This statistic shows the ten largest cities in France as of 2022. In 2022, around 2.11 million people lived in Paris, making it the largest city in France.

Paris was in 2022 the most populated city in France with over *** million inhabitants. Marseille was the second most important city in terms of inhabitants, and Lyon, the third. With ******* inhabitants, Lille was the tenth most populated city in France.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in France was reported at 20.06 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

Population in largest city in France was reported at 11276701 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.

In 2019, Rennes, the prefecture of the Bretagne region, was also the largest city in the region in terms of population. It was indeed home to ******* inhabitants that year. The second most populous city in Bretagne was Brest, with nearly ******* inhabitants, followed by Quimper (****** inhabitants), and Lorient (****** inhabitants). In 2022, *** million people where living in Bretagne.

France FR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 20.512 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.490 % for 2016. France FR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 21.394 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25.582 % in 1960 and a record low of 20.472 % in 2014. France FR: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

In 2025, the Ile-de-France region, sometimes called the Paris region, was the most populous in France. It is located in the northern part of France, divided into eight departments and crossed by the Seine River. The region contains Paris, its large suburbs, and several rural areas. The total population in metropolitan France was estimated at around ** million inhabitants. In the DOM (Overseas Department), France had more than *** million citizens spread over the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, and the South American territory of French Guiana. Ile-de-France: the most populous region in France According to the source, more than ** million French citizens lived in the Ile-de-France region. Ile-de-France was followed by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Occitanie region which is in the Southern part of the country. Ile-de-France is not only the most populated region in France, it is also the French region with the highest population density. In 2020, there were ******* residents per square kilometer in Ile-de-France compared to ***** for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the second most populated region in France. More than two million people were living in the city of Paris in 2025. Thus, the metropolitan area outside the city of Paris, called the suburbs or banlieue in French, had more than ten million inhabitants. Ile-de-France concentrates the majority of the country’s economic and political activities. An urban population In 2024, the total population of France amounted to over 68 million. The population in the country has increased since the mid-2000s. As well as the other European countries, France is experiencing urbanization. In 2023, more than ** percent of the French population lived in cities. This phenomenon shapes France’s geography.

All cities with a population > 1000 or seats of adm div (ca 80.000)Sources and ContributionsSources : GeoNames is aggregating over hundred different data sources. Ambassadors : GeoNames Ambassadors help in many countries. Wiki : A wiki allows to view the data and quickly fix error and add missing places. Donations and Sponsoring : Costs for running GeoNames are covered by donations and sponsoring.Enrichment:add country name

This horizontal bar chart displays birth rate (per 1,000 people) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in France. The data is about countries per year.

In 2022, according to data provided by StartupBlink the top city for startups in France was Paris, with a total score of *****. Toulouse and Lyon followed, with a score of **** and ****, respectively.
According to the Direction Générale des Entreprises (DGE), France counted approximately *********** stratups in 2021.

It is estimated that the largest cities in Western Europe in 1330 were Paris and Granada. At this time, Paris was the seat of power in northern France, while Granada had become the largest multicultural city in southern Spain, controlled by the Muslim, Nasrid Kingdom during Spain's Reconquista period. The next three largest cities were Venice, Genoa and Milan, all in northern Italy, renowned as important trading cities during the middle ages. In October 1347, the first wave of the Black Death had arrived in Sicily and then began spreading throughout Europe, decimating the population.

This horizontal bar chart displays total students (people) by city using the aggregation sum in France. The data is about universities.

In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.

This statistic shows the number of pharmacies in the ten largest cities in France in 2018. That year, there were ***** pharmacies in Paris.

