5	6.2	2.7957	25.7	67.0	73.9
1963	47 816	868 876	557 852	311 024	18.2	11.7	6.5	2.8962	25.6	66.8	73.8
1964	48 310	877 804	520 033	357 771	18.2	10.8	7.4	2.9149	23.4	67.7	74.8
1965	48 758	865 688	543 696	321 992	17.8	11.2	6.6	2.8492	21.9	67.5	74.7
1966	49 164	863 527	528 782	334 745	17.6	10.8	6.8	2.8008	21.7	67.8	75.2
1967	49 548	840 568	543 033	297 535	17.0	11.0	6.0	2.6711	20.7	67.8	75.2
1968	49 915	835 796	553 441	282 355	16.7	11.1	5.7	2.5880	20.4	67.8	75.2
1969	50 318	842 245	573 335	268 910	16.7	11.4	5.3	2.5343	19.6	67.4	75.1
1970	50 772	850 381	542 277	308 104	16.7	10.7	6.1	2.4803	18.2	68.4	75.9
1971	51 251	881 284	554 151	327 133	17.2	10.8	6.4	2.4972	17.2	68.3	75.9
1972	51 701	877 506	549 900	327 606	17.0	10.6	6.3	2.4187	16.0	68.5	76.2
1973	52 118	857 186	558 782	298 404	16.4	10.7	5.7	2.3086	15.4	68.7	76.3
1974	52 460	801 218	552 551	248 667	15.3	10.5	4.7	2.1123	14.6	68.9	76.7
1975	52 699	745 065	560 353	184 712	14.1	10.6	3.5	1.9272	13.8	69.0	76.9
1976	52 909	720 395	557 114	163 281	13.6	10.5	3.1	1.8290	12.5	69.2	77.2
1977	53 145	744 744	536 221	208 523	14.0	10.1	3.9	1.8619	11.4	69.7	77.8
1978	53 376	737 062	546 916	190 146	13.8	10.2	3.6	1.8215	10.7	69.8	77.9
1979	53 606	757 354	541 805	215 549	14.1	10.1	4.0	1.8553	10.0	70.1	78.3
1980	53 880	800 376	547 107	253 269	14.9	10.2	4.7	1.9450	10.0	70.2	78.4
1981	54 182	805 483	554 823	250 660	14.9	10.2	4.6	1.9455	9.7	70.4	78.5
1982	54 492	797 223	543 104	254 119	14.6	10.0	4.7	1.9123	9.5	70.7	78.9
1983	54 772	748 525	559 655	188 870	13.7	10.2	3.4	1.7844	9.1	70.7	78.8
1984	55 026	759 939	542 490	217 449	13.8	9.9	4.0	1.802	8.3	71.2	79.3
1985	55 284	768 431	552 496	215 935	13.9	10.0	3.9	1.814	8.3	71.3	79.4
1986	55 577	778 468	546 926	231 542	14.0	9.8	4.2	1.831	8.0	71.5	79.7
1987	55 824	767 828	527 466	240 362	13.8	9.4	4.3	1.801	7.8	72.0	80.3
1988	56 118	771 268	524 600	246 668	13.7	9.3	4.4	1.805	7.8	72.3	80.5
1989	56 423	765 473	529 283	236 190	13.6	9.4	4.2	1.788	7.5	72.5	80.6
1990	56 709	762 407	526 201	236 206	13.4	9.3	4.2	1.778	7.3	72.7	81.0
1991	56 976	759 056	524 685	234 371	13.3	9.2	4.1	1.770	7.3	72.9	81.2
1992	57 240	743 658	521 530	222 128	13.0	9.1	3.9	1.733	6.8	73.2	81.5
1993	57 467	711 610	532 263	179 347	12.4	9.3	3.1	1.660	6.5	73.3	81.5
1994	57 659	710 993	519 965	191 028	12.3	9.0	3.3	1.663	5.9	73.7	81.9
1995	57 844	729 609	531 618	197 991	12.6	9.2	3.4	1.713	4.9	73.9	81.9
1996	58 026	734 338	535 775	198 563	12.7	9.2	3.4	1.733	4.8	74.1	82.1
1997	58 207	726 768	530 319	196 449	12.5	9.1	3.4	1.726	4.7	74.6	82.3
1998	58 398	738 080	534 005	204 075	12.6	9.1	3.5	1.764	4.6	74.8	82.4
1999	58 661	744 791	537 661	207 130	12.7	9.2	3.5	1.791	4.3	75.0	82.5
2000	59 049	774 782	530 864	243 918	13.1	9.0	4.1	1.874	4.4	75.3	82.8
2001	59 477	770 945	531 073	239 872	13.0	8.9	4.0	1.877	4.5	75.5	82.9
2002	59 894	761 630	535 144	226 486	12.7	8.9	3.8	1.864	4.1	75.8	83.1
2003	60 304	761 464	552 339	209 125	12.6	9.2	3.5	1.874	4.0	75.9	83.0
2004	60 734	767 816	509 429	258 387	12.6	8.4	4.3	1.898	3.9	76.7	83.9
2005	61 182	774 355	527 533	246 822	12.7	8.6	4.0	1.920	3.6	76.8	83.9
2006	61 598	796 896	516 416	280 480	12.9	8.4	4.6	1.980	3.6	77.2	84.2
2007	61 965	785 985	521 016	264 969	12.7	8.4	4.3	1.959	3.6	77.4	84.4
2008	62 301	796 044	532 131	263 913	12.8	8.5	4.2	1.990	3.6	77.6	84.4
2009	62 616	793 420	538 166	255 254	12.7	8.6	4.1	1.989	3.7	77.8	84.5
2010	62 765	802 224	540 469	261 755	12.8	8.6	4.2	2.016	3.6	78.0	84.7
2011	63 070	792 996	534 795	258 201	12.5	8.5	4.0	1.996	3.5	78.4	85.0
2012	63 375	790 290	559 227	231 063	12.4	8.8	3.6	1.992	3.5	78.5	84.8
2013	63 697	781 621	558 408	223 213	12.3	8.8	3.5	1.974	3.6	78.8	85.0
2014	63 982	781 167	547 003	234 164	12.3	8.7	3.7	1.976	3.6	79.3	85.4
2015	64 359	760 151	581 770	178 381	11.9	9.2	2.7	1.931	3.7	79.0	85.1

For the purpose of compatibility, all data refers to Metropolitan France

Current natural increase for Metropolitan France^[20]

• Number of births from January–OCtober 2015 = 634,885
• Number of births from January–October 2016 = 622,900

• Number of deaths from January–October 2015 = 486,422
• Number of deaths from January–October 2016 = 473,700

• Natural growth from January–October 2015 = 148,463
• Natural growth from January–October 2016 = 149,200

Fertility

France has a high fertility rate by European standards; this rate has increased after reaching a historic low in the early 1990s.

• Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born per woman for metropolitan France and the overseas departments (in 2012),^[1] 2.00 for metropolitan France alone (in 2010).^[21]
• Mean age of women having their first birth: 29.9 years-old.^[22]

The table below gives the average number of children according to the place of birth of women. An immigrant woman is a woman who was born outside France and who did not have French citizenship at birth.^[23]

	Average number of children in France (1991–1998)	Average number of children in country of origin (1990–1999)
All women living in metropolitan France	1.74
Women born in Metropolitan France	1.70
Immigrant women	2.16
Women born in overseas France	1.86
Immigrant women (country of birth)
Spain	1.52	1.23
Italy	1.60	1.24
Portugal	1.96	1.49
Other EU	1.66	1.44
Turkey	3.21	2.16
Other Europe	1.68	1.41
Algeria	2.57	1.78
Morocco	2.97	3.28
Tunisia	2.90	2.73
Other Africa	2.86	5.89
Asia (Mostly China)	1.77	2.85
The Americas and Oceania	2.00	2.54

Births by country of birth or citizenship of the parents

Births by country of birth of the parents

About 40% of newborns in France between 2006 and 2008 had one foreign-born grandparent (11% born in another European country, 16% born in the Maghreb and 12% born in another region of the world).^[8]

In 2010, 27.3% of newborns in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and 23.9% had at least one parent born outside of Europe (EU 27) (parents born in overseas territories are considered as born in France).^[5][7]

The table below gives the number of children born in metropolitan France according to the place of birth of both parents.

Birth country of parents	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2010%	2011	2012	2013	2014	2014%
Both parents born in France	566 447	576 537	601 268	595 286	580 999	575 985	574 687	575 659	590 163	579 515	585 427	578 052	583 600	72.7%	604 077	598 473	583 864	579 106	70,75%
One parent born in France, other foreign-born	101 511	98 687	101 498	102 013	103 930	106 677	110 258	114 090	119 159	119 587	121 845	125 058	129 025	16.1%	119 114	119 957	119 643	123 855	15,13%
Father born in EU28, mother born in France	13 194	12 858	13 060	12 447	11 732	11 442	10 811	10 667	10 455	10 188	9 975	9 526	9 549	1.2%	9 961	9 637	9 414	9 235	1,13%
Father not born in EU28, mother born in France	44 891	43 807	45 612	46 459	47 695	49 790	52 244	54 176	56 886	56 626	57 955	60 362	62 478	7.8%	55 209	55 488	55 397	56 370	6,89%
Father born in France, mother born in EU28	13 020	12 647	12 411	11 881	11 439	11 119	10 930	10 827	10 794	10 575	10 562	10 585	10 418	1.3%	10 104	9 761	9 772	10 058	1,23%
Father born in France, mother not born in EU28	30 406	29 375	30 415	31 226	33 064	34 326	36 273	38 420	41 024	42 198	43 353	44 585	46 580	5.8%	43 840	45 071	45 060	48 192	5,89%
Both parents foreign-born	70 122	69 567	72 016	73 646	76 701	78 802	82 871	84 606	87 574	86 883	88 772	90 310	89 599	11.2%	100 203	102 617	108 003	115 604	14,12%
Both parents born in EU28	6 681	6 157	5 780	5 524	5 159	5 369	5 426	5 372	5 778	5 891	6 276	6 442	6 694	0.8%	7 798	8 419	8 884	9 726	1,19%
Both parents not born in EU28	60 281	60 636	63 299	65 406	68 788	70 552	74 537	76 348	78 700	78 020	79 405	80 641	79 698	9.9%	89 163	91 049	95 721	102 319	12,50%
Father born in EU27, mother not born in EU28	1 188	1 047	1 116	1 035	1 038	1 075	1 150	1 100	1 256	1 190	1 226	1 268	1 258	0.2%	1 469	1 436	1 494	1 554	0,19%
Father not born in EU27, Mother born in EU28	1 972	1 727	1 821	1 681	1 716	1 806	1 758	1 786	1 840	1 782	1 865	1 959	1 949	0.2%	1 773	1 713	1 904	2 005	0,24%
Total of newborns	738 080	744 791	774 782	770 945	761 630	761 464	767 816	774 355	796 896	785 985	796 044	793 420	802 224	100%	823 394	821 047	811 510	818 565	100%

Births by citizenship of the parents

In 2010, 80.1% of newborns in metropolitan France had two French parents, 13.3% had one French parent, and 6,6% had two non French parents.^[5][24]

The table below gives the number of children born in metropolitan France according to the citizenship of both parents.

