This graph represents the share of the immigrant population in France from 1921 to 2023. The statistic reveals that the share of immigrants in France had slightly increased since 1921. There were 6.6 percent of immigrants in 1931 compared to 10.7 percent in 2023.

France - Foreign-born population was 9328900.00 in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for France - Foreign-born population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on September of 2025. Historically, France - Foreign-born population reached a record high of 9328900.00 in December of 2024 and a record low of 7309986.00 in December of 2010.

In 2024, the net migration rate in France reached *******. In recent years Europe and France have seen more people arrive than depart. The net migration rate is the difference between the number of immigrants (people coming into an area) and the number of emigrants (people leaving an area) throughout the year. France's highest net migration rate was reached in 2018 when it amounted to *******. Armed conflicts and economic migration are some of the reasons for immigration in Europe. The refugee crisis Studies have shown that there were ******* immigrant arrivals in France in 2022, which has risen since 2014. The migrant crisis, which began in 2015 in Europe, had an impact on the migration entry flows not only in France but in all European countries. The number of illegal border crossings to the EU over the Eastern Mediterranean route reached a record number of ******* crossings in 2015. Immigration in France Since the middle of the 19th century, France has attracted immigrants, first from European countries (like Poland, Spain, and Italy), and then from the former French colonies. In 2023, there were approximately *** million people foreign-born in France. Most of them were living in the Ile-de-France region, which contains Paris, and in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in the Southeastern part of the country. In 2022, the majority of immigrants arriving in France were from Africa and Europe.

France FR: International Migrant Stock: Total data was reported at 7,784,418.000 Person in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,196,481.000 Person for 2010. France FR: International Migrant Stock: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 5,925,043.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,784,418.000 Person in 2015 and a record low of 3,507,213.000 Person in 1960. France FR: International Migrant Stock: Total 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. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2012 Revision.; Sum;

The indicator represents the share of immigrants in the population.

According to the INSEE definition, an immigrant is a foreign-born person residing in France. People born French abroad and living in France are therefore not counted. Conversely, some immigrants were able to become French, the others remaining foreign. Foreign and immigrant populations are not completely confused: an immigrant is not necessarily a foreigner and conversely, some foreigners were born in France (mainly minors). The quality of an immigrant is permanent: an individual continues to belong to the immigrant population even if he becomes French by acquisition. It is the country of birth, not nationality at birth, that defines the geographical origin of an immigrant.

Source: Observatory of Territories, https://www.observatoire-des-territoires.gouv.fr/part-des-immigres-dans-la-population

France FR: Net Migration data was reported at 400,002.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 361,722.000 Person for 2012. France FR: Net Migration data is updated yearly, averaging 408,109.500 Person from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,466,682.000 Person in 1962 and a record low of 146,855.000 Person in 1977. France FR: Net Migration 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. Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the total number of immigrants less the annual number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Data are five-year estimates.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Sum;

This graph presents the percentage of descendants of immigrants in France in 2023, distributed by migration background. The statistic highlights that 32.4 percent of French people of immigrant parentage had Maghreb origins, while 4.7 percent of them had a Turkish migration background.

France FR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 12.088 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.430 % for 2010. France FR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 10.787 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.088 % in 2015 and a record low of 10.356 % in 1990. France FR: International Migrant Stock: % of 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.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

French Polynesia PF: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 10.630 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.803 % for 2010. French Polynesia PF: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 12.725 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.178 % in 1995 and a record low of 10.630 % in 2015. French Polynesia PF: International Migrant Stock: % of 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. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes* - Vacant Units: No - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes*

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: Yes - Group quarters: A collective household is a group of persons that does not live in an ordinary household, but lives in a collective establishment, sharing meal times.

