The trend predicted by INSEE is confirmed. The French are having fewer and fewer children and the year 2023 marks a new threshold: fewer than 700,000 births were recorded during the year. A threshold that had not been reached since the Second World War.
In 2023, 678,000 babies were born in the country, 6.6% less than the previous year, which corresponds to the lowest number of births in one year since 1946.
Total population on the rise
Over the same period, there were 631,000 deaths, a number down 6.5% compared to 2022, a year marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and episodes of extreme heat.
The natural balance of the French population thus remained slightly positive (+47,000 people). France had more than 68.4 million inhabitants on January 1, 2024, a further increase of 0.3% over one year, INSEE also indicated.