Citizenship of parents	1998	1999	2000	2000%	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2010%	2011	2012	2013	2014
Both French parents	630 995	633 788	657 576	84.9%	648 506	633 294	629 014	628 062	630 481	645 879	635 082	640 596	634 153	642 816	80.1%	659 834	651 577	638 576	634 027
One French parent, other non-French	57 897	61 577	66 636	8.6%	69 954	74 590	78 318	84 013	88 965	94 888	96 314	100 464	103 704	106 622	13.3%	105 767	108 905	109 809	115 647
French mother, father with European citizenship (EU28)	9 146	9 175	9 554	1.2%	9 397	8 866	9 019	8 749	8 503	8 571	8 509	8 349	8 197	8 829	1.1%	8 300	8 270	8 120	8 019
French mother, father with non-European citizenship (EU28)	25 117	26 720	29 592	3.8%	31 463	33 820	35 756	38 923	41 061	43 698	43 603	45 579	46 753	46 456	5.8%	44 600	45 599	45 866	47 184
French father, mother with European citizenship (EU28)	7 535	7 551	7 409	1.0%	7 235	7 359	7 097	7 172	7 324	7 395	7 420	7 642	7 862	7 874	1.0%	7 856	7 747	7 901	8 162
French father, mother with non-European citizenship (EU28)	16 099	18 131	20 081	2.6%	21 859	24 545	26 446	29 169	32 077	35 224	36 782	38 894	40 892	43 463	5.4%	45 011	47 289	47 922	52 282
Both non-French parents	49 188	49 426	50 570	6.5%	52 485	53 746	54 132	55 741	54 909	56 129	54 589	54 984	55 563	52 786	6.6%	57 793	60 565	63 125	68 891
Both parents with European citizenship (EU28)	6 715	6 359	6 166	0.8%	5 808	5 507	5 589	5 670	5 667	6 085	6 214	6 623	6 803	6 958	0.9%	7 895	8 556	9 176	10 217
Both parents with non-European citizenship (EU28)	41 268	41 845	42 985	5.5%	45 265	46 807	46 921	48 364	47 440	48 091	46 301	46 167	46 435	43 454	5.4%	47 419	49 262	50 860	55 056
Father with European citizenship (EU28), mother with non-European citizenship (EU28)	440	502	565	0.1%	589	571	685	733	797	937	967	1 062	1 141	1 235	0.2%	1 400	1 555	1 700	2 091
Father with non-European citizenship (EU28), mother with European citizenship (EU28)	765	720	854	0.1%	823	861	937	974	1 005	1 016	1 107	1 132	1 184	1 139	0.2%	1 079	1 192	1 389	1 527
Total of newborns	738 080	744 791	774 782	100%	770 945	761 630	761 464	767 816	774 355	796 896	785 985	796 044	793 420	802 224	100%	823 394	821 047	811 510	818 565

Ethnic groups

As of 2004, French conservative think-tank Institut Montaigne estimated that there were 60 million (85%) white people of European origin, 6 million (10%) North African people, 2 million (3.5%) Black people and 1 million (1.5%) people of Asian origin in Metropolitan France, including all generations of immigrant descendants.^[26]

The scope of foreign origin can be estimated by the National Screening Program for Sickle Cell Disease because the genetic disease very rarely affects European people. Newborn babies with at least one parent who originates from a risk region are screened. The screening suggests that in 2000, 19 percent of all newborn babies in mainland France had at least one parent originating from one of the risk regions. The figure for 2007 was 28.45 percent, for 2010 31.5 percent, for 2012 34.44 percent, and for 2013 35.7 percent.^[27]

The modern ethnic French are the descendants of Celts, Iberians, Ligurians, Italic peoples (including Romans) and Greeks in southern France,^[28][29] later mixed with large group of Germanic peoples arriving at the end of the Roman Empire such as the Franks the Burgundians, Alamanni and Goths,^[30] very small portions of Moors and Saracens in the south,^{[31][32][33][34][35][36][37]} and Scandinavians, Vikings who became, by mixing with the local population, the Normans and settled mostly in Normandy in the 9th century.^[38][39]

Due to a law dating from 1872, the French Republic prohibits performing census by making distinction between its citizens regarding their race or their beliefs.^[40]

Some organizations, such as the Representative Council of Black Associations of France (French: Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France, CRAN), have argued in favour of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organizations and ruling politicians,^[41][42] often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France's secular principles and harks back to Vichy-era identity documents.^[43] During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy, polled on the issue, stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity.^[44] Part of a parliamentary bill that would have permitted the collection of data for the purpose of measuring discrimination was rejected by the Conseil Constitutionnel in November 2007.^[40]

However, that law does not concern surveys and polls, which are free to ask those questions if they wish. The law also allows for an exception for public institutions such as the INED or the INSEE whose job it is to collect data on demographics, social trends and other related subjects, on condition that the collection of such data has been authorized by the National Commission for Computer-stocked data and Freedom (CNIL) and the National Council of Statistical Information (CNIS).^[45]

Of European ethnic groups not indigenous to France, the most numerous are people of Italian family origin and it is estimated that about 5 million citizens (8% of the population) are at least partly of Italian origin if their parentage is retraced over three generations.^[46] This is due to waves of Italian immigration, notably during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Other large European groups of non-native origin are Spaniards, Portuguese, Romanians, Polish, and Greeks. Also, due to more recent immigration, between five and six million people of Maghrebi origin^[47] and approximately 800,000 Turks inhabit France.^[48][49] An influx of North African Jews immigrated to France in the 1950s and after the Algerian War due to the decline of the French empire. Subsequent waves of immigration followed the Six-Day War, when some Moroccan and Tunisian Jews settled in France. Hence, by 1968, North African Jews were about 500,000 and the majority in France. As these new immigrants were already culturally French they needed little time to adjust to French society. Black people come from both the French overseas territories (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and former colony Haiti) and Sub-Saharan Africa (especially Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal). France has the largest black population in Europe.

Solis, a marketing company, recently estimated the numbers for ethnic minorities (immigrants and 2nd generation) in France in 2009 as 3.26 million Maghrebis (5.23%), 1.83 million Black people (2.94%), 1.08 million Sub-Saharan Africans and 757,000 French from French West Indies) and 250,000 Turkish (0.71%) .^[50][51]

Immigration

Since the 19th century, France has continued being a country of immigration. During the Trente Glorieuses (1945–1974), the country's reconstruction and steady economic growth led to the labor-immigration of the 1960s, when many employers found manpower in villages located in Southern Europe and North Africa. In 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (second generation) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. About 5.5 million are of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi origin.^[52][53]

Immigration to France exceeded 200,000 in recent years, as shown in table below.^[54]

Region	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	% 2012
Europe	80 500	78 660	80 120	79 290	80 330	75 040	88 820	94 580	105 830	46 % (including from Eastern Europe)
Africa	70 200	66 110	62 340	62 140	63 470	66 480	65 610	66 280	68 640	30 % (including from Maghreb)
Asia	30 960	30 120	30 520	32 070	30 180	32 960	29 810	32 430	32 060	14 % (including from China)
America and Oceania	19 810	19 990	20 460	18 770	21 440	20 450	26 270	23 360	23 070	10%
All countries	201 470	194 880	193 440	192 270	195 420	194 930	210 510	216 650	229 600	100%

