In 2023, the birth rate in France reached its lowest level since 1982. From 1982 to 2019, the birth rate in France has been fluctuating between more than 11 births and almost 14 births for 1,000 inhabitants. For the first time in this period, the birth rate fell below 11 in 2020. The highest birth rate in France during this period was recorded in 1982. That year there were 14.8 births per 1,000 inhabitants. Since then, the birth rate in the country keeps decreasing. If France keeps being one of the European countries with the highest fertility rate, it is still been impacted by the decline in the birth rate that affects most Western countries.

A Declining birth rate

Birth rate is the ration between the annual number of live births and the average total population over that year. In 2023, there were 640,000 live births in France, while the French population amounted to 68 million people. The average number of children born per women went from 2.03 in 2010, down to 1.83 in 2020.

Births in France

With a crude birth rate of 10.9 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2020, France still has one of the highest birth rates in Europe. The percentage of children born out-of-wedlock in France has been rising since the nineties, reaching 65.2 percent in 2022. Another change can be seen in the average age at childbirth among French women. In 2022, most of women in France were aged 31.1 years old at childbirth, compared to 28.8 years old in 1994.

In France, the crude birth rate in 1800 was 29.4 live births per thousand people, meaning that 2.9 percent of the population had been born in that year. In the first half of the nineteenth century France's crude birth rate dropped from it's highest recorded level of 29.4 in 1800, to 21.9 by 1850. In the second half of the 1800s the crude birth rate rose again, to 25.5 in 1875, as the Second Republic and Second Empire were established, which was a time of economic prosperity and the modernization of the country. From then until 1910 there was a gradual decline, until the First World War caused a huge decline, resulting in a record low crude birth rate of 13.3 by 1920 (the figures for individual years fell even lower than this). The figure then bounced back in the early 1920s, before then falling again until the Second World War. After the war, France experienced a baby boom, where the crude birth rate reached 22.2, before it dropped again until the 1980s, and since then it has declined slowly. The crude birth rate of France is expected to reach a new, record low of 11.2 in 2020.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country would have throughout their reproductive years. In France in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have 4.4 children over the course of their lifetime. The beginning of the nineteenth century was a tumultuous time in France's history, involving France's revolutionary period, as well as the Napoleonic Empire. In the first decade of the 1800s, the fertility rate dropped by 0.4, before dropping more slowly, by another 0.5 between 1810 and 1850. The fertility growth rate fluctuated slightly in the late 1800s, before dropping drastically in the early twentieth century, falling from an average of 3 children per woman to less than 1.7 in 1920. France's fertility rate reached this point as a result of the First World War, and the influenza epidemic (known as the Spanish Flu) that followed. The interwar period saw a slight increase in fertility rate, before it fell again in the Second World War. Similarly to other major European countries after the war, France experienced a baby boom in the two decades following the war, before dropping again into the 1980s. The fertility rate reached it's lowest point in the post-war period, falling to 1.7 in 1995, before increasing in more recent years.

France Births Rate: per 100 Womens: Metropolitan: 15-24 Yrs data was reported at 2.220 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.350 NA for 2016. France Births Rate: per 100 Womens: Metropolitan: 15-24 Yrs data is updated yearly, averaging 6.500 NA from Dec 1946 (Median) to 2017, with 72 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.800 NA in 1961 and a record low of 2.220 NA in 2017. France Births Rate: per 100 Womens: Metropolitan: 15-24 Yrs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G005: Vital Statistics: Birth Rate.

This statistic presents the fertility rate in France, from 2014 to 2020, distributed by region. It appears that Mayotte was the French region with the highest fertility rate: in 2020, Mayotte had a fertility rate of 4.17 children per women. On the other hand, Corsica, with a number of 1.36 children per women, had the lowest fertility rate in France in 2020.

Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 15-24 Yrs data was reported at 2.410 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.540 NA for 2016. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 15-24 Yrs data is updated yearly, averaging 3.215 NA from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2017, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.400 NA in 1994 and a record low of 2.410 NA in 2017. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 15-24 Yrs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.G005: Vital Statistics: Birth Rate.

Chart and table of the French Guiana birth rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

In 2023, there were 640,000 births in France. In 2022, France was the European country with the second-highest number of live births behind Germany. The recent decrease in births in France Despite having one of the highest fertility rate in Europe, France, like other Western countries, appears to be experiencing a decrease in its number of births in recent years. According to the source, the number of births has kept decreasing since 2011, after a period of gradual increase. The country has reached its highest number of births in 2010. That year 802,000 babies were born in France. Since then, the number of births is declining. To be born in France In 2022, male babies represented most births in France. In 2023, life expectancy at birth for French males was 80 years, whereas it amounted to 85.7 years for females. Thus, France was one of the countries worldwide with the lowest infant mortality rate.

Chart and table of the French Polynesia birth rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

This dataset is about countries and is filtered where the country includes France, featuring 5 columns: birth rate, capital city, continent, country, and currency. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

In 2023, the Faroe Islands was the European country estimated to have the highest fertility rate. The small Atlantic island state had a fertility rate of 2.71 children per woman. Other small countries such as Monaco and Gibraltar also came towards the top of the list for 2023, while the large country with the highest fertility rate was France, with 1.79 children per woman. On the other hand, Andorra, San Marino, and Malta had the lowest fertility rates in Europe, with Ukraine, Spain, and Italy being the largest countries with low fertility rates in that year, averaging around 1.3 children per woman.

This scatter chart displays fertility rate (births per woman) against net migration (people) and is filtered where the country is France. The data is about countries per year.

This scatter chart displays fertility rate (births per woman) against male population (people) and is filtered where the country is France. The data is about countries per year.

Chart and table of the France fertility rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

France FR: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data was reported at 1.960 Ratio in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.960 Ratio for 2015. France FR: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 1.940 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.890 Ratio in 1963 and a record low of 1.730 Ratio in 1994. France FR: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman 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: Health Statistics. Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average; Relevance to gender indicator: it can indicate the status of women within households and a woman’s decision about the number and spacing of children.

This dataset is about countries in France per year, featuring 5 columns: agricultural land, alternative and nuclear energy, armed forces personnel, birth rate, and country full name. The preview is ordered by date (descending).

Chart and table of the French Guiana fertility rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

The rate of live births in the City of Marseille, located in the South of France, has fluctuated and generally slightly increased in the last 50 years. Indeed, there were about 14.5 live births per 1,000 population between 1968 and 1975, compared to 12.5 between 1975 and 1982. Since then, the birth rate has almost continuously increased, reaching 14.7 in 2021.Marseille is the second largest city in France in terms of population, following Paris.

In 2022, the total fertility rate in France decreased by 0.1 children per woman (-5.43 percent) compared to 2021. As a result, the fertility rate in France saw its lowest number in 2022 with 1.79 children per woman. The total fertility rate is the average number of children that a woman of childbearing age (generally considered 15 to 44 years) can hypothetically expect to have throughout her reproductive years. As fertility rates are estimates (similar to life expectancy), they refer to a hypothetical woman or cohort, and estimates assume that current age-specific fertility trends would remain constant throughout this person's reproductive years.Find more statistics on other topics about France with key insights such as death rate, total life expectancy at birth, and infant mortality rate.

This dataset is about countries in France per year, featuring 4 columns: country, date, fertility rate, and population. The preview is ordered by date (descending).