Population, Midyear 2022: 64,626,628
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 117.21
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 65,543,453
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 21.66%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 24.42%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 28.55%
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.
Population, 2021: 64,531,000
Annual Population Growth Rate, 2020-2030 (%): 0.1%
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2021: 82
Share of Urban Population, 2021: 81%
Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population, 2020-2030 (%): 0.4%
Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For every child, vaccination, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, April 2023.
“On 1 January 2020 the French population totalled 67.1 million inhabitants, including 64.9 million inhabitants in mainland France and 2.2 million inhabitants in the five overseas departments and regions (Insee, 2020b). It is the second most populous country in the EU after Germany. Table 1.1 shows the most recent demographic indicators.
“Mainland France covers an area of about 552 000 km2, and, with an average population density of 118/km2, it ranks 10th in the EU. However, this average density conceals considerable variations; close to half of the population live in just over 15% of this territory, while large areas remain sparsely populated. In 2020, 81% of the population lived in urban areas, but a new definition of rural areas introduced in 2020 by Insee would see this percentage fall to 67% (Insee, 2021c). Between 2007 and 2017 the population grew faster in rural areas than in urban areas (0.66% vs. 0.38% annually).”
Source: Or Z, Gandré C, Seppänen AV, Hernández-Quevedo C, Webb E, Michel M, Chevreul K. France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2023; 25(3): i–241.
“In 2020 an estimated 6.7 million immigrants (people born in a foreign country) resided in France (excluding Mayotte), representing 10.1% of the population (Insee, 2021b). Individuals born in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia accounted for 29.7% of France’s immigrant population.
“The government does not gather data on ethnicity, and available data usually concern the country of birth of the parents or the language spoken at home. It tells us that in addition to the 6.7 million people who immigrated to France, an additional 7.6 million (11.4% of the population) have one or two parents born in a foreign country (Insee, 2021b).”
Source: Or Z, Gandré C, Seppänen AV, Hernández-Quevedo C, Webb E, Michel M, Chevreul K. France: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2023; 25(3): i–241.
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World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other nations.
Page last updated April 18, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.