Before World War II

In the 20th century, France experienced a high rate of immigration from other countries. The immigration rate was particularly high during the 1920s and 1930s. France was the European country which suffered the most from World War I, with respect to the size of its population, losing 1.4 million young men out of a total population of 40 million. France was also at the time the European country with the lowest fertility rate, which meant that the country had a very hard time recovering from the heavy losses of the war. France had to open its doors to immigration, which was the only way to prevent population decline between the two world wars.^[55]

At the time, France was the only European country to permit mass immigration. The other major European powers, such as the UK or Germany, still had high fertility rates, so immigration was seen as unnecessary, and it was also undesirable to the vast majority of their populations. The majority of immigrants in the 1920s came from Italy and Poland, though some also came from 1930s came from elsewhere in southern and eastern Europe, and the first wave of colonial French subjects from Africa and Asia. This mass immigration was ended and partially reversed by the economic problems of the 1930s.^[56] By the end of the Spanish Civil War, some half-million Spanish Republican refugees had crossed the border into France.^[57] At this time, Judaism was the second most populous religion in France, as it had been for centuries. However, this would soon change.

Local populations often opposed immigrant manpower, leading to occasional outbursts of violence. The most violent was a pogrom against Italian workers who worked in the salt evaporation ponds of Peccais, erupted in Aigues-Mortes in 1893, killing at least nine and injuring hundreds on the Italian side.^[58]

After World War II

After World War II, the French fertility rate rebounded considerably, as noted above, but economic growth in France was so high that new immigrants had to be brought into the country. Most immigrants were Portuguese as well as Arabs and Berbers from North Africa. The first wave arrived in the 1950s, but the major arrivals happened in the 1960s and 1970s. More than one million people from the Maghreb immigrated in the 1960s and early 1970s from North Africa, especially Algeria (following the end of French rule there) . One million European pieds noirs also migrated from Algeria in 1962 and the following years during the chaotic independence of Algeria.^[59] France has over three million French of Algerian descent, a small percentage of whom are third-or fourth-generation French.

French law facilitated the immigration of thousands of French settlers (colons in French language), ethnic or national French from former colonies of North and West Africa, India and Indochina, to mainland France. 1.6 million European pieds noirs settlers migrated from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.^[60] In the 1970s, over 30,000 French settlers left Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime as the Pol Pot government confiscated their farms and land properties. However, after the 1973 energy crisis, laws limiting immigration were passed. In addition, the country's birth rate dropped significantly during this time.

Between 1956 and 1967, about 235.000 Sephardic North African Jews from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco also immigrated to France because of the decline of the French colonial empire and following the Six-Day War. Hence, by 1968, Sephardic North African Jews were the majority of the Jews in France. As the new immigrants were already culturally French, they needed little time to adjust to French society.^[61]

In the late 1970s, the end of high economic growth in France caused immigration policies to be considerably tightened, starting with laws by Charles Pasqua passed in 1986 and 1993. New immigrants were allowed only through the family reunion schemes (wives and children moving to France to live with husbands or fathers already living in France), or as asylum seekers. Illegal immigration thus developed as immigration policy became more rigid. In 2006, The French Ministry of the Interior estimated clandestine immigrants in France amounted to anywhere between 200,000 and 400,000 and expected between 80,000 and 100,000 people to enter the country illegally each year.^[62]

The Pasqua laws are a significant landmark in the shift in France's immigration policy through the course of the 20th century. They are a sign of the securitization aspect of immigration, giving more power to the police, allowing them to perform random identity checks and deport immigrants without legal papers. The rise in anti-immigration sentiments was reinforced by a series of terrorist bombs in Paris in 1986, linked to Muslim immigrants in France.^[63]

Tightening immigration laws, as well as notions of "zero immigration", reflected national views that arose within the discussion around immigrant family reunification and national identity. Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI) immigration expert, Christophe Bertossi, states that stigmatized as both a challenge to social cohesion and a "burden" for the French economy, family immigration is increasingly restricted and constructed as a racial issue. The "immigration choisie" policy strives consequently to select migrants according to their profile, skills and, still indirectly, origins.^[64][65]

Nonetheless, immigration rates in the 1980s and 1990s were much lower than in the 1960s and 1970s, especially compared to other European countries. The regions of emigrations also widened, with new immigrants now coming from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In the 1970s, a small but well-publicized wave of Chilean and Argentine political refugees from their countries' dictatorships found asylum in France.

Ethnic Vietnamese started to become a visible segment of society after the massive influx of refugees after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The expulsions of ethnic Chinese from Vietnam in the 1970s led to a wave of immigration and the settlement of the high-rise neighbourhood near the Porte d'Italie, where the Chinatown of Paris is located. Located in the 13th arrondissement, the area contains many ethnic Chinese inhabitants.^[66]

The large-scale immigration from Islamic countries has sparked controversy in France. Nevertherless, according to Justin Vaïsse, in spite of obstacles and spectacular failures like the riots in November 2005, in Parisian suburbs, where many immigrants live secluded from society with very few capabilities to live in better conditions, the integration of Muslim immigrants is happening as part of a background evolution^[67] and recent studies confirmed the results of their assimilation, showing that "North Africans seem to be characterized by a high degree of cultural integration reflected in a relatively high propensity to exogamy" with rates ranging from 20% to 50%.^[68] According to Emmanuel Todd, the relatively high exogamy among French Algerians can be explained by the colonial link between France and Algeria.^[69][70] One illustration of this growing resentment and job insecurity can be drawn from related events, such as the 2005 riots, which ensued in former President Chirac declaring a state of emergency.^[71] Massive demonstrations to express frustration over unemployment took place in March 2009.^[72] The importance of integration was brought to the forefront of the political agenda in Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. Upon being elected, he symbolically created the French Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Codevelopment. Integration is one of the pillars of its political aims.^[73]

Today

In 2014, the National Institute of Statistics (INSEE is its acronym in French) published a study, according to which has doubled the number of Spanish, Portuguese and Italians in France between 2009 and 2012.

