Population Distribution
| Total population |
67.848.156 |
| Population growth rate |
0.35% |
| Birth rate |
12.20 births per 1,000 population |
| Life expectancy |
|
| Overall |
81.56 years |
| Men |
78.45 years |
| Women |
84.82 years |
| Age structure |
|
| 0-14 years |
18.48% |
| 15-64 years |
61.70% |
| 65 years and above |
19.82% |
| Median age |
41.10 years |
| Gender ratio |
0.96 M / F |
| Population density |
105.39 residents per km² |
| Urbanization |
76.30% |
| Cities |
|
| (F 2013) Paris 2,229,621 inh. (A 10.6 million),
Marseille 855,393 (A 1.6 million), Lyon 500,715 (A 1.6 million),
Toulouse 458,298, Nice (Nice) 342,295, Nantes 292.718, Strasbourg
(Strasbourg) 275.718, Montpellier 272.084, Bordeaux 243.626, Lille
231.491 (A 1.0 million), Rennes 211.373, Reims 182.592, Le Havre
172.074, Saint-Étienne 172.023, Toulon 163.760, Grenoble 160.215, Dijon
153.003, Nīmes 150.564, Angers 150.125 |
| Ethnicities |
|
| French, Celtic and Latin origin, Slavs, North Africans,
Indochinese; Proportion of foreigners 2015: 6.6% |
| Religions |
|
| Catholics (Roman Catholic) 83% -88%, Protestants 2%,
Jews 1%, Muslims 5% -10%, without religious affiliation 4% |
| Human Development Index (HDI) |
0.891 |
| HDI ranking |
26th |
People in France
Many French are immigrants, some from the former
colonies. In 2008 there were 5.23 million immigrants in
France. That was a little over eight percent of the
entire population. Half of them had French citizenship.
Around ten percent in 2010 were the descendants of
immigrants whose father or mother was born abroad, i.e.
one in ten French.
Most of the immigrants come from North Africa,
Morocco, Tunisia or Algeria. But there are also many
from the border countries Portugal, Spain and Italy who
hope for a better life in France. For some time now,
many immigrants have also come from sub-Saharan Africa
and the Caribbean.
Languages in France
The official language is of course French. But there
are also other languages and dialects in the regions
of the country. For example, Alsatian is spoken in
Alsace, a dialect that mixes German and French. In
Brittany they speak Breton and in Flanders, on the
border with neighboring Belgium, Flemish. In the south
of France, near the Spanish border, they speak Catalan
and on the French Riviera many people speak Italian
again.
Protection for French
Incidentally, the French protect their language and
defend themselves against Anglicisms. These are words
that we take from English. Often there is no longer a
correct translation for it. So you surely know the word
"email", that is an Anglicism. Or how would you
translate that?
It is said of the French that they are lazy in
learning foreign languages. This applies to the older
population - by the way, this is not so much different
in Germany - but it does not apply to the younger
people. More children learn English in France than in
Germany. Many French learn Spanish and then even German
follows. Nevertheless, the French prefer to speak French
- even if they can theoretically speak other languages.
Learning foreign languages and speaking them are two
different things.
Religions in France
In France state and church are strictly separated,
that is, the church does not interfere in state affairs.
There is also no church tax collected through the state
as in Germany. There are no concrete figures as to which
religion the French belong to, at least not from the
side of the state. About half of the French say they
belong to the Catholic faith. Only three percent
describe themselves as Protestants. It is assumed that
there are almost ten percent Muslims. The rest say they
do not belong to any religion, that is almost a third.
There are also Jews in France, but very few, around one
percent. There are also Orthodox and Oriental
Christians, Buddhists and some Hindus.
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