Overview
- Provisional Insee data show average daily births down 2.4% in January–November 2025, totaling about 590,000 babies, including roughly 51,000 in November.
- Deaths rose 1.4% over January–October 2025, and statisticians say the year could end with deaths outnumbering births for the first time since 1944.
- France’s fertility indicator fell to 1.62 children per woman in 2024 from 1.66 in 2023, extending a decline seen almost every year since 2011 aside from a brief 2021 rebound.
- The government has introduced a paid birth leave of up to two months per parent, while Unaf and demographers call for broader moves on incomes, stable jobs, housing and childcare.
- Insee will publish fuller 2025 demographic results on Tuesday, as policymakers gauge implications for pensions, elder care and school system planning.