Recent demographic trends in France: Situations and behaviours of minors

On 1 January 2020, France had a population of slightly above 67 million people, of whom 14.4 million were under age 18. The downtrend in births continued (754,000) in 2019, as did the ongoing increase in deaths (612,000). Natural increase is still the main driver of population growth. Inflows of foreigners from outside the European Union and Switzerland increased in 2018 (249,474 arrivals, up 4.9% from 2017). One in 10 incoming migrants were minors. The total fertility rate remained practically stable in 2019 (1.87 children per woman), and the increase in mean age at childbearing continued. Births to mothers under age 18 accounted for 0.5% of total births. The number of abortions (230,000) and the total abortion rate (0.58) increased slightly in 2019. The steady downtrend among women under 18 continued, however, and this age group accounted for just 3.5% of abortions in that year. Marriages (235,000) and PACS civil unions (209,000) increased in 2018, although the numerical difference between them continued to narrow. Age at marriage in France pursued its increase (35.4 years for women and 37.9 years for men). In 2018, 2.6% of marriages and 4.1% of PACS unions were between same-sex partners. Remarriage after divorce or widowhood is increasingly rare, and each divorce affects less than one minor child on average (0.91). Life expectancy is still increasing, but at a slower pace. It reached 79.7 years for men and 85.6 years for women in 2019. Mortality below age 15 is very low, and most deaths in this age group occur in the first year of life. Contrary to many other European countries, infant mortality has stagnated in France for the last 10 years.