Health Family Policy: France’s Birth Rate Continues to Grow
Publiée le : 01 September 2006
With the number of births still rising, France now has the second highest birth rate in the European Union. This finding reflects France’s pro-family policies and measures to encourage couples to have children.
The French National Institute for Demographic studies (Ined) has recently published the findings of its annual population study – which confirm the unique position of France in this area. With a birth rate of 1.92 children per woman, France has the second highest birth rate in the European Union, close behind Ireland with a birth rate of 1.99. This figure is far higher than that of other major EU countries like the UK (1.74), Germany (1.37), Italy (1.33) and Spain (1.32). While birth rates are falling in most EU countries, France’s birth rate, which stood at 1.71 in 1995, is on the increase, showing a slow but steady progression over the past ten years. In 2005, the number of births continued to rise, increasing from 768,000 to 775,000. The trend has meant that the French population has continued to grow (up 0.6% in mainland France), standing at 62.9 million at 1st January 2006 (figure for mainland France and the overseas departments). This rise can be explained partly (for three-quarters) by the greater number of births than deaths and partly by migration factors (with the number of people coming to live in the country exceeding the number of people leaving the country).
Though it is difficult to determine the exact influence of the different factors that make France a demographic exception, the emphasis on family policies – including benefits and tax breaks, and subsidised childcare facilities which allow mothers to continue to work - have clearly played a major part in this trend.
Summary of the 2005 findings published in the newsletter of the French National Institute of Demographic Studies
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