France recorded more deaths than births in 2025 for the first time since the end of World War II, marking a historic demographic shift that weakens the country’s long-standing population advantage over many of its European Union peers, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
Data from the national statistics agency INSEE showed that 651,000 people died last year, while only 645,000 births were registered. Birth numbers have fallen sharply since the global COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to the reversal.
For decades, France stood out in Europe for its relatively strong demographic profile, but the combination of an aging population and declining birth rates indicates that the country is now facing the same demographic pressures affecting much of the continent. These trends are already placing growing strain on public finances.
INSEE said France’s fertility rate dropped to 1.56 children per woman in 2025, the lowest level since World War I and well below the 1.8 rate assumed in long-term pension funding projections used by the country’s pension advisory council.
In 2023 — the most recent year for which comparable EU-wide data is available — France ranked second-highest in fertility among EU countries, with a rate of 1.65, behind Bulgaria, which recorded 1.81 children per woman.
The national public audit office warned last month that the demographic downturn is expected to push public spending back toward pandemic-era levels in the coming years, while simultaneously shrinking the tax base that supports those expenditures.
“Given the retirement of the large generations born in the 1960s, labor market tensions and workforce problems are likely to increase rapidly in the coming years,” said Philippe Crevel, an economist with the Cercle de l’Épargne think tank.
Despite deaths outnumbering births, France’s total population still rose slightly last year, reaching 69.1 million. INSEE attributed that growth to net migration, which it estimated at 176,000 people.
Life expectancy also reached record levels, with women living an average of 85.9 years and men 80.3 years. Meanwhile, the proportion of people aged 65 and older climbed to 22% of the population, nearly matching the share of those under the age of 20.
