In 2023, there were 639,533 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.

In 2024, 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 1.66 in 2023. 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.

Fertility rate, total (births per woman) in France was reported at 1.66 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Fertility rate, total (births per woman) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

France FR: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 11.700 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12.000 Ratio for 2015. France FR: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 13.800 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.700 Ratio in 1961 and a record low of 11.700 Ratio in 2016. France FR: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People 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.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (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;

France: The number of crude births per 1000 people, per year: The latest value from 2023 is 9.9 births per 1000 people, a decline from 10.7 births per 1000 people in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 17.86 births per 1000 people, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for France from 1960 to 2023 is 14.02 births per 1000 people. The minimum value, 9.9 births per 1000 people, was reached in 2023 while the maximum of 18.7 births per 1000 people was recorded in 1960.

Live Births: Metropolitan France data was reported at 61,800.000 Person in Sep 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 63,900.000 Person for Aug 2018. Live Births: Metropolitan France data is updated monthly, averaging 65,781.000 Person from Jan 1946 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 873 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 81,159.000 Person in May 1971 and a record low of 52,800.000 Person in Feb 2018. Live Births: Metropolitan France 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.G003: Vital Statistics: Live Births, Deaths and Natural Increase.

Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) in France was reported at 3.507 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 35-39 Yrs data was reported at 6.890 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.950 NA for 2016. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 35-39 Yrs data is updated yearly, averaging 5.830 NA from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2017, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.990 NA in 2015 and a record low of 3.800 NA in 1994. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: 35-39 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.

Birth rate, crude (per 1,000 people) in France was reported at 9.9 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Birth rate, crude - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Historical dataset showing France birth rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Crude Birth Rate for France (SPDYNCBRTINFRA) from 1960 to 2023 about birth, crude, France, and rate.

This data collection consists of 161 selected social, demographic, and educational datasets for France in the period 1801-1897. The data were collected from published reports of three national statistical series: (1) National Censuses, (2) Vital Statistics, and (3) Primary Education. This project was supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation. The National Census data were derived from the quinquennial population censuses of France from 1801 to 1896 and were obtained from the Statistique Generale de la France. The data provide detailed social and economic information for the period 1851 to 1896. The data for 1801-1851 are less rich in subject matter coverage but do present some basic information on population characteristics. The National Census data in general describe the population, including the composition of the population by categories of age, sex, place of birth, marital status, religion, place of residence, and occupation. There is also some limited information on migration, transportation and communication, housing, and families. A large segment of the census data pertains to occupations of the population, specifying job classifications within professions, as well as information on non-employed household members that were dependent on employees in the various industries, in addition to enumerations of persons employed in various professions and trades. The Vital Statistics data files contain annual vital statistics for the French population. These data were obtained from two printed series, MOUVEMENT DE LA POPULATION (1801-1868), and STATISTIQUE ANNUELLE (1869-1897). The basic variables included in the vital statistics datasets record births, deaths, and marriages in France. Detailed cross-tabulations of these demographic indicators are presented for births, tabulated by sex, month, legitimacy status, and characteristics of the parents, and deaths, categorized by age and previous marital status of the partners. Additional cross-tabulations are provided for variables such as divorces, passports issued, medical personnel and hospitals, and a literacy indicator (signing of marriage certificates). The Primary Education data files provide information on primary schools and were obtained from the Statistique de l'enseignement Primaire. The data obtained from the series basically cover the period 1829-1897, although some recapitulative information for earlier years is also presented. The main focus of the data in this series is on primary schools, classes and buildings, enrollment, teachers, sources of funding and expenditure, and academic proficiency of the pupils. Additional information is included on literacy, teacher training (normal) schools, school age population, and libraries. A machine-readable French language codebook, describing the data items as well as the sources from which they were obtained, is provided with each dataset supplied. In addition, lists of the variables included in each dataset are included in Parts 162-164. See the related collection, DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC DATA FOR FRANCE, 1833-1925 (ICPSR 7529).

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: The number of crude births per 1000 people, per year: Pour cet indicateur, La Banque mondiale fournit des données pour la France de 1960 à 2023. La valeur moyenne pour France pendant cette période était de 14.02 births per 1000 people avec un minimum de 9.9 births per 1000 people en 2023 et un maximum de 18.7 births per 1000 people en 1960.

Forecast: Live Births with a Low Birth Weight in France 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: > 40 Yrs data was reported at 0.850 NA in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.820 NA for 2016. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: > 40 Yrs data is updated yearly, averaging 0.650 NA from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2017, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.850 NA in 2017 and a record low of 0.400 NA in 1997. Births Rate: per 100 Womens: France: > 40 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.

Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) in France was reported at 98.2 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Since 1994, the proportion of children born out of wedlock in France has risen steadily. While in the mid-1990s this phenomenon represented only a minority of births, it became the norm from 2006 onwards. By 2022, more than ** percent of children born in France would be born to an unmarried couple. However, in 2023 the share fell to **** percent.

This statistic shows the total number of female births in France from 2004 to 2023. The number of female births gradually declined in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and rose again in 2014, with ******* female births recorded. Since 2014, the number of girls has dropped sharply, with annual births falling below ******* in 2023.