According to the French Institute, the increase resulting from the financial crisis that hit several European countries in that period, has pushed up the number of Europeans installed in France.^[3] Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107% between 2009 and 2012, from 5300 to 11,000 people.^[3][74]

Of 229,000 foreigners were in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%, Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, Belgians 3% and Dutch 2%.^[3][75]

With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian in France, the weight of European immigrants arrived in 2012 to 46%, while the percentage for African immigrants reached 30%, with a presence in Morocco (7%), Algeria (7%) and Tunisia (3%).

Meanwhile, 14% of all immigrants who settled in France that year were from Asian countries: 3% of China and 2% in Turkey while America and Oceania constitute 10% of Americans and Brazilians accounted for higher percentage, 2% each.^[3][75]

As of 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (limited to second-generation born in France) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. More than 5.5 million are of European origin and about 4 million of Maghrebi origin (20% of Algerian origin and 15% of Moroccan or Tunisian origin). Immigrants aged 18 to 50 count for 2.7 million (10% of population age 18–50) and 5 million for all ages (8% of population). The second-generation immigrants aged 18 to 50 make up 3.1 million (12% of 18–50) and 6.5 million for all ages (11% of population).^[52][53] Without considering citizenship at birth, people not born in metropolitan France and their direct descendants made up 30% of the population aged 18–50 in metropolitan France as of 2008.^[76]

The region with the largest proportion of immigrants is the Île-de-France (Greater Paris), where 40% of immigrants live. Other important regions are Rhône-Alpes (Lyon) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Marseille). The most important individual countries of origin as of 2007 were Algeria (702,000), Morocco (645,000), Portugal (576,000), Italy (323,000), Spain (262,000) and Turkey (234,000). However, immigration from Asia (especially China), as well as from sub-Saharan Africa (Senegal, Mali) is gaining in importance.

42% of the immigrants are from Africa (30% from Maghreb and 12% from Sub-Saharan Africa), 38% from Europe (mainly from Portugal, Turkey, Italy and Spain), 14% from Asia and 5% from America and Oceania.^[53] Outside Europe and North Africa, the highest rate of immigration is from Vietnam, Cambodia and Senegal.

The following table shows immigrants and second-generation immigrants by origin as of 2008 according to a study published by Insee in 2012. Third-generation immigrants, illegal immigrants, as well as ethnic minorities like black people from the French overseas territories residing in metropolitan France (800,000), Roms (500,000) or people born in Maghreb with French citizenship at birth (1 million Maghrebi Jews, Harkis and Pied-Noir) and their descendants, who are French by birth and not considered as immigrants or immigrant descendants, are not taken into account.^[77]

Immigrants by origin (2008) in thousands	Immigrants	Second generation	Total	%
Spain	257	620	877	7.3%
Italy	317	920	1 237	10.4%
Portugal	581	660	1 241	10.4%
Turkey	239	220	459	3.8%
Other countries from EU27	653	920	1 573	13.2%
Other European countries	224	210	434	3.6%
Europe Total	2 032	3 330	5 362	44.9%
Algeria	713	1 000	1 713	14.3%
Morocco	654	660	1 314	11.0%
Tunisia	235	290	525	4.4%
Maghreb Total	1 602	1 950	3 552	29.7%
Subsaharan Africa	669	570	1 239	10.4%
SouthEast Asia	163	160	323	2.7%
Other Asian countries	355	210	565	4.7%
America/Oceania	282	170	452	3.8%
Other Regions Total	1 708	1 330	3 038	25.4%
Total	5 342	6 610	11 952	100.00%

These were the top ten emigrant countries in 2012:^[78]

Rank	Country	% Immigrants 2012 in France
Sovereign states and dependencies of Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia1 Austria Azerbaijan1 Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus1 Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia1 Germany Greece1 Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan1 Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia1 San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain2 Sweden Switzerland Turkey1 Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City States with limited recognition Abkhazia1 Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh1 Northern Cyprus1 South Ossetia1 Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Denmark Faroe Islands constituent country Finland Åland Islands autonomous region Norway Jan Mayen Svalbard unincorporated areas United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia1 sovereign base areas Gibraltar overseas territory Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey crown dependencies 1 Partially in Asia, or entirely in Asia with cultural links to Europe. 2 Partially in Africa
1	Portugal	8.0%
2	United Kingdom	5.0%
3	Spain	5.0%
4	Italy	4.0%
5	Germany	4.0%
6	Romania	3.0%
7	Belgium	3.0%
8	Russia	2.0%
9	Switzerland	2.0%
10	Poland	2.0%
Countries and territories of Africa Sovereign states entirely in Africa Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe partly in Africa France Mayotte Réunion Italy Pantelleria Pelagie Islands Portugal Madeira Spain Canary Islands Ceuta Melilla Plazas de soberanía Yemen Socotra Territories and dependencies Îles Éparses France Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha UK Southern Provinces (Western Sahara)1 States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland 1 Unclear sovereignty.
1	Algeria	7.0%
2	Morocco	7.0%
3	Tunisia	3.0%
Countries and dependencies of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand East Timor (Timor-Leste) Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and special administrative regions Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands China Hong Kong Macau United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia British Indian Ocean Territory
1	China	3.0%
2	Turkey	2.0%
Countries and dependencies of North America Sovereign states Entire Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States In part Colombia San Andrés and Providencia France Guadeloupe Martinique Netherlands Bonaire Saba Sint Eustatius Venezuela Federal Dependencies Nueva Esparta Dependencies Denmark Greenland France Clipperton Island St. Barthélemy St. Martin St. Pierre and Miquelon Netherlands Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten United Kingdom Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands United States Navassa Island Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands Latin America and the Caribbean Central America Belize Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda Aruba1 The Bahamas Barbados Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico1 St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies not included.    1 Defined as a semi-autonomous territory.
1	United States	2.0%
2	Brazil	2.0%

According to Michèle Tribalat, researcher at INED, there were, in 1999, approximately 14 million persons of foreign ancestry (about a quarter of the population), defined as either immigrants or people with at least one immigrant parent or grandparent. Half of them were of European ancestry (including 5.2 million from South Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal and former Yugoslavia)). The rest were from Maghreb (3 million), Sub-saharan Africa (680,000), Turkey (320,000) and other parts of the world (2.5 million).^[79] Immigrants from the Maghreb are commonly referred to as beur, a verlan slang term derived from the word arabe (French for Arab).^[80]

According to the distinguished French historian of immigration Gérard Noiriel, one third of the population currently living in France is of "foreign" descent.^[81]

In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe.^[82] In 2005, immigration levels fell slightly to 135,890.^[83] The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While the UK (along with Ireland and Sweden and non-EU members Norway and Switzerland) did not impose restrictions, France put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration.