The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work. Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010. An area consists of a pole and a crown. — Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. — Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets to work in the pole are the crown of the area. The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken). The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign). Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census. Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

The catchment area of a city is a group of municipalities, of a single enclave and enclave, which defines the extent of the influence of a cluster of population and employment on the surrounding municipalities, this influence being measured by the intensity of commuting to work. Urban area zoning follows the zoning into urban areas in 2010. An area consists of a pole and a crown. — Poles are determined mainly on the basis of density and total population criteria, using a methodology consistent with that of the municipal density grid. A threshold of jobs is added in order to prevent essentially residential municipalities with few jobs from being considered poles. Within the pole, the most populous commune is called the center commune. If a pole sends at least 15 % of its assets to work in another pole of the same level, the two poles are associated and together form the heart of a catchment area. — Municipalities that send at least 15 % of their assets to work in the pole are the crown of the area. The definition of the largest catchment areas of cities is consistent with the definition of “cities” and “functional urban areas” used by Eurostat and the OECD to analyse the functioning of cities. Zoning into catchment areas thus facilitates international comparisons and makes it possible to visualise the influence in France of major foreign cities. For example, seven areas have a town located abroad (Bâle, Charleroi, Geneva, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Monaco and Saarbrücken). The areas are classified according to the total number of inhabitants of the area in 2017. The main thresholds selected are: Paris, 700,000 inhabitants, 200,000 inhabitants and 50,000 inhabitants. Areas whose pole is located abroad are classified in the category corresponding to their total population (French and foreign). Urban catchment areas, dated 2020, were constructed with reference to commuting known in the 2016 Census. Downloadable files provide the characteristics of the city’s catchment areas (size slice, number of municipalities) and the municipal composition of the city’s catchment areas.

Context

[INSEE][1] is the official french institute gathering data of many types around France. It can be demographic (Births, Deaths, Population Density...), Economic (Salary, Firms by activity / size...) and more.
It can be a great help to observe and measure inequality in the french population.

Content

Four files are in the dataset :

• base_etablissement_par_tranche_effectif : give information on the number of firms in every french town, categorized by size , come from [INSEE][2].
  • CODGEO : geographique code for the town (can be joined with code_insee column from "name_geographic_information.csv')
  • LIBGEO : name of the town (in french)
  • REG : region number
  • DEP : depatment number
  • E14TST : total number of firms in the town
  • E14TS0ND : number of unknown or null size firms in the town
  • E14TS1 : number of firms with 1 to 5 employees in the town
  • E14TS6 : number of firms with 6 to 9 employees in the town
  • E14TS10 : number of firms with 10 to 19 employees in the town
  • E14TS20 : number of firms with 20 to 49 employees in the town
  • E14TS50 : number of firms with 50 to 99 employees in the town
  • E14TS100 : number of firms with 100 to 199 employees in the town
  • E14TS200 : number of firms with 200 to 499 employees in the town
  • E14TS500 : number of firms with more than 500 employees in the town

• name_geographic_information : give geographic data on french town (mainly latitude and longitude, but also region / department codes and names )

  • EU_circo : name of the European Union Circonscription
  • code_région : code of the region attached to the town
  • nom_région : name of the region attached to the town
  • chef.lieu_région : name the administrative center around the town
  • numéro_département : code of the department attached to the town
  • nom_département : name of the department attached to the town
  • préfecture : name of the local administrative division around the town
  • numéro_circonscription : number of the circumpscription
  • nom_commune : name of the town
  • codes_postaux : post-codes relative to the town
  • code_insee : unique code for the town
  • latitude : GPS latitude
  • longitude : GPS longitude
  • éloignement : i couldn't manage to figure out what was the meaning of this number

• net_salary_per_town_per_category : salaries around french town per job categories, age and sex

  • CODGEO : unique code of the town
  • LIBGEO : name of the town
  • SNHM14 : mean net salary
  • SNHMC14 : mean net salary per hour for executive
  • SNHMP14 : mean net salary per hour for middle manager
  • SNHME14 : mean net salary per hour for employee
  • SNHMO14 : mean net salary per hour for worker
  • SNHMF14 : mean net salary for women
  • SNHMFC14 : mean net salary per hour for feminin executive
  • SNHMFP14 : mean net salary per hour for feminin middle manager
  • SNHMFE14 : mean net salary per hour for feminin employee
  • SNHMFO14 : mean net salary per hour for feminin worker
  • SNHMH14 : mean net salary for man
  • SNHMHC14 : mean net salary per hour for masculin executive
  • SNHMHP14 : mean net salary per hour for masculin middle manager
  • SNHMHE14 : mean net salary per hour for masculin employee
  • SNHMHO14 : mean net salary per hour for masculin worker
  • SNHM1814 : mean net salary per hour for 18-25 years old
  • SNHM2614 : mean net salary per hour for 26-50 years old
  • SNHM5014 : mean net salary per hour for >50 years old
  • SNHMF1814 : mean net salary per hour for women between 18-25 years old
  • SNHMF2614 : mean net salary per hour for women between 26-50 years old
  • SNHMF5014 : mean net salary per hour for women >50 years old
  • SNHMH1814 : mean net salary per hour for men between 18-25 years old
  • SNHMH2614 : mean net salary per hour for men between 26-50 years old
  • SNHMH5014 : mean net salary per hour for men >50 years old

