Demographics of France

Historical overview

1800 to 20th century

After World War II

Historical summary

• Until 1795 metropolitan France was the most populous country of Europe, ahead of Russia, and the fourth most populous country in the world, behind only China, India and Japan;
• 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;
• In 1991, metropolitan France recovered its rank as the fourth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, overtaking Italy. Worldwide, France's ranking has fallen to twentieth most populous country;
• In 2005 it was projected that if current demographic trends continued, around 2050 metropolitan France could again surpass the population of Germany, becoming the most populous state in the European Union. In contrast, 2009 UN projections say that the stronger-growing United Kingdom could be more populous than France in 2050, leaving France third amongst European nations, behind Russia and the UK.

Population

Historical population figures

• figures are for metropolitan France only, not including French [overseas departments and territories|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 Savoy 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 which do not include for the Roman Empire parts of Gaul that were in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; figures from 1801 onwards are based on the official French censuses.

Population growth over time

Life expectancy and mortality

Age structure

Fertility

• Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born per woman for metropolitan France and the overseas departments, 2.00 for metropolitan France alone.
• Mean age of women having their first birth: 29.9 years-old.

Total fertility rate in the 19th century

Births by country of birth of the parents

Births by citizenship of the parents

Population projections

Vital statistics

• 1832, 1849, 1854, 1866 – Major Cholera oubtreaks
• 1854–1856 – Crimean War
• 1870–1871 – Franco-Prussian War loss of Alsace and German Lorraine
• 1914–18 – First World War
• 1940–44 – Second World War
• 1962 – Exodus at the end of Algerian War