Universe

Residents in France, of any nationality. Does not include French citizens living in other countries, foreign tourists, or people passing through. Reintegrated persons: Persons living in group quarters or without a fixed address but having a usual home elsewhere (i.e., enumerated away from their usual residence). During data processing, most of these people are reintegrated into their usual households, except in the case of persons in psychiatric hospitals and prisons. Legal population refers to de jure population plus population compte a part.

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: INSEE (Institut National de la Statisque et des Etudes Economiques)

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 2487778.

SAMPLE DESIGN: Systematic manual sorting into lots with different sample units according to target population. Lots divide the population into different samples (1/20,1/5,3/4). Reintegrated persons: Persons living in group quarters or without a fixed address but having a usual home elsewhere (i.e., enumerated away from their usual residence). During data processing, most of these people are reintegrated into their usual households, except in the case of persons in psychiatric hospitals and prisons. Legal population refers to de jure population plus population compte a part.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Separate forms for buildings, group quarters (collective households), group quarters (compte a part), private households, and boats. Four forms for individuals (living in group quarters and private dwellings; two different forms for people compte a part; living in boats).

Of the 68 million people living in France in 2023, more than ** million were born French. Around *** million have acquired French nationality through an application for naturalization. The rest of the residents in France are foreigners, among them, there are foreigners with legal status, such as European residents and foreigners with specific status or awaiting regularization.

Between 1960 and 1990, the foreign population of all selected Western European countries grew significantly. In these years, the share of foreign populations in Switzerland and France grew by 77 and 36 percent respectively, while the share foreign populations in Germany and Denmark were six to eight times larger by 1990. Between 1976 and 1990, the share of foreign populations also grew in most of these countries, albeit at a much lower rate; however the share of the foreign population in France actually decreased in this time, as the French government introduced a number of assimilation policies in the 1970s which granted citizenship to a large share of immigrants (the share also decreased in Switzerland, however this was due to differing calculation methods**).

2019 data for European Union states can be found here.

In France, the subject of immigration, frequently put forward by certain political groups, reflects an important generational dissensus. When interviewed in October 2024, nearly half of the ***** age group considered immigration brings more than it costs to their country. This proportion fell to less than one-fifth among people over 65. In 2023, about *** million people living in France were born abroad.

Census: municipal data on the foreign population Household, population, employment

This statistic shows the percentage of the foreign population in France from 1982 to 2018. It appears that there were *** percent of foreigners within the population in France in 1999, compared to *** percent in 2018.

To date, relatively few studies analyzed the motherhood penalty as experienced by immigrant women. The principal objective of this research is to establish whether the negative effect of motherhood on wages is higher for immigrants than it is for the native population; and how this effect may vary across different immigrant regions of origin. Using data from the Enquête Revenus Fiscaux et Sociaux from 2009 to 2012 (INSEE, 2009–2012)1, a series of linear regression models were calculated to examine whether the effect of motherhood on wages differs for immigrant women and native women; and to what extent this effect varies across different immigrant origin groups. Specifically, this study explores the effect of motherhood on immigrant labor market integration in France from three regions of origin, as compared to native French women: immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco), and from European countries (each and every region of origin is considered separately in comparison to native French women). The results revealed substantial differences in the motherhood penalty between the different regions of origin and assert the existence of an especially pronounced motherhood penalty for mothers from the Maghreb. Given the gap in the research with regards to the cost of motherhood for immigrants in the labor market of the host country, this research sheds light on specific mechanisms influencing the integration patterns of immigrant women. Moreover, by choosing France, which is one of the main immigration destinations in Europe, and a country where the motherhood penalty for the native population is almost non-existent, this study provides a new perspective on the intersection of motherhood, immigration, and region of origin in the immigrants' labor-market integration process.

Migration info No. 20 — The foreign population (DSED)

France FR: Population: Total data was reported at 67,118,648.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 66,859,768.000 Person for 2016. France FR: Population: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 58,009,594.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67,118,648.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 46,814,237.000 Person in 1960. France FR: Population: Total 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. Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.; ; (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.; Sum; Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system. The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

France - Population