Editing Demographics of France (section)

==Historical overview==
=== 1800 to 20th century ===
{{multiple image
| height            = 200
| footer            = 
| image1            = France population pyramid in 1914.svg
| width1            = 180
| caption1          = 1914
| image2            = France population pyramid in 1920.svg
| width2            = 180
| caption2          = 1920
| header            = Population pyramid before and after the First World War
}}
[[Image:Population2Centuries.jpg|400px|thumbnail|Two centuries of population growth]]
Starting around 1800, the historical evolution of the population in France has been atypical in Europe. Unlike the rest of Europe, there was no strong population growth in France in the 19th and first half of the 20th century. The [[birth rate]] in France diminished much earlier than in the rest of Europe in part because inheritance laws dictated distribution of estates whereas in the UK wealth could be passed to the eldest son or child.{{original research inline|date=March 2018}} The country's large population gave [[Napoleon]] a seemingly limitless supply of men for the [[Grande Armée]], but the birth rate began to fall in the late 18th century;{{r|huss1990}} thus population growth was quite slow in the 19th century, and the nadir was reached in the first half of the 20th century when France, surrounded by the rapidly growing populations of Germany and the United Kingdom, had virtually zero growth. The slow growth of France's population in the 19th century was reflected in the country's very low emigration rate.

The French population only grew by 8.6% between 1871 and 1911, while Germany's grew by 60% and Britain's by 54%.<ref name="jackson2001">{{cite book | title=France: The Dark Years, 1940–1944 | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | author=Jackson, Julian | year=2001 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/france00juli/page/31 31–33, 103–104] | isbn=978-0-19-820706-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/france00juli/page/31 }}</ref>

French concerns about the country's slow population growth began after its defeat in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. For four years in the 1890s, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births. The National Alliance for the Growth of the French Population (ANAPF) was formed in 1896, and the Cognacq-Jay and other prizes were created for the parents of large families. [[Émile Zola]]'s 1899 novel {{ill|Les Quatre Évangiles|fr|Les Quatre Évangiles|lt=Fécondité|italic=yes}} is representative of contemporary concerns about the birthrate. France lost 10% of its active male population in World War I; the 1.3 million French deaths, along with even more births forgone by potential fathers being off at war, caused a drop of 3 million in the French population, and helped make ''Dénatalité'' a national obsession; by 1920 ANAPF had 40,000 members, and in July that year [[Abortion in France|a new law strictly regulated abortion]] and contraception.{{r|huss1990}}{{r|jackson2001}}

ANAPF proposed that parents of large families receive extra votes, and the belief that women's suffrage in other countries caused birth rates to decline helped defeat proposals before World War II to [[Women's suffrage in France|permit women to vote]]. The birth rate declined again after a brief baby boom from 1920 to 1923, and reached an all-time low during peacetime in the late 1930s. During the "hollow years" of the decade, the number of new [[Conscription in France|conscripts]] declined because of the lack of births during World War I. From 1935 deaths exceeded births; the press widely discussed the country's decreasing population. Both left and right supported pro-natalist policies; even the [[French Communist Party]] ended its opposition to anti-birth control and anti-abortion laws in 1936, and its leader, [[Maurice Thorez]], advocated for the "protection of family and childhood".{{r|huss1990}}{{r|jackson2001}}

New laws in November 1938 and July 1939, the {{lang|fr|code de la famille}}, provided enough financial incentives for large families to double the income of a family with six children. The [[Vichy government]] approved of the laws and implemented them as part of its ''[[Travail, famille, patrie]]'' national motto, as did the postwar [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]].{{r|jackson2001}}<ref name=huss1990>{{cite journal|jstor=260720|title=Pronatalism in the Inter-War Period in France|first=Marie-Monique|last=Huss|date=1 September 1990|journal=Journal of Contemporary History|volume=25|issue=1|pages=39–68|doi=10.1177/002200949002500102|s2cid=162316833}}</ref><ref>Colin L. Dyer, ''Population and Society in 20th Century France'' (1978)</ref> Also, France encouraged immigration, chiefly from other European countries such as Italy, Poland, and Spain. (In fact, with its low birth rate, stagnating or declining native-born population, and role as a destination for migrants from other parts of Europe, France's situation before World War II was not unlike [[Demographics of Germany|that of Germany]] today.)

=== After World War II ===
{{Historical populations
|type =
| percentages = pagr
|footnote = Source:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population changes − Demographic balance sheet 2021 {{!}} Insee |url=https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/6040011?sommaire=6323335 |access-date=2023-08-05 |website=www.insee.fr}}</ref>
|1806 | 29107000
|1821 | 30462000
|1831 | 32569000
|1841 | 34230000
|1851 | 35783000
|1872 | 36103000
|1881 | 37672000
|1891 | 38343000
|1901 | 38962000
|1911 | 39605000
|1921 | 39108000
|1931 | 41524000
|1946 | 40125230
|1950 | 41647258
|1960 | 45464797
|1970 | 50528219
|1980 | 53731387
|1990 | 56577000
|2000 | 58858198
|2010 | 62765235
|2020 | 67287241
|2022 | 67813396
}}

France experienced a baby boom after 1945; it reversed a long-term record of low birth rates.{{r|huss1990}}<ref>Leslie King, "'France needs children'" ''Sociological Quarterly'' (1998) 39#1 pp: 33–52.</ref> The government's pro-natalist policy of the 1930s do not explain this sudden recovery, which was often portrayed inside France as a "miracle". It was also atypical of the Western world: although there was a [[post–World War II baby boom|baby boom]] in other Western countries after the war, the baby boom in France was much stronger, and lasted longer than in most other Western countries (the United States was one of the few exceptions). In the 1950s and 1960s, France's population grew at 1% per year: the highest growth in the history of France, higher even than the high growth rates of the 18th or 19th century.