Current vital statistics for Metropolitan France

Total fertility rates by region

Total fertility rate by department

Departments

TFR

Ain Structure of the population Age group Male Female Total % Total 31 138 550 33 162 271 64 300 821 100 0–4 1 932 140 1 847 172 3 779 312 5.88 5–9 2 031 848 1 942 222 3 974 070 6.18 10–14 2 024 518 1 934 267 3 958 786 6.16 15–19 1 996 718 1 892 357 3 889 075 6.08 20–24 1 877 169 1 839 475 3 716 644 5.78 25–29 1 882 618 1 933 606 3 816 224 5.93 30–34 1 960 633 2 030 784 3 991 417 6.21 35–39 1 973 599 2 014 489 3 988 088 6.20 40–44 2 155 883 2 185 588 4 341 471 6.75 45–49 2 155 308 2 206 495 4 361 803 6.78 50–54 2 111 783 2 195 431 4 307 213 6.70 55–59 1 992 506 2 120 744 4 113 250 6.40 60–64 1 912 839 2 077 537 3 990 376 6.21 65–69 1 713 389 1 892 099 3 605 489 5.61 70–74 1 138 687 1 319 739 2 458 426 3.82 75–79 938 443 1 228 941 2 167 384 3.37 80–84 731 105 1 133 939 1 865 044 2.90 85–89 420 854 829 023 1 249 877 1.94 90–94 161 109 427 905 589 014 0.92 95–99 23 412 91 245 114 657 0.18 100+ 3 989 19 212 23 202 0.04 Age group Male Female Total Percent 0–14 5 988 506 5 723 661 11 712 167 18.21 15–64 20 019 056 20 496 507 40 515 563 63.01 65+ 5 130 988 6 942 103 12 073 091 18.78 Age group Male Female Total % Total 31 679 652 33 767 802 65 447 454 100 0–4 1 760 893 1 687 156 3 448 049 5.27 5–9 1 987 773 1 899 786 3 887 559 5.94 10–14 2 094 546 1 994 602 4 089 148 6.25 15–19 2 067 605 1 953 663 4 021 268 6.14 20–24 1 920 746 1 841 850 3 762 596 5.75 25–29 1 790 516 1 806 271 3 596 787 5.50 30–34 1 924 391 2 013 946 3 938 337 6.02 35–39 1 993 274 2 096 326 4 089 600 6.25 40–44 1 982 775 2 048 758 4 031 533 6.16 45–49 2 140 131 2 174 545 4 314 676 6.59 50–54 2 117 292 2 178 427 4 295 719 6.56 55–59 2 074 814 2 187 145 4 261 959 6.51 60–64 1 918 243 2 101 118 4 019 361 6.14 65–69 1 772 195 2 011 386 3 783 581 5.78 70–74 1 673 663 1 941 869 3 615 532 5.52 75–79 992 857 1 236 666 2 229 523 3.41 80–84 750 113 1 068 460 1 818 573 2.78 85–89 478 291 865 782 1 344 073 2.05 90–94 193 641 481 583 675 224 1.03 95–99 42 044 157 385 199 429 0.30 100–104 3 371 19 251 22 622 0.03 105–109 384 1 575 1 959 <0.01 110+ 94 252 346 <0.01 Age group Male Female Total Percent 0–14 5 843 212 5 581 544 11 424 756 17.46 15–64 19 929 787 20 402 049 40 331 836 61.62 65+ 5 906 653 7 784 209 13 690 862 20.92 Births in mainland France by place of birth of parents INSEE counts individuals born alive in mainland France according to the detailed place of birth of the parents: Country of birth of parent Number of births by country of father Number of births by country of mother Total 802 224 792 996 790 290 781 621 781 167 760 421 744 697 730 242 719 737 714 029 696 664 701 819 686 564 802 224 792 996 790 290 781 621 781 167 760 421 744 697 730 242 719 737 714 029 696 664 701 819 686 564 '''France Social issues Marriage, divorce and family types In 2020, there was a total of 154,581 marriages in France. Communal housing and segregation In recent years, communitarianism has become more prevalent in France. Some suburbs, such as La Courneuve, Sarcelles, and Toulouse-Le Mirail, are almost exclusively populated by people from sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. These housing projects, built by architects such as Le Corbusier, Aillaud, and Candilis, have become communal ghettos. Employment and income Unemployment, youth ages 15–24: Ethnic groups Note: people born outside of France are referred to as immigrants regardless of their nationality. People without French nationality are referred to as foreigners regardless of their birthplace. Data collection The last national census based on religion occurred in 1872 at the start of the Third Republic. After that, except for the antisemitic census of the Vichy government, the state of France stopped collecting data on people's religion or ethnicity. In 1978, a law banned the collection of individual data concerning someone's race, religion, trade union or political and philosophical opinion. However, estimates have been made of the ethnic and racial demography of the country in the present. Some organizations, such as the Representative Council of Black Associations of France, have argued in favour of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organizations and ruling politicians, often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France's secular principles and harks back to Vichy-era identity documents. During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy, polled on the issue, stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity. 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. 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 and the National Council of Statistical Information. Statistics The modern ethnic French are the descendants of Celts, Iberians, Ligurians, Italic peoples, and Greeks in southern France, later mixed with large groups of Germanic peoples arriving at the end of the Roman Empire such as the Franks, Burgundians, Alamanni, and Goths, Moors and Saracens in the south, and Scandinavians, Vikings, who became, by mixing with the local population, the Normans and settled mostly in Normandy in the 9th century. However, genome-wide analyses of both ancient and present-day DNA indicate that the genetic make-up of modern French populations is overwhelmingly derived from groups already living in Gaul during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages; post-Roman inputs from Germanic, Scandinavian, North-African or other peoples account for only minor fractions, invalidating the notion of any massive later admixture. In 1960 there was approximately 500,000 'coloured' people present in France, constituting 1.2% of the population. In 2004, French conservative think-tank Institut Montaigne estimated that there were 51 million people of European ethnic origin, 6 million North African people, 2 million West African and Central African peoples and 1 million people of Asian origin in Metropolitan France, including all generations of immigrant descendants. TIME magazine in 2009 estimated that there was an estimated range of 4 to 7 million Arabs, 3 to 5 million Africans, 1.5 million Asians and around 600,000 Jewish people. Solis, a marketing company, estimated the numbers for ethnic minorities in France in 2009 as 3.26 million Maghrebis, 1.83 million black people , and 250,000 Turkish. In 2015, Michèle Tribalat released a paper estimating population of ethnic minorities in France in 2011 to constitute 30% if ancestry retracted to 3 generations but with age limit of 60. 