France

Interesting Facts About France

• France has a population of over 69.1 million, making it the third-most populous country in Europe and the second most populous in the European Union.
• France is an outlier among developed European countries for its relatively high natural population growth rate, with birth rates responsible for almost all natural population growth in the EU in 2006.
• Between 2006 and 2016, France saw the second-highest overall population increase in the EU, driven largely by natural births rather than immigration alone.
• The fertility rate in France dropped to 1.56 in 2025, the lowest rate since the end of World War I, though it remains among the highest in Europe.
• France's life expectancy at birth is 82.7 years, the 12th highest in the world, with some French overseas territories ranking even higher—French Polynesia at 84.07 years and Réunion at 83.55 years.
• In 2010, roughly one in four newborns in Metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent, reflecting significant immigration's contribution to population growth.
• France's major cities include Paris with over 13 million in its metropolitan area, followed by Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse, making it a highly urbanized country.

View Paris guide