List of Lands of The Carolingian Empire - Demographics

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of France and French people

With an estimated population of 65.8 million people (as of 1 January 2011), France is the 21st most populous country in the world.

As of 2004, Institut Montaigne estimated that there were 51 million (85%) White people, 6 million (10%) of North African people, 2 million (3.5%) of Black people and 1 million (1.5%) people of Asian origin in Metropolitan France.

In 2003, France's natural population growth (excluding immigration) was responsible for almost all natural population growth in the European Union. The natural growth (excess of births over deaths) rose to 302,432 in 2006, its highest since the end of the baby boom in 1973. The total fertility rate rose to 2.01 in 2010, from a nadir of 1.68 in 1994. In the five years between January 2006 and January 2011, population growth was on average +0.58% per year. In 2010, 27.3% of newborn in metropolitan France had at least one foreign-born parent and 23.9% had at least one parent born outside of Europe (parents born in overseas territories are considered as born in France).

As of 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (born in France) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. More than 5 million are of European origin and about 4 million of Maghrebi origin. Immigrants aged 18–50 count for 2.7 millions (10% of population aged 18–50) and 5 millions for all ages (8% of population). 2nd Generation aged 18–50 make up 3.1 millions (12% of 18–50) and 6.5 millions for all ages (11% of population)

In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe. In 2008, France granted citizenship to 137,000 persons, mostly to people from Morocco, Algeria and Turkey.

Although it is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and ancestry, a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958, some surveys, like the TeO ("Trajectories and origins") survey conducted jointly by INED and INSEE in 2008, are allowed to do it. Before this survey, it was estimated that 5 million people are of Italian ancestry (the most numerous immigrant community), between three million and six million people are of North African ancestry, 2.5 million people are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, 200,000 people are of Turkish ancestry, and many more are of other European ethnic ancestry such as Spaniards, Portuguese, Poles, and Greeks. It is currently estimated that 40% of the French population is descended at least partially from the different waves of immigration the country has received. Between 1921 and 1935 about 1.1 million net immigrants came to France. An estimated 1.6 million pieds noirs returned to France as the country's North African possessions gained independence.

France accepts about 200,000 legal immigrants each year. France is the leading asylum destination in Western Europe with an estimated 50,000 applications in 2005 (a 15% decrease from 2004). The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While UK and Ireland did not impose restrictions, France put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration.

The largest cities in France, in terms of metropolitan area population, are Paris (11,836,970), Lyon (1,757,180), Marseille (1,618,369), Lille (1,163,934), Toulouse (1,118,472), Bordeaux (1,009,313), Nice (999,678), Nantes (768,305) and Strasbourg (641,853).

A perennial political issue concerns rural depopulation. Over the period 1960–1999 fifteen rural départements experienced a decline in population. In the most extreme case, the population of Creuse fell by 24%.