Recent Demographic Developments in France: Fewer Adults Live with a Partner

On 1 January 2010, the population of metropolitan France was 62.8 million. It grew more slowly than in 2008 (5.2 per 1,000), owing to a somewhat smaller natural increase. After a three-year decline, the number of foreigners admitted as residents increased slightly in 2008. Immigrants born in Algeria and Morocco now outnumber those from Portugal. The total fertility rate dipped slightly in 2009, but remains very close to 2 children per woman. The mean age at childbearing has reached 30 years. The total abortion rate remained high in 2007 at 0.53 terminations per woman. The age at first induced abortion is decreasing, while the frequency of repeat abortions is on an upward trend. The number of PACS civil partnerships continued to rise in 2009 and, despite fewer marriages, the total number of registered unions is rising. The probability of marriage for never-married persons is still falling. The number of divorces again fell slightly in 2009, but the total divorce rate remains close to 45%. Because of the increase in union dissolutions, adult men and women were less frequently living with a partner in 2006 than in 1999. They more often live alone or in lone-parent families. Life expectancy at birth started rising again in 2009, after stalling for women in 2008. It is estimated at 77.8 years for men and 84.5 years for women.