INSEE: France faces demographic decline after 2037

France's population will reach its peak in 2037 thanks to migration, after which it will begin to decline and by 2070 return to roughly its 2014 level.

As reported by Report, citing Reuters, France's national statistics agency, INSEE, France has long enjoyed a more favorable demographic situation than most European countries. However, population ageing and declining birth rates indicate that it is not immune to the demographic pressures that are straining public finances across the continent.

INSEE data show that France's natural population growth turned negative in 2025 and is expected to remain negative in the future. Population growth through 2037 will be driven exclusively by migration.

The country's population is projected to increase from 69.1 million in 2026 to a peak of 69.8 million in 2037, before declining to 65.9 million by 2070 - approximately the same level as in 2014.

In its previous forecast, published in 2021, INSEE had projected that the population peak would occur later, in 2044, at around 69.3 million people.

If migration proves weaker than expected or the fertility rate falls below the baseline forecast of 1.45 children per woman, France"s population could decline to 54.6 million by 2070.

In addition to population decline, the country is expected to face significant population ageing. By 2070, one in three residents of France will be aged 65 or older, roughly double the share of those under 20.

The most significant changes are expected among the oldest age groups. The number of people aged 80 and over is projected to more than double to around 9 million, while the number of centenarians aged 100 and above could quadruple to approximately 160,000.