Since 1975, France's population growth rate has significantly diminished, but it still remains slightly higher than that of the rest of Europe, and much faster than at the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. In the first decade of the third millennium, population growth in France was the highest in Europe, matched only by that of the [[Republic of Ireland]], which has also historically undergone stagnant growth and even decline relative to the rest of Europe until recently. However, it is lower than that of the United States, largely because of the latter's higher [[net migration rate]].

===Historical summary===
The following compares the past, present, and future size of the French population with other entities in Europe and in the world. All statements refer to France as understood in its modern borders; this pertains also to other countries. Historians suggest that France was the most populous state in Europe from at least the period of [[Charlemagne]] and the [[Frankish Empire]], if not earlier, to the 19th century. Population statistics prior to the modern era are historical estimates as official counts were not made.

*Until 1795 metropolitan France was the most populous country of Europe, ahead of Russia, and the fourth most populous country in the world, behind only China, India and Japan;
*Between 1795 and 1866, metropolitan France was the second most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, and the fourth most populous country in the world, behind China, India and Russia (having become more populous than Japan during this period);
*Between 1866 and 1909, metropolitan France was the third most populous country of Europe, behind Russia and Germany;
*Between 1909 and 1933, metropolitan France was the fourth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom;
*Between 1933 and 1991, metropolitan France was the fifth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy;
*Since 1991, metropolitan France recovered its rank as the fourth most populous country of Europe, behind Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Worldwide, France's ranking has fallen to twentieth most populous country;
*In 2005 it was projected that if current demographic trends continued (i.e. declining population in Germany, and slightly rising population in France and the UK), around 2050 metropolitan France could again surpass the population of Germany, becoming the most populous state in the European Union.<ref name=h>{{cite web|year=2005|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/13/news/france.php|title=France has a baby boom|work=International Herald Tribune|access-date=15 December 2007}}</ref> In contrast, 2009 UN projections say that the stronger-growing [[UK|United Kingdom]] could be more populous than France in 2050, leaving France third amongst European nations, behind Russia and the UK.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

In the above list, Turkey is not considered a European country. Turkey was less populous than metropolitan France until 1992 but is now more populous.<ref>According to the table [[:File:Turkey-demography.png]]{{better source|date=April 2025}}</ref>

{{GraphChart
| width = 560
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=year
| yAxisTitle= million
| yAxisMin=0
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| legend=
| type = line
| x = 1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 40.7, 40.8, 40.9, 41, 41, 41.1, 41.1, 41.2, 41.2, 41.4, 41.4, 41.5, 41.6, 41.6, 40.6, 40, 39.4, 38.7, 38.6, 38.9, 39.1, 39.3, 39.8,40.2,40.5,40.7, 40.8, 40.9, 41, 41.3, 41.5, 41.5, 41.5, 41.6, 41.5, 41.5, 41.5, 41.6, 41.5, 40.7, 39.4, 39.2, 38.9, 38.8, 39.7,40.3, 40.7, 41.1, 41.5, 41.8, 42.2, 42.5, 42.8, 43.1, 43.4, 43.8, 44.3, 44.8, 45.2, 45.7, 46.2, 47, 47.8, 48.3, 48.8, 49.2, 49.5, 49.9, 50.3, 50.8, 51.3, 51.7, 52.1, 52.5, 52.7, 52.9, 53.1, 53.4, 53.6, 53.9, 54.2, 54.5, 54.8, 55, 55.3, 55.6, 55.8, 56.1, 56.4, 56.7, 57, 57.2, 57.5, 57.7, 57.8, 58, 58.2, 58.4, 58.7, 59, 59.5, 59.9, 60.3, 60.7, 61.2,61.6, 62, 62.3, 62.6, 62.9, 63.2, 63.5, 63.8, 64.2, 64.4, 64.6, 64.7, 65, 65.2, 65.4, 65.5, 65,8

| y1Title= population (million)

