Monaco has always attracted people from across the world, but the census data tells a story of a Principality whose international character is shifting in ways that would have been difficult to predict 10 years ago. The 2025 population census, published Wednesday by IMSEE, allows for the clearest long-term comparison yet — and some of the trends are striking.
The single most significant shift over the past decade is the steady erosion of the French community. In 2016, French nationals numbered 9,286 — the largest single group in Monaco. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 8,270, a decline of more than 1,000 residents over nine years. The French share of the total population has dropped from roughly 25% in 2016 to 21.3% today. Monegasques, who numbered 8,378 in 2016, have grown steadily to 9,333 — overtaking the French to become the leading nationality in the Principality for the first time in the modern census era, a milestone first recorded in 2023.
The Russian surge
The most dramatic growth story of the past decade belongs to the Russian community. In 2016, there were 749 Russian residents in Monaco. By 2023, that figure had reached 1,199 — a 60% increase — and by 2025 it stood at 1,209. Much of this growth occurred between 2016 and 2023, with the community more than doubling over that period. The average age of Russian residents remains among the youngest in the Principality at 42, and the community is heavily female, with women accounting for 58.5% of Russian nationals resident in Monaco.
New communities on the rise
Some of the most striking growth has come from smaller communities that barely registered a decade ago. The Ukrainian community stood at just 99 residents in 2016. By 2023 it had reached 285 — almost tripling — and by 2025 had grown further to 361. The Cypriot community followed a similar trajectory, rising from 64 residents in 2016 to 225 in 2025, while Israelis grew from 51 to 191 over the same period.
The Maltese community, which numbered just 13 residents in 2016, had grown to 129 by 2025 — one of the most remarkable proportional increases in the census data, though still a small community in absolute terms.
The British: growing again
The British community has had a more nuanced trajectory. Numbers rose modestly from 2,795 in 2016 to 2,870 in 2023, but the pace accelerated sharply between 2023 and 2025, adding 211 residents in two years to reach 3,081. In 2025, the British recorded the single strongest annual increase of any nationality — 163 additional residents in one year. Their average age of 49.2 makes them one of the older communities, and they remain predominantly male at 54.5%.
Communities that have shrunk
Not all trends point upward. The Italian community, despite remaining Monaco’s third-largest nationality, has declined from 8,172 residents in 2016 to 7,559 in 2025 — a loss of more than 600 people over the decade. The Dutch community fell from 555 to 503 over the same period, and the Belgian community has slipped slightly from 1,073 to 1,038.
The broader picture
Taken together, the data reflects Monaco’s evolution from a Principality dominated by French and Italian residents to a genuinely global address. In 1962, French nationals accounted for nearly 60% of the population. Today they represent 21.3%. Meanwhile, the share of nationalities outside the top three has grown from less than 10% in the 1960s to 42.7% in 2025 — nearly half the Principality’s population. Monaco now counts 144 nationalities within its two square kilometres, with a total resident population of 38,857.
The full 2025 Population Census report is available at imsee.mc.
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Photo credit: Benjamin Vergely, Monaco Tourism Department
