After a volatile and tumultuous decade, in which tens of thousands were executed by the state (most infamously: guillotined), relative stability was restored within France as Napoleon Bonaparte seized power in 1799, and the policies of the revolution became enforced. Beyond France's borders, the country was involved in a series of large scale wars for two almost decades, and the First French Empire eventually covered half of Europe by 1812. In 1815, Napoleon was defeated outright, the empire was dissolved, and the monarchy was restored to France; nonetheless, a large number of revolutionary and Napoleonic reforms remained in effect afterwards, and the ideas had a long-term impact across the globe. France experienced a century of comparative peace in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars; there were some notable uprisings and conflicts, and the monarchy was abolished yet again, but nothing on the scale of what had preceded or what was to follow. A new overseas colonial empire was also established in the late 1800s, particularly across Africa and Southeast Asia. Through most of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, France had the second largest population in Europe (after Russia), however political instability and the economic prioritization of Paris meant that the entire country did not urbanize or industrialize at the same rate as the other European powers. Because of this, Germany and Britain entered the twentieth century with larger populations, and other regions, such as Austria or Belgium, had overtaken France in terms of industrialization; the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War was also a major contributor to this.
World Wars and contemporary France
Coming into the 1900s, France had a population of approximately forty million people (officially 38 million* due to to territorial changes), and there was relatively little growth in the first half of the century. France was comparatively unprepared for a large scale war, however it became one of the most active theaters of the First World War when Germany invaded via Belgium in 1914, with the ability to mobilize over eight million men. By the war's end in 1918, France had lost almost 1.4 million in the conflict, and approximately 300,000 in the Spanish Flu pandemic that followed. Germany invaded France again during the Second World War, and occupied the country from 1940, until the Allied counter-invasion liberated the country during the summer of 1944. France lost around 600,000 people in the course of the war, over half of which were civilians. Following the war's end, the country experienced a baby boom, and the population grew by approximately twenty million people in the next fifty years (compared to just one million in the previous fifty years). Since the 1950s, France's economy quickly grew to be one of the strongest in the world, despite losing the vast majority of its overseas colonial empire by the 1970s. A wave of migration, especially from these former colonies, has greatly contributed to the growth and diversity of France's population today, which stands at over 65 million people in 2020.
Population of France from 1700 to 2020
(in 1,000s)
Year
Population in thousands
2020
65,273.51
2019
65,129.73
2018
64,990.51
2017
64,842.51
2016
64,667.59
2015
64,453.19
2014
64,193.55
2013
63,893.52
2012
63,564.22
2011
63,222.23
2010
62,879.54
2009
62,542.88
2008
62,209.21
2007
61,869.23
2006
61,508.92
2005
61,120.13
2004
60,697.98
2003
60,251.59
2002
59,803.43
2001
59,384.13
2000
59,015.09
1999
58,704.38
1998
58,444.25
1997
58,220.66
1996
58,012.06
1995
57,801.89
1994
57,587.12
1993
57,370.38
1992
57,147.21
1991
56,913.58
1990
56,666.86
1989
56,404.3
1988
56,126.34
1987
55,837.62
1986
55,545.27
1985
55,254.84
1984
54,965.17
1983
54,675.37
1982
54,391.47
1981
54,121.01
1980
53,868.01
1979
53,637.07
1978
53,423.11
1977
53,208.55