As at 1 January 2006, INSEE estimates that the number of foreigners living in metropolitan France amounted to 3.5 million people. Two out of five foreigners are from Portugal, Algeria or Morocco. Thus, EU nationals immigrating to France comprise 1.2 million people, and 1.1 million people are from the three Maghreb countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It is interesting to note that immigrants are concentrated in Île-de-France, Rhone-Alpes, Provence and Côte d'Azur regions, accounting for 60% of the total immigrant population. Furthermore, there appears to be a lower rate of immigrants arriving from the EU since 1975 as opposed to an increase in African immigrants.^[84]

In the first decade of the 21st century, the net migration rate was estimated to be 0.66 migrants per 1,000 population a year.^[85] This is a very low rate of immigration compared to other European countries, the USA or Canada. Since the beginning of the 1990s, France has been attempting to curb immigration, first with the Pasqua laws, followed by both right-wing and socialist-issued laws. This trend is also demonstrated in anti-immigrant sentiments among the public. For example, the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. conducted a public opinion poll in February 2004 among French nationals. This poll measured the extent of support for restricting immigration among French nationals, by age cohort. 24% of individuals 18 to 29 were restricting immigration, with 33% of individuals 30 to 49 and 53% for both 50 to 64 and 65 and over.^[86] Nearly nine years later, a January 2013 poll conducted in France by Ipsos found that 70% of respondents said that there were "too many immigrants in France".^[87]

The immigration rate is currently lower than in other European countries such as United Kingdom and Spain; however, some say it is unlikely that the policies in themselves account for such a change. Again, as in the 1920s and 1930s, France stands in contrast with the rest of Europe. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, when other European countries had a high fertility rate, France had a low fertility rate and opened its doors to immigration to avoid a population decline. Today, it is the rest of Europe that has very low fertility rates, and countries like Germany or Spain avoid population decline only through immigration. In France, however, the fertility rate is still fairly high for European standards. It is, in fact, the highest in Europe after Ireland (the EU) and Albania (perhaps higher than Ireland's) and so most population growth is due to natural increase, unlike in the other European countries.^[88]

The difference in immigration trends is also because the labour market in France is currently less dynamic than in other countries such as the UK, Ireland or Spain. One reason for this could be France's relatively high unemployment, which the country has struggled to reduce for the past two decades. There is also a parallel dynamic between immigration and unemployment. Immigrants tend to be subjected to higher rates of unemployment. In 2008, the immigrant unemployment rate in France was a startling 13%, twice as high as for the national population (6%).^[89] One can further analyse the trend in relation to education. In the ministry's 2010 report on professional inclusion for immigrants, 19.6% of immigrants without any education were unemployed while 16.1% of immigrants who had graduated high school were unemployed. Only 11.4% of immigrants with an undergraduate degree or higher were unemployed.^[90]

For example, according to the UK Office for National Statistics, between July 2001 and July 2004, the population of the UK increased by 721,500 inhabitants, of which 242,800 (34%) was due to natural increase, 478,500 (66%) to immigration.^[91] According to the INSEE, between January 2001 and January 2004 the population of Metropolitan France increased by 1,057,000 inhabitants of which 678,000 (64%) was due to natural increase, 379,500 (36%) from immigration.^[92]

The latest 2008 demographic statistics have been released, and France's birth and fertility rates have continued to rise. The fertility rate increased to 2.01 in 2012^[1] and, for the first time, surpasses the fertility rate of the United States.^[93]

Americans in France

Americans total more than 100,000^[94] permanent residents in France, Canadians 11,931,^[95] followed by Latin Americans, are a growing subgroup, the most numerous of which are Brazilians, at 44,622;^[96] followed by Colombians, at 40,000, Venezuelans, at 30,000;^[97] Peruvians, at 22,002;^[98] Argentineans, at 11,899;^[99] and Chileans, 15,782.^[100]

Europeans in France

In 2014 The National Institute of Statistics (INSEE, for its acronym in French) published a study, according to which has doubled the number of Spanish immigrants, Portuguese and Italians in France between 2009 and 2012.

According to the French Institute, the increase resulting from the financial crisis that hit several European countries in that period, has pushed up the number of Europeans installed in France.^[3] Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107 percent between 2009 and 2012, i.e. in this period went from 5300 to 11,000 people.^[74]

Of the total of 229,000 foreigners in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%,^[3] Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, 3% Belgians.^[3][75]

With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian in France, the weight of European immigrants arrived in 2012 to 46 percent, while this percentage for African reached 30%, with a presence in Morocco (7%), Algeria (7%) and Tunisia (3%).

Meanwhile, 14% of all immigrants who settled in France that year were from Asian countries: 3% of China and 2% in Turkey, while in America and Oceania constitute 10% of Americans and Brazilians accounted for higher percentage, 2% each.^[3][75]

Maghrebis in France

French of Maghrebi origin form the largest ethnic group after French of European origin.

According to Michel Tribalat, a researcher at INED, there were 3.5 million people of Maghrebi origin (with at least one grandparent from Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia) living in France in 2005 corresponding to 5.8% of the total French metropolitan population (60.7 million in 2005).^[101] Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Paris region. Many famous French people like Edith Piaf,^[102] Isabelle Adjani, Arnaud Montebourg, Alain Bashung, Dany Boon and many others have Maghrebi ancestry.

