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Rabat – France recorded more deaths than births in 2025 for the first time since the end of World War Two, signaling a major change in the country’s population trends.
Official data released Tuesday by the national statistics agency INSEE showed 651,000 deaths last year, compared with 645,000 births.
Birth numbers in France have fallen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. While France has long had one of the strongest demographic records in the European Union, it is now facing the same challenges as many other European countries of an aging population and fewer children being born.
INSEE said the fertility rate dropped to 1.56 children per woman in 2025, the lowest level since World War One. This is well below the 1.8 rate used in official pension funding forecasts. In 2023, the latest year available for EU comparisons, France still ranked second in the bloc with a fertility rate of 1.65, behind Bulgaria.
Experts warn that these trends could put pressure on public finances. France’s national public audit office recently said the demographic shift may push government spending back to levels seen during the pandemic, while reducing the number of working people who pay taxes.
As large generations born in the 1960s retire, labor shortages and workforce tensions are likely to increase in the coming years.
Despite deaths exceeding births, France’s total population still grew slightly in 2025 to reach 69.1 million people. This increase was driven by net migration, which INSEE estimated at 176,000.
Life expectancy in France also reached record levels last year, rising to 85.9 years for women and 80.3 years for men. At the same time, the share of people aged 65 and older climbed to 22%, nearly matching the proportion of those under the age of 20.