1976
52,969.31
1975
52,688.58
1974
52,356.79
1973
51,979.53
1972
51,573.27
1971
51,162.57
1970
50,763.92
1969
50,387.44
1968
50,024.59
1967
49,651.08
1966
49,232.54
1965
48,746.65
1964
48,184.41
1963
47,560.83
1962
46,907.04
1961
46,266.97
1960
45,673.15
1959
45,138.43
1958
44,659.05
1957
44,221.22
1956
43,809
1955
43,411.38
1954
43,024.82
1953
42,654.66
1952
42,315.6
1951
42,031.2
1950
41,833.87
1949
41,600
1948
41,400
1947
41,200
1946
41,100
1945
40,900
1944
40,800
1943
40,600
1942
40,500
1941
40,400
1940
40,300
1939
40,300
1938
40,300
1937
40,400
1936
40,400
1935
40,500
1934
40,600
1933
40,600
1932
40,700
1931
40,700
1930
40,600
1929
40,500
1928
40,300
1927
40,000
1926
39,800
1925
39,500
1924
39,300
1923
39,000
1922
38,700
1921
38,600
1920
38,500
1919
38,600
1918
38,700
1917
38,900
1916
39,100
1915
39,300
1914
39,600
1913
39,800
1912
40,000
1911
40,200
1910
40,300
1909
40,400
1908
40,400
1907
40,400
1906
40,300
1905
40,300
1904
40,200
1903
40,200
1902
40,100
1901
40,100
1900
40,000
1899
40,000
1898
39,900
1897
39,900
1896
39,800
1895
39,800
1894
39,700
1893
39,700
1892
39,600
1891
39,600
1890
39,500
1889
39,500
1888
39,400
1887
39,300
1886
39,200
1885
39,100
1884
39,000
1883
39,000
1882
38,900
1881
38,800
1880
38,700
1879
38,700
1878
38,600
1877
38,600
1876
38,500
1875
38,500
1874
38,400
1873
38,400
1872
38,300
1871
38,300
1870
38,200
1869
38,100
1868
38,000
1867
37,900
1866
37,800
1865
37,700
1864
37,600
1863
37,500
1862
37,400
1861
37,300
1860
37,200
1859
37,100
1858
37,000
1857
36,900
1856
36,900
1855
36,800
1854
36,700
1853
36,600
1852
36,500
1851
36,400
1850
36,300
1849
36,200
1848
36,100
1847
35,900
1846
35,800
1845
35,600
1844
35,500
1843
35,300
1842
35,200
1841
35,000
1840
34,900
1839
34,700
1838
34,600
1837
34,400
1836
34,300
1835
34,100
1834
33,900
1833
33,800
1832
33,600
1831
33,400
1830
33,300
1829
33,100
1828
32,900
1827
32,700
1826
32,500
1825
32,300
1824
32,100
1823
31,900
1822
31,700
1821
31,500
1820
31,300
1819
31,200
1818
31,000
1817
30,900
1816
30,800
1815
30,700
1814
30,600
1813
30,400
1812
30,300
1811
30,200
1810
30,100
1809
30,000
1808
29,900
1807
29,800
1806
29,700
1805
29,500
1804
29,400
1803
29,300
1802
29,200
1801
29,100
1800
29,000
......
-
1784*
24,800
1762*
21,769
1700*
19,669
Zoomable Statistic: Select the range in the chart you want to zoom in on.
*Data from 1800 onwards is the estimated population in the region of France, using its present-day boundaries. As France's borders (particularly along the north east and east) changed regularly before the mid-1900s, the official estimates differ. Some estimates for France's contemporary populations are as follows (in thousands):
1700: 19,699
1762: 21,769
1784: 24,800
1801: 27,349
1806: 29,107
1821: 30,462
1831: 32,569
1836: 33,541
1841: 34,230
1846: 35,402
1851: 35,783
1856: 36,013
1861: 37,386
1866: 38,067
1872: 36,103
1876: 36,906
1881: 37,406
1886: 37,930
1891: 38,133
1896: 38,269
1901: 38,451
1906: 38,845
1911: 39,192
1921: 38,798
1926: 40,228
1931: 41,225
1936: 41,183
1946: 39,848
1954: 42,781
1962: 46,500
1968: 49,655
1975: 52,599
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UN DESA, & Google books. (July 7, 2020). Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/
UN DESA, und Google books. "Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s)." Chart. July 7, 2020. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/
UN DESA, Google books. (2020). Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/
UN DESA, and Google books. "Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s)." Statista, Statista Inc., 7 Jul 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/
UN DESA & Google books, Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Population of France from 1700 to 2020 (in 1,000s) [Graph], UN DESA, & Google books, July 7, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009279/total-population-france-1700-2020/