INSEE, France’s statistical office, has published the latest available figures for population changes across the nation, although these apply to January 1, 2015.
There are now more than 66 million people living in France, with an annual growth rate averaging 0.5 percent. Interestingly, the south and west of the country seem to have lost their attraction for newcomers, with only small increases in population.
Nevertheless, the number of people calling the Region Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (formerly known as PACA) home has passed the five million mark for the first time. For the whole of the country, the principal reason for the increase in population is immigration, rather than a surplus of births over deaths.
INSEE is preparing population estimates as of January 1, 2018, which will be published on January 16.
Closer to home, Monaco’s 2016 Census revealed earlier this year that the resident population of Monaco has grown 5.5 percent to reach 37,308. With a total of 139 different nationalities identified, Russians saw the highest increase in residency, now numbered at 749, since the last census in 2008.
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