Below is a table of population of Maghrebi origin in France, numbers are in thousands:

Country	1999	2005	% 1999/2005	% French population (60.7 million in 2005)
Algeria	1,577	1,865	+18.3%	3.1%
Immigrants	574	679
Born in France	1,003	1,186
Morocco	1,005	1,201	+19.5%	2.0%
Immigrants	523	625
Born in France	482	576
Tunisia	417	458	+9.8%	0.8%
Immigrants	202	222
Born in France	215	236
Total Maghreb	2,999	3,524	+17.5%	5.8%
Immigrants	1 299	1 526		2.5%
Born in France	1 700	1 998		3.3%

In 2005, the percentage of young people under 18 of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent) was about 7% in Metropolitan France, 12% in Greater Paris and above 20% in French département of Seine-Saint-Denis.^[103][104]

2005	Seine-Saint-Denis	Val-de-Marne	Val-d'Oise	Lyon	Paris	France
Total Maghreb	22.0%	13.2%	13.0%	13.0%	12.1%	6.9%

According to other sources, between 5 and 6 million people of Maghrebin origin live in France corresponding to about 7–9% of the total French metropolitan population.^[105]

Immigration policy

As mentioned above, the French Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Codevelopment was created immediately following the appointment of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France in 2007. Immigration has been a relevant political dimension in France's agenda in recent years. Sarkozy's agenda has sharpened the focus placed on integration of immigrants living in France as well as their acquisition of national identity. The state of immigration policy in France is fourfold. Its pillars of immigration policy are to regulate migratory flows in and out of France, facilitate immigrants' integration and promote French identity, honor the French tradition's principle of welcoming political asylum and promote solidarity within the immigrant population (principle of co-development).^[106] In its 2010 Budget report, the Ministry of Immigration declared it would fund €600 million for its immigration policy objectives, a figure representing 60 million more than in 2009 (otherwise an 11.5% increase from 2009 figures).^[90]

In July 2006, President Sarkozy put into effect a law on immigration based upon the notion of "chosen immigration",^[107] which allows immigration into France to a restricted field of employment sectors, notably the hotel and restaurant industries, construction and seasonal employment. The following summer of 2007, Sarkozy amended the law to require the acquisition of the French language as a pre-condition. According to Christophe Bertossi, immigration expert in France's Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI), "there is a dominant trend in the French policy to stem family migration, notably conditioned after the 2007 law by a minimum level of French language tested and by the demonstration that he/she endorses the main French constitutional principles".^[108]

France, along with other EU countries, have still not signed their agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of 1990.^[109] This Convention is a treaty to protect migrant workers' rights, in recognition of their human rights.

Alternative policies have been discussed in formulating immigration policy, such as a quota system. At the beginning of 2008, as the government was rethinking its orientation on immigration policy with the creation of the new ministry, the idea of a quota system was introduced as a possible alternative. In early 2008, a proposal was made to Parliament to decide each year how many immigrants to accept, based on skill and origin. However, this quota policy contradicts the French Constitution. A commission was formed in February 2008 to study how the Constitution could be changed to allow for a quota system. The main difficulty is the origin principle of establishing a quota "constituting a breach in the universalistic ideology of the French Republic".^[64]

On 18 January 2008, the government published a list of 150 job titles that were encountering difficult supply of labour.^[110] Most immigrants living in France today are reported to cover the following sectors: agriculture, service to persons in need (childcare, the elderly), construction, education, health and services to businesses.^[111] Thus, the government is seeking to match immigrants with the economic makeup of France. The current administration could also seek to integrate migrants and their families through education and training, making them more competitive in the job market. To tackle critical labour shortages, France also decided to participate in the EU Blue Card.

Therefore, the outlook towards immigrants in France is shifting as unemployment continues to dominate the political agenda, along with political incentives to strengthen French national identity. Recent incidents, such as the 2005 civil unrest and Romani repatriation have shed light on France's immigration policies and how these are viewed globally, especially in congruence or discontinuity with the EU. A longitudinal study has been conducted since March 2010 to provide qualitative research regarding the integration of new immigrants.^[112] The report is being finalized at the end of December 2010 and will be most relevant to provide insight into further immigration policy analysis for the French government.

Languages

French is the only official language of France, and is constitutionally required to be the language of government and administration. There is a rising cultural awareness of the regional languages of France, which enjoy no official status. These regional languages include the Langue d'oïl, Langue d'oc, Romance languages other than French, Basque, Breton and Germanic languages. Immigrant groups from former French colonies and elsewhere have also brought their own languages.

Religion

France has not collected religious or ethnic data in its censuses since the beginning of the Third Republic, but the country's predominant faith has been Roman Catholicism since the early Middle Ages. Church attendance is fairly low, however, and the proportion of the population that is not religious has grown over the past century. A 2004 IFOP survey tallied that 44% of the French people did not believe in God; contrasted to 20% in 1947.^[113] A study by the CSA Institute conducted in 2003 with a sample of 18,000 people found that 65.3% considered themselves Roman Catholic, while 27% considered themselves atheists, and 12.7% (8,065,000 people) belonged to a religion other than Catholicism.

In the early 21st century there were an estimated 5 million Muslims in France,^[114] one million Protestants, 600,000 Buddhists, 491,000 Jews,^[115] and 150,000 Orthodox Christians. The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 .^[116] estimated the French Hindu population at 181,312. These studies did not ask the respondents if they were practicing or how often they did practice if they were active in the laity.

According to a poll conducted in 2001 for French Catholic magazine La Croix, 69% of respondents were Roman Catholic (only 10% being listed as regular churchgoers), 22% agnostic or atheist, 2% Protestant (Calvinist, Lutheran, Anglican and Evangelical), and 7% belonged to other religions.^[117]

According to a 2015 estimate of CIA World Factbook the numbers are: Christian (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic) 63-66%, Muslim 7-9%, Jewish 0.5-0.75%, Buddhist 0.5-0.75%, other 0.5-1.0%, none 23-28%.^[118]

Genetics

France has been influenced by the different human migrations that occurred throughout Europe over time. Prehistoric and Neolithic population movements could have influenced the genetic diversity of this country. A recent study in 2009 analysed 555 French individuals from 7 different regions in mainland France and found the following Y-DNA Haplogroups. The five main haplogroups are R1 (63.41%), E (11.41%), I (8.88%), J (7.97%) and G (5.16%). R1b (particularly R1b1b2) was found to be the most dominant Y chromosomal lineage in France, covering about 60% of the Y chromosomal lineages. The high frequency of this haplogroup is typical in all West European populations. Haplogroups I and G are also characteristic markers for many different West European populations. Haplogroups J and E1b1b (M35, M78, M81 and M34) consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Only adults with French surnames were analyzed by the study.^[119][120]

According to a 2008 study by Dutch geneticist Manfred Kayser, French people based on a sample from Lyon, showed genetic similarities to all Europeans especially the Swiss, Germans, Austrians, Italians, and Spaniards.

