Insee has published its annual demographic report, marked by the collapse of several indicators due to the coronavirus epidemic. It reveals that women are having fewer children, life expectancy is declining, and the number of marriages is plummeting.
As of January 1, 2021, France had 67,422,241 inhabitants, an increase of 135,000 in one year. This estimated increase of 0.25% in the population reflects a trend of slowing down compared to the reports from 2019 (0.34%), 2018 (0.35%), and 2017 (0.48%).
This growth is primarily due to the migratory balance (+87,000 people). This is a novelty, as the growth of the French population was previously driven by the natural balance, the difference between the number of births and deaths.
Birth rate, life expectancy…
According to the figures published on Tuesday, 740,000 babies were born in France in 2020 (-1.8% compared to 2019) and 658,000 people passed away (+7.3%).*
The decline in births in France, which began a decade ago, is accelerating (-1.8% compared to -0.7% a year earlier). In 2020, women had an average of 1.84 children, compared to 1.86 in 2019.
The Covid-19 crisis “caused a loss of 0.4 years of life expectancy for women and 0.5 years for men,” writes Insee. The average life expectancy based on mortality conditions in 2020 is now only 85.2 years for women and 79.2 years for men. This decrease is twice as significant as after the winter flu of 2015 and has no equivalent in recent history.
Decline in marriages
In 2020, France celebrated only 148,000 civil marriages (including 4,000 between same-sex couples), which is 34% less than the previous year. Additionally, as with every year, the number of Pacs (civil unions) is only known with a one-year delay: the 2019 figures showed a 7% decline in civil solidarity pacts.
The question remains as to what extent 2021 and the following years will be marked by a catch-up from the dip in 2020.
