France sees more deaths than births for first time since WWII
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said on Tuesday that births fell short of deaths by roughly 6,000 over the year. An estimated 645,000 babies were born in 2025, down 2.1% from 660,000 in 2024. Compared with 2010, the last year births peaked, the number of newborns has dropped by 24%.
Meanwhile, deaths reached around 651,000 in 2025, a 1.5% increase compared with the previous year. The rise was largely attributed to a severe influenza outbreak during the winter months, the institute noted.
Despite this negative natural population balance, France’s overall population still grew slightly, supported by net migration provisionally estimated at 176,000 people in 2025. As of January 1, 2026, the total population stood at approximately 69.1 million, including 66.8 million in metropolitan France and 2.3 million in overseas territories.
INSEE also reported a decline in the total fertility rate, which fell to 1.56 children per woman in 2025 from 1.61 the previous year, one of the lowest levels recorded since World War I.
Life expectancy at birth increased slightly, reaching 85.9 years for women and 80.3 years for men, keeping France above the European Union average, according to the latest available data.
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