Number of live births in France
France: Number of live births was 686,564 births in 2022. ▼ Falling
Number of live births in France, 1946–2022
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births.
Analysis
In 2022, number of live births in France stood at 686,564 births. That is the lowest value across all 77 years on record.
The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of live births in France peaked at 881,284 births in 1971 and was at its lowest, 686,564 births, in 2022.
That places France 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 77 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 864,468 births | 843,904 births | 872,661 births | 4 |
| 1950s | 819,745 births | 804,696 births | 862,310 births | 10 |
| 1960s | 848,531 births | 819,819 births | 877,804 births | 10 |
| 1970s | 797,220 births | 720,395 births | 881,284 births | 10 |
| 1980s | 776,301 births | 748,525 births | 805,483 births | 10 |
| 1990s | 736,131 births | 710,993 births | 762,407 births | 10 |
| 2000s | 778,334 births | 761,464 births | 796,896 births | 10 |
| 2010s | 761,742 births | 714,029 births | 802,224 births | 10 |
| 2020s | 695,016 births | 686,564 births | 701,819 births | 3 |
Countries ranked near France
More population data for France
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.0% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 3.16 million people (2100)
- Population density 125.07 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.0% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.61 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 721,771 people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.61 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.61 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate 0.0% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.64 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of live births in France?
- Number of live births in France was 686,564 births in 2022, according to Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of live births recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 881,284 births in 1971.
- What is the lowest number of live births recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 686,564 births in 2022.
- How does France rank for number of live births?
- France ranks 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2022.
- Is number of live births rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of live births. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 77 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total number of live births recorded in a given year.