On 1 January 2024, the population of France was 68.4 million, 230,000 more than on 1 January 2023. Natural increase fell to its lowest level since the Second World War, and since 2018, net migration has been the main driver of population growth. France is the second most populous country in EU-27 (15.2% of the EU population). Its population is growing slightly more slowly and is slightly younger than the European average but is ageing more rapidly.
In 2022, inflows from third countries increased, reaching their highest level since 2000 (282,957 people). The year was marked by a sharp increase in admissions for employment reasons (+4 percentage points) and a growing share of females in inflows (+15 points). France ranked 5th in Europe for migration inflows but ranked 21st if population size is taken into account.
In 2023, the historic decrease in births reflects the decline in fertility (1.67 children per woman), which fell to its lowest level since the Second World War. All age groups were concerned. The profile of age-specific fertility rates in France is similar to that of other countries of Western and Northern Europe, and in 2023 the share of non-marital births was the highest in Europe (65.2%).
Abortion numbers increased for the second consecutive year in 2023, and 8 in 10 abortions were medication-induced. Relative to the number of women aged 15–49 in the population, France, alongside Sweden, had Europe’s highest abortion rate in that year but was also one of the countries with the fewest restrictions on access to abortion.
The number of marriages increased very slightly in 2023, as did the number of civil partnerships (PACS unions), but only partially made up for the shortfall linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of same-sex PACS unions and marriages remained relatively stable in 2023 and, with the steady increase in mean age at marriage, France moved closer to the pattern in Southern and Western Europe, where marriage is later than in Eastern Europe.
While the number of deaths fell between 2020 and 2023, it remained above prepandemic levels (2019). Life expectancy, on the other hand, was higher in 2023 than in 2019 for both sexes, although the rebound in France was smaller than that observed in some other European countries. Compared with other EU countries, mortality in France remained relatively low at the most advanced ages, although the country performed much less well for infant mortality and its lag increased. The gender gap in mortality was above the European average but decreasing steadily. While deaths from cardiovascular diseases dominate in Europe, cancers were the leading cause of death in France in 2023.