Overview
- France’s population stood at about 68.6 million on 1 January 2025, with Ined reporting 629,000 births and 630,000 deaths in metropolitan France in 2024, the first peacetime year with a null or negative natural balance in over a century.
- Fertility fell to roughly 1.62 children per woman, births are down about 20% since 2010, and Ined notes younger women now report fewer desired children on average, dropping from about 2.5 to 1.9 in twenty years.
- Population growth now rests almost entirely on positive net migration, with about +152,000 nationwide in 2024 and 343,000 first residence permits issued, led by students and family reunification.
- The Cour des comptes warns of an “effet de ciseau” for public finances as the working‑age share shrinks, highlighting risks to pensions and health funding from fewer births and more deaths.
- Health Minister Stéphanie Rist calls the crossover a “turning point” and promises a national infertility plan in the coming weeks, as political and public debate intensifies over possible pro‑natalist measures.