Region	Nb	BD	E*	E-M35*	E-M78	E-M81	E-M34	G	I	J1	J2	K	N1c	P*	R1a	R1b1	T
1 Alsace	80	0	0	0	6.25	0	3.75	2.50	8.75	1.25	8.75	1.25	0	0	3.75	58.75	5
2 Auvergne	89	0	2.25	0	3.37	5.62	1.12	8.99	4.49	3.37	7.87	1.12	0	0	5.62	52.80	3.37
3 Brittany	115	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.74	13.04	0.87	2.61	0	0	0	0.87	80.88	0
4 Île-de-France	91	0	10.99	0	4.40	5.49	1.10	4.40	7.69	1.10	5.49	0	1.10	0	2.20	56.05	0
5 Midi-Pyrénées	67	0	1.49	1.49	2.99	1.49	1.49	4.48	10.45	4.48	7.46	0	0	0	2.99	59.69	1.49
6 Nord-Pas-de-Calais	68	0	1.47	1.47	5.88	4.41	0	7.35	8.82	0	5.88	0	0	0	2.94	61.76	0
7 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	45	2.22	0	2.22	8.89	2.22	0	6.67	8.89	0	6.67	0	0	4.44	0	55.55	2.22
Mainland France	555	0.32	2.31	0.74	4.54	2.75	1.07	5.16	8.88	1.58	6.39	0.34	0.16	0.63	2.62	60.78	1.73

According to a genetic study in 2000 based on HLA, French from Marseille "are more or less isolated from the other western European populations. They are in an intermediate position between the North Africans (Algerians from Algiers and Oran; Tunisians) and the western Europeans populations (France, Spain, and Portugal)". According to the authors "these results cannot be attributed to recent events because of the knowledge of the grandparents' origin" in the sample. This study reveals "that the southern French population from Marseilles is related genetically to the southwestern Europeans and North Africans, who are geographically close" and that "a substantial gene flow has thus probably been present among the populations of these neighboring areas".^[121]

List of France's aires urbaines (metropolitan areas)

The following is a list of the twenty largest aires urbaines (metropolitan areas) in France, based on their population at the 2011 census. Population at the 2006 census is indicated for comparison.

Between 2006 and 2011, Toulouse, Rennes, Montpellier, Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyon had the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in France..

Rank (2011)	Rank (2006)	Aire urbaine (metropolitan area)	Population (2011)	Population (2006)	Yearly change (2006-2011)	Land area (km²)
1	1	Paris [122]	12,292,895	11,956,493	+0.56%	17,174
2	2	Lyon [123]	2,188,759	2,085,107	+0.98%	6,019
3	3	Marseille - Aix-en-Provence[124]	1,720,941	1,692,459	+0.33%	3,174
4	4	Toulouse [125]	1,250,251	1,169,865	+1.34%	5,381
5	5	Lille (French part) [126]	1,159,547	1,152,507	+0.12%	926
6	6	Bordeaux [127]	1,140,668	1,086,106	+0.99%	5,613
7	7	Nice [128]	1,003,947	995,968	+0.16%	2,585
8	8	Nantes [129]	884,275	841,404	+1.00%	3,302
9	9	Strasbourg (French part) [130]	764,013	749,766	+0.38%	2,198
10	12	Rennes [131]	679,866	637,673	+1.29%	3,747
11	10	Grenoble [132]	675,122	659,459	+0.47%	2,621
12	11	Rouen [133]	655,013	643,499	+0.36%	2,367
13	13	Toulon [134]	606,987	598,514	+0.28%	1,196
14	15	Montpellier [135]	561,326	529,401	+1.18%	1,673
15	14	Douai - Lens [136]	542,946	545,636	−0.10%	679
16	17	Avignon [137]	515,123	501,866	+0.52%	2,083
17	16	Saint-Étienne [138]	508,548	508,284	+0.01%	1,689
18	18	Tours [139]	480,378	469,244	+0.47%	3,184
19	19	Clermont-Ferrand [140]	467,178	454,553	+0.55%	2,420
20	20	Nancy [141]	434,565	432,481	+0.10%	2,367

See also

• French people – officially a nationality, also discusses overseas French descendants.
• List of French people of immigrant origin
• List of French people
• Racism in France
• List of fifteen largest French metropolitan areas by population
• INSEE code
• Pied-noirs, the name for French settlers in Algeria
• Caldoches
• Population of Paris
• Jews in France
• French immigration to Puerto Rico
• French Portuguese
• French Canadian
• French American
• Franco-Mauritian
• Roma in France

References

Further reading

• Diebolt, Claude, and Perrin Faustine. Understanding Demographic Transitions. An Overview of French Historical Statistics (Springer, 2016) 176 pages. table of contents
• Dyer, Colin L. Population and Society in 20th Century France (1978)
• Henry, Louis. "The population of France in the eighteenth century." in Population in History (1965). pp 441+
• Spengler, Joseph J. France Faces Depopulation (1938)
• Van de Walle, Etienne. The female population of France in the nineteenth century: a reconstruction of 82 départements (Princeton University Press, 1974)

External links

• Inflow of third-country nationals by country of nationality, by year
• (French) Audio book (mp3) – Introduction and first chapter of Éric Maurin's book Le ghetto français, enquête sur le séparatisme social
• (French) Population of French communes with more than 2,000 inhabitants
• (French) Une question de la seconde génération en France – Le rôle de l'école dans la formation d'une identité minoritaire, par Patrick Simon
• France opens first museum dedicated to the history of immigration – Networkeurope.org
• Population cartogram of France
• Immigration expert Mr. Patrick Weil, has written extensively on the topic and is a well-respected intellectual voice in France.
• French immigration motives in numbers, INSEE
• Ministerial webpage
• Population statistics, INSEE webpage
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Migration office
• Official migration reports, immigration.gouv.fr
• Expatriates in France, linkexpats.com