This statistic shows the ten largest cities in France as of 2021. In 2021, around 2.13 million people lived in Paris, making it the largest city in France.

Paris was in 2020 the most populated city in France with over two million inhabitants. Marseille was the second most important city in terms of inhabitants and Lyon, the third. With 236,234 inhabitants, Lille was the tenth most populated city in France.

Urban population growth has been constant for several decades in France. Between 1960 and 2022, it rose from 61.88 percent to 81.51 percent. The phenomenon of urbanization was more significant in the 1960s. Indeed, over this period, the rate of the French population living in cities increased by ten points. The evolution was more weighted over the next 50 years, rising from 71.06 percent in 1970 to 80.98 percent in 2020.An increase in urbanization was accompanied over the same period by a sharp rise in the overall French population, from 55.57 million inhabitants in 1982 to around 68 million in 2024. Paris, an urban giant in France Like in the United Kingdom, the French-style centralized system has led to a high concentration of population around economic, financial, cultural and political centers, all located in the British and French capitals. London and Paris (and its conurbation) are among the largest urban centers on the continent, with Moscow being the most populous. This centralization of power has led to a very heterogenous distribution of population density. The Paris region has a density of more than 1000 inhabitants per km², which is ten times higher than the Haut-de-France region, the second densest region in Metropolitan France.This centralization of power attracts a strong French and foreign workforce. The French capital is by far the most populated city in France. If solely the municipality of Paris is taken into account, it had more than two million inhabitants in 2019, which is more than twice as many as in Marseille and four times as many as in Lyon, the country's second and third most populous cities. Future challenges for French cities Access to employment is no longer the only reason to settle in a town. Other factors come into play in the life choices of city dwellers. In 2019, more than 90% of the French estimated that the presence of green areas was important to settle or not in a district. The pollution level of the city was also considered in the choice of the city. In order to address these pollution problems, municipalities must resolve transportation issues on their own territory. Previously the king of the town, the car is increasingly losing ground to public transport in urban areas. Cities like Paris are relying more on public transport. Between 2011 and 2016, RATP and SNCF have built more than 60 kilometers of tramway tracks . Moreover, the construction of additional train and metro lines in the Grand Paris project aimed at better connecting the suburbs to each other without passing through intramural Paris.Making it easier to travel by bicycle is one of the options chosen by many conurbations to relieve congestion in their cities. Since the early 2000s, self-service bicycles have been a great success in France with more than 2,400 bicycles available in Toulouse or 4,000 in Lyon in 2017. A source of much tension between motorists, municipalities and cyclists, the sharing of the road between 4 and 2 wheelers has, however, been widely developed. In Strasbourg, for example, the municipality had around 1.04 metres of cycle lanes per inhabitant in 2017, the highest rate in France. However, the layout of cycle paths can be perilous and a majority of cyclists in France still feel unsafe on the road.

Population in largest city in France was reported at 11208440 in 2023, 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 March of 2025.

France FR: Population in Largest City data was reported at 10,844,847.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 10,789,031.000 Person for 2016. France FR: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 9,226,364.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,844,847.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 7,410,735.000 Person in 1960. France FR: Population in Largest City 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 urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

France FR: Urban Population Growth data was reported at 0.715 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.728 % for 2016. France FR: Urban Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.808 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.304 % in 1963 and a record low of 0.313 % in 1991. France FR: Urban Population Growth 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. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Cleanup of french city's population dataset :

https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3698339

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 65 million inhabitants. In the DOM (Overseas Department), France had more than two million citizens spread over the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, and the South American territory of French Guyana. Ile-de-France: most populous region in France According to the source, more than 12 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 1,021.6 residents per square kilometer in Ile-de-France compared to 115.9 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 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 increased since the mid-2000s. As well as the other European countries, France is experiencing urbanization. In 2023, more than 81 percent of the French population lived in cities. This phenomenon shapes France’s geography.

This dataset is about cities and is filtered where the country includes France, featuring 3 columns: city, country, and population. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

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

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.

Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) in France was reported at 22.96 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. France - Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

This dataset is about cities and is filtered where the country includes France, featuring 7 columns including city, continent, country, latitude, and longitude. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

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.

French Polynesia PF: Urban Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 61.784 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 61.734 % for 2016. French Polynesia PF: Urban Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 57.676 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 61.784 % in 2017 and a record low of 42.281 % in 1960. French Polynesia PF: Urban Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s French Polynesia – Table PF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Forecast: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million People in France 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.

Forecast: Population Connected to Urban Wastewater Collecting System in France 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

France FR: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million data was reported at 15,165,467.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 15,087,034.000 Person for 2016. France FR: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million data is updated yearly, averaging 12,978,084.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15,165,467.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 10,058,209.000 Person in 1960. France FR: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million 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. Population in urban agglomerations of more than one million is the country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

5G is finally arriving in France, with deployment in the country scheduled for November 18, 2020. 5G succeeds the previous generation of 4G, and will offer much higher speed than previously available, as well as very short latency times and an increased number of simultaneous connections possible per area covered. Marseille was the best-equipped French city with a total of 95 5G antennas, followed by Paris and Montpellier with 58 and 51 antennas, respectively.

Operators and territory coverage

As of November 2020, Orange had set up the highest number of 5G antennas under test in France. While almost the entirety of the French population was covered by mobile broadband (4G) by all four main operators, Orange was also at the top of the list in terms of territory coverage.

5G in the era of the smart city

The implementation of 5g on the French territory is one of the cornerstones of the development of the smart city and the digital transition it promotes. Indeed, open data was the most often carried out smart city project by French cities. Here again, Marseille stands out from other cities by being the most advanced French city in terms of smart city projects.