15% were of other European origin and another 15% rest. Newly released figures from France’s national statistical agency, which pulled census data from 2019–2020, revealed that nearly one-third of children aged four years and below are of non-European origin, a number which stands in sharp contrast with those recorded in older generations. The data, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, indicates that among those aged four and below living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France, 41.6% were born outside of France themselves, or are descendants of non-French parents or grandparents, with 29.6% having origins outside of Europe. By comparison, a mere 7.6% of 60 to 64-year-olds and 3.1% of those over the age of 80 were of non-European origin over three generations, meaning they themselves, their parents, or grandparents were born outside of Europe. Figures also revealed that 16.2% of all children aged four and below living in France are of Maghreb descent—a term used to describe the predominately Arab regions of northwest Africa, including Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, and Tunisia. One in ten children in the same age group in France are immigrants or are the children of immigrants from elsewhere in Europe, with 7.3% having originated from sub-Saharan Africa, 4% from Asia, and 1.7% from the rest of the world. The Paris region is a magnet for immigrants, hosting one of the largest concentrations of immigrants in Europe. As of 2006, about 45% of people living in the region were either immigrant or born to at least one immigrant parent. 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 are at least partly of Italian origin if their parentage is retraced over three generations. 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, Poles, and Greeks. Also, due to more recent immigration, between five and six million people of Maghrebi origin and approximately 800,000 Turks inhabit France. An influx of Maghrebi 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, Maghrebi Jews were about 500,000 and the majority in France. As the majority of these new immigrants were already culturally French, because of their cooperation with colonists, they needed little time to adjust to French society. Black people come from both the French overseas territories and Sub-Saharan Africa. France has the largest black population in Europe. There is a substantial Romani population in France. There is approximately 400,000 Roma living in France. Immigration Since the 19th century, France has continued being a country of immigration. During the Trente Glorieuses, 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 lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. About 5.5 million are of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi origin.Immigration to France exceeded 200,000 in recent years, as shown in table below. 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 % Africa 70 200 66 110 62 340 62 140 63 470 66 480 65 610 66 280 68 640 30 % Asia 30 960 30 120 30 520 32 070 30 180 32 960 29 810 32 430 32 060 14 % 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 1.3 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. 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 from the 1930s, some also 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. By the end of the Spanish Civil War, some half-million Spanish Republican refugees had crossed the border into France. 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. 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. One million European pieds-noirs also migrated from Algeria in 1962 and the following years during the chaotic independence of Algeria. 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, 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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 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. 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. According to the distinguished French historian of immigration Gérard Noiriel, in 1989 one third of the population currently living in France was of "foreign" descent. According to Michèle Tribalat, researcher at INED, there were, in 1999, approximately 14 million persons of foreign ancestry, defined as either immigrants or people with at least one immigrant parent or grandparent. Half of them were of European ancestry. The rest were from Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey and other parts of the world. Immigrants from the Maghreb are commonly referred to as beur, a verlan slang term derived from the word arabe. The large-scale immigration from Islamic countries has sparked controversy in France. Nevertherless, according to Justin Vaïsse, in spite of challenges and setbacks 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 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%. According to Emmanuel Todd, the relatively high exogamy among French Algerians can be explained by the colonial link between France and Algeria. 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. Massive demonstrations to express frustration over unemployment took place in March 2009. 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. Today In 2014, the National Institute of Statistics published a study, according to which the numbers of Spanish, Portuguese and Italians in France had doubled between 2009 and 2012. According to the French Institute, the increase due to the euro area crisis pushed up the number of Europeans in France. Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107% between 2009 and 2012, from 5300 to 11,000 people. Of 229,000 foreigners in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%, Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, Belgians 3% and Dutch 2%. With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italians in France, in 2012 46% of immigrants were European, while the percentage for Francophone African immigrants reached 30%, of which Moroccans were 7%, Algerians 7%, and Tunisians 3%. Meanwhile, 14% of all immigrants who settled in France in that year were from Asian countries: 3% from China, 2% from Turkey, 10% from America and Oceania, Americans and Brazilians accounting for 2% each. As of 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants 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. Immigrants aged 18 to 50 count for 2.7 million and 5 million for all ages. The second-generation immigrants aged 18 to 50 make up 3.1 million and 6.5 million for all ages. 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. The region with the largest proportion of immigrants is the Île-de-France, where 40% of immigrants live. Other important regions are Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The most important individual countries of origin as of 2007 were Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Turkey. However, immigration from Asia, as well as from Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa is gaining in importance. 42% of the immigrants are from Africa, 38% from Europe, 14% from Asia and 5% from America and Oceania. 