}}

{{GraphChart
| width = 560
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=years
| yAxisTitle= ‰
| yAxisMax= 15
| yAxisMin= -10
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| legend=
| hAnnotatonsLine=0
| hAnnotatonsLabel=
| type = line
| x = 1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 1.7, 2.3, 2.5, 2.2, 1.8, 1.3, 1.1, -0.0, 1.6, 0.8, 2.2, -0.5, 1.8, 1.4, -0.4, -6.5, -7.8, -7.6, -10.2, -6.0, 4.2, 3.0, 1.8, 2.4, 1.9, 1.5, 1.3, 1.7, 1.8, -0.2, 2.4, 1.3, 1.5, 0.4, 1.1, -0.4, -0.3, -0.3, -0.8, -0.7, -4.4, -3.9, -2.1, -0.3, -1.0, 0.1, 7.4, 8.2, 8.7, 7.2, 7.8, 6.2, 7.0, 5.8, 6.8, 6.4, 6.0, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1, 6.5, 7.3, 6.2, 6.5, 7.4, 6.6, 6.8, 6.0, 5.7, 5.3, 6.1, 6.4, 6.3, 5.7, 4.7, 3.5, 3.1, 3.9, 3.6, 4.0, 4.7, 4.6, 4.7, 3.4, 4.0, 3.9, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.2, 4.2, 4.1, 3.9, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.4, 3.4, 3.5, 3.5, 4.1, 4.0, 3.8, 3.5, 4.3, 4.0, 4.6, 4.3, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2, 4.1, 3.6, 3.5, 3.6, 2.8, 2.5, 2.1, 1.9, 1.8, 0.6, 0.9, 0.45

| y2= , , -0.1, 0.2, 0.4, -0.1, 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 0.4, 0.5, 2.2, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, -18.3, -7.2, -7.6, -9.2, 4.2, 3.5, 3.1, 2.5, 8.7, 8.6, 5.6, 4.8, -0.2, 0.8, 3.6, 5.3, 3.7, -2.5, -0.2, 0.1, -0.1, -0.9, 1, 1.6, -0.5, -15.8, -28.3, -3, -9, -1.4, 22.4, 8.2, 1.5, 1.8, 1.7, 0.5, 1.6, 0.2, 1, 0.3, 2.1, 3.5, 4.1, 3.7, 2.9, 3.2, 3, 11.6, 10.6, 2.8, 2.6, 1.4, 1.7, 1.7, 2.7, 2.9, 3, 2.4, 2.3, 1.8, 1, 0.9, 0.5, 0.8, 0.3, 0.4, 0.9, 1, 1.7, 0.7, 0.8, 1.1, 0.1, 0.8, 1.2, 0.9, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0, -0.2, -0.3, -0.3, -0.2, 1, 2.4, 3.2, 3.2, 3.3, 2.8, 3.3, 2.2, 1.6, 1.2, 1, 0.7, 0.7, 1.3, 1.6, 1, 0.7, 0.1, 0.8, 1.6, 1.6, 2, 1.7, 2.7
, 
| y1Title=Natural change (per 1000)
| y2Title=Crude migration change (per 1000)
}}
<ref>Note: Crude migration change (per 1000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). Average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not end of the year.</ref>
{{GraphChart
| width = 750
| height = 150
| xAxisTitle=years
| yAxisTitle= 
| yAxisMax= 4
| yAxisMin=
| yGrid= 0,1
| xGrid= 10
| legend=
| hAnnotatonsLine=2.1
| hAnnotatonsLabel=
| type = line
| x = 1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
| y1= 3.4, 3.51, 3.46, 3.53, 3.51, 3.53, 3.53, 3.55, 3.49, 3.49, 3.44, 3.08, 3.59, 3.51, 3.53, 3.51, 3.57, 3.49, 3.44, 3.44, 3.36, 3.4, 3.4, 3.38, 3.38, 3.32, 3.26, 3.22, 3.16, 3.12, 2.95, 3.03, 2.96, 3.02, 2.94, 2.86, 2.98, 2.92, 2.87, 2.88, 2.80, 2.9028,2.8530,2.7840,2.7483,2.7059,2.7000,2.5755,2.6363,2.5573,2.5705,2.4620,2.4853,2.4680,2.3354,1.5194,1.2304,1.3419,1.5593,1.5907,2.6946,2.6014,2.4230,2.4067,2.3561,2.3884,2.3680,2.2895,2.3052,2.2412,2.2953,2.2470,2.2258,2.1110,2.1406,2.0696,2.0919,2.0989,2.1276,2.1662,2.0025,1.8535,2.0425,2.1864,2.2494,2.3102,2.9979,3.0366,3.0195,3.0044,2.9466,2.8056,2.7772,2.7038,2.7142,2.6835,2.6735,2.6947,2.6835,2.7521,2.7396,2.8242,2.7957,2.8962,2.9149,2.8492,2.8008,2.6711,2.5880,2.5343,2.4803,2.4972,2.4187,2.3086,2.1123,1.9272,1.8290,1.8619,1.8215,1.8553,1.9450,1.9455,1.9123,1.7844,1.802,1.814,1.831,1.801,1.805,1.788,1.778,1.770,1.733,1.660,1.663,1.713,1.733,1.726,1.764,1.791,1.874,1.877,1.864,1.874,1.898,1.920,1.980,1.959,1.990,1.989,2.016,1.996,1.992,1.973,1.974,1.925,1.891,1.858,1.835,1.828,1.789, 1.796, 1.796

| y1Title=Total Fertility Rate

}}