• population : [demographic][3] information in France per town, age, sex and living mode

  • NIVGEO : geographic level (arrondissement, communes...)
  • CODGEO : unique code for the town
  • LIBGEO : name of the town (might contain some utf-8 errors, this information has better quality name_geographic_information)
  • MOCO : cohabitation mode : [list and meaning available in Data description]
  • AGE80_17 : age category (slice of 5 years) | ex : 0 -> people between 0 and 4 years old
  • SEXE : sex, 1 for men | 2 for women
  • NB : Number of people in the category

• departments.geojson : contains the borders of french departments. From [Gregoire David (github)][4]

These datasets can be merged by : CODGEO = code_insee

Acknowledgements

The entire dataset has been created (and actualized) by INSEE, I just uploaded it on Kaggle after doing some jobs and checks ...

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

The France office real estate market, currently valued at approximately €XX million (assuming a reasonable market size based on comparable European markets and the provided CAGR), is projected to experience steady growth, driven primarily by a robust economy, increasing urbanization, and a growing demand for modern, sustainable office spaces in key cities like Paris, Marseille, and Lyon. The market's 3.70% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2024 suggests a positive trajectory, expected to continue through 2033. Key trends include a shift towards flexible workspaces, a focus on energy efficiency and green building certifications, and increasing adoption of smart building technologies. While challenges such as economic fluctuations and potential regulatory changes exist, the strong presence of major players like Hermitage Group, RedMan, Hines, Kaufman & Broad SA, CBRE France, and BNP Paribas Real Estate indicates a resilient and competitive market. These established companies, along with significant activity from developers, contribute to the market's stability and ongoing development. The concentration of activity in major cities like Paris, Marseille, and Lyon underscores the importance of strategic location and the associated high demand for prime office space in these urban centers. The segmentation of the market into key cities (Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and others) reflects varying market dynamics. Paris, as the capital, commands the largest share, followed by Marseille and Lyon, which benefit from regional economic activity. The “other cities” segment likely exhibits slower growth than the major city markets, but still contributes significantly to the overall market value. The competitive landscape, with prominent national and international players, indicates a robust and sophisticated market characterized by considerable investment and ongoing development. The forecast period (2025-2033) presents opportunities for both established players and emerging companies to capitalize on the market's growth, particularly in areas focused on sustainability and technological advancements within office spaces. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of the France office real estate market, covering the historical period (2019-2024), base year (2025), and forecast period (2025-2033). It delves into market size, trends, key players, and future growth prospects, offering invaluable insights for investors, developers, and industry professionals. This report is crucial for understanding the dynamics of the French commercial real estate sector and making informed decisions in this dynamic market. Recent developments include: June 2022: Along with Paris-based specialist investor and asset management, Atlantic Real Estate, ICG Real Estate, ICG's real estate subsidiary, developed a new investing platform. The platform aids in purchasing or developing light industrial and last-mile logistics properties around Greater Paris and other significant French population centers. This platform is aiming to build a portfolio with a gross asset value of at least EUR 500 million ( USD 531 Million)., April 2022: Business Immo, France's top commercial real estate news service, has been acquired by CoStar Group Inc., a major provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the commercial and residential property markets. With the addition of Business Immo, their increasing global presence gains another premium asset.. Key drivers for this market are: Increasing geriatric population, Growing cases of chronic disease among senior citizens. Potential restraints include: High cost of elderly care services, Lack of skilled staff. Notable trends are: Paris city with highest rental growth trend per annum.