How many of us are in France? Like every year, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) publishes its report demographic over the past year. For this edition covering the year 2023, the authors note that at “January 1, 2024, France counts 68.4 million inhabitantseither 0.3% more than a year ago”.
Births: a drop of nearly 6.6% between 2022 and 2023
But what about births? With 678,000 births in France, the year 2023 records a decline “very marked compared to 2022 (-48,000 births, or -6.6%)”, underline the authors of the report, and “almost 20% less than in 2010year of the last peak in births”, specifies the organization. A figure which seems to be part of the trend of recent years. “Since 2011, births have been fewer each yearwith the exception of a rebound in 2021, a year marked by the consequences of the health crisis”we can read in the report.
INSEE also notes a drop in fertility which amounts to 1.68 children per woman in 2023 compared to 1.79 in 2022. During its last peak, it peaked at 2.03 in 2010. “Since the Second World War, this indicator has never been so low except in 1993 and 1994,” details the report. Unlike other years, the fertility rate drops in 2023 for women in all age groups, “including for women aged 30 or over, who were not or only slightly affected by the decline in fertility in the years preceding the health crisis”we can read.
However, it should be noted that the number of marriages or civil partnerships remains relatively stable. Indeed, as the authors point out, “with 242,000 celebrations, the number of marriages remains at a high level in 2023. The number of PACS concluded in 2022 stabilizes at nearly 210,000”.
Life expectancy: it reaches 85.7 years for women
Another point highlighted by the report, the drop in mortality (631,000 deaths in 2023) 6.5% compared to 2022. But this figure remains to be qualified, because the year 2022 had been “marked by a resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic with the Omicron variant, three periods of extreme heat and an early winter flu epidemic at the end of the year”. In addition, as the authors specify, the number of deaths “stay higher than before the health crisis”.
On the other hand, life expectancy increased by 0.6 years for women and 0.7 years for men. It reaches the 85.7 years for women and, for the first time, 80 years for men. Whether in France or in the European Union, the population is aging. “As of January 1, 2024, in France, 21.5% of inhabitants are 65 years old or over,” specify the authors. At the European level, “people aged 65 or over represent 21.1% of the EU27 population, compared to 18.0% in 2012”.
Source :
- National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) – Demographic report 2023