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, Roms or people born in Maghreb with French citizenship at birth and their descendants, who are French by birth and not considered as immigrants or immigrant descendants, are not taken into account. Net migration rate 1.06 migrant/1,000 population Country comparison to the world: 61st Net migration of Metropolitan France, 1946–present Year Population on January 1 Net migration 1946 40,125,230 +25,000 1947 40,448,254 +130,000 1948 40,910,569 +45,000 1949 41,313,195 +35,000 1950 41,647,258 +35,000 1951 42,010,088 +30,000 1952 42,300,981 +20,000 1953 42,618,354 +19,071 1954 42,885,138 +50,872 1955 43,227,872 +120,000 1956 43,627,467 +170,000 1957 44,058,683 +220,000 1958 44,563,043 +140,000 1959 45,014,662 +130,000 1960 45,464,797 +140,000 1961 45,903,656 +180,000 1962 46,422,000 +860,200 1963 47,573,406 +214,599 1964 48,059,029 +185,000 1965 48,561,800 +110,000 1966 48,953,792 +125,000 1967 49,373,537 +92,000 1968 49,723,072 +102,308 1969 50,107,735 +151,574 1970 50,528,219 +179,911 1971 51,016,234 +142,586 1972 51,485,953 +102,314 1973 51,915,873 +106,448 1974 52,320,725 +30,608 1975 52,600,000 +13,626 1976 52,798,338 +57,386 1977 53,019,005 +44,038 1978 53,271,566 +19,361 1979 53,481,073 +34,765 1980 53,731,387 +43,974 1981 54,028,630 +55,710 1982 54,335,000 +60,865 1983 54,649,984 +56,000 1984 54,894,854 +45,000 1985 55,157,303 +38,000 1986 55,411,238 +39,000 1987 55,681,780 +44,000 1988 55,966,142 +57,000 1989 56,269,810 +71,000 1990 56,577,000 +80,000 1991 56,840,661 +90,000 1992 57,110,533 +90,000 1993 57,369,161 +70,000 1994 57,565,008 +50,000 1995 57,752,535 +40,000 1996 57,935,959 +35,000 1997 58,116,018 +40,000 1998 58,298,962 +45,000 1999 58,496,613 +60,000 2000 58,858,198 +70,000 2001 59,266,572 +85,000 2002 59,685,899 +95,000 2003 60,101,841 +100,000 2004 60,505,421 +105,000 2005 60,963,264 +95,000 2006 61,399,733 +115,025 2007 61,795,238 +74,659 2008 62,134,866 +66,930 2009 62,465,709 +44,222 2010 62,765,235 +43,354 2011 63,070,344 +47,426 2012 63,375,971 +90,831 2013 63,697,865 +106,880 2014 64,027,958 +38,699 2015 64,300,821 +53,025 2016 64,468,792 +87,964 2017 64,639,133 +166,654 2018 64,844,037 +211,349 2019 65,096,768 +139,849 2020 65,269,154 +227,847 2021 65,505,213 +193,000 2022 65,721,831 +193,000 2023 65,925,961 +193,000 2024 66,142,961 na Immigrants by origin 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% 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% Turkey 239 220 459 3.8% 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% Immigrants by country of birth as of 2022: Country Population Algeria North and South Americans in France Americans total more than 100,000 permanent residents in France, Canadians 11,931, followed by Latin Americans, a growing subgroup, the most numerous of which are Brazilians, at 44,622, followed by Colombians, at 40,000, Venezuelans, at 30,000, Peruvians, at 22,002, Argentineans, at 11,899, and Chileans, 15,782. Europeans in France In 2014 The National Institute of Statistics 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 due to the euro area crisis pushed up the number of Europeans installed in France. Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107% between 2009 and 2012, i.e. in this period went from 5300 to 11,000 people. Of the total of 229,000 foreigners in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%, Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, 3% Belgians. With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian in France, the weight of European immigrants arrived in 2012 to 46%, while this percentage for African reached 30%, with a presence in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. 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. Maghrebis in France People of Maghrebi origin form the largest ethnic group in the country after those of European origin. According to, a researcher at INED, there were 3.5 million people of Maghrebi origin living in France in 2005 corresponding to 5.8% of the total French metropolitan population. Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Paris region. Many famous French people like Edith Piaf, 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 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 was about 7% in Metropolitan France, 12% in Greater Paris and above 20% in French département of Seine-Saint-Denis. 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. 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. 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. In July 2006, President Sarkozy put into effect a law on immigration based upon the notion of "chosen immigration", 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, "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". Despite Sarkozy's law, immigration from former colonies in the Maghreb and West Africa would end up steadily increasing under the presidencies of Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron. 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. 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". On 18 January 2008, the government published a list of 150 job titles that were encountering difficult supply of labour. Most immigrants living in France today are reported to cover the following sectors: agriculture, service to persons in need, construction, education, health and services to businesses. 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|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. 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 Langues d'oïl, Occitan, Franco-Provençal, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Breton, Germanic languages like Alsatian, and several languages spoken in Overseas France. 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 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. A study by the CSA Institute conducted in 2003 with a sample of 18,000 people found that 65.3% considered themselves Catholic, while 27% considered themselves atheists, and 12.7% belonged to a religion other than Catholicism. In the early 21st century there were an estimated 5 million Muslims in France, one million Protestants, 600,000 Buddhists, 491,000 Jews, and 150,000 Orthodox Christians. The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004 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 Catholic, 22% agnostic or atheist, 2% Protestant, and 7% belonged to other religions. According to a 2015 estimate of CIA World Factbook the numbers were: Christian 63–66%, Muslim 7–9%, Jewish 0.5–0.75%, Buddhist 0.5–0.75%, other 0.5–1.0%, none 23–28%. Six years later, the numbers were: Christian 50%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, unspecified 9%, none 33%. List of France's largest ''aires urbaines'' (metropolitan areas) The following is a list of the twenty largest aires urbaines in France, based on their population at the 2015 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 Rank Aire urbaine Population Population Yearly change Land area 1 1 Paris