Urban population in France
France: Urban population was 78.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in France, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
France recorded 78.8% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in France peaked at 78.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 61.7%, in 1960.
France ranks 65th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in France, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 61.7% | — |
| 1961 | 62.5% | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 63.5% | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 64.6% | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 65.9% | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 67.2% | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 68.4% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 69.5% | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 70.2% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 70.8% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 71.4% | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 71.9% | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 72.3% | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 72.7% | +0.5% |
| 1974 | 72.9% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 73.0% | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 73.1% | +0.1% |
| 1977 | 73.1% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 73.2% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 73.2% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 73.3% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 73.4% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 73.4% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 73.5% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 73.6% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 73.6% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 73.9% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 74.1% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 74.2% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 74.4% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 74.6% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 74.8% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 75.1% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 75.4% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 75.6% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 75.9% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 76.2% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 76.5% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 76.9% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 77.3% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 77.5% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 77.5% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 77.4% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 77.3% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 77.2% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 77.2% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 77.1% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 77.1% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 77.1% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 77.2% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 77.2% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 77.4% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 77.8% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 78.6% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 78.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 78.7% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 78.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 78.7% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 78.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 78.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 78.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 78.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 78.8% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 66.4% | 61.7% | 70.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.7% | 71.4% | 73.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.6% | 73.2% | 73.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.0% | 74.1% | 76.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.2% | 76.5% | 77.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.8% | 77.1% | 78.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.8% | 78.7% | 78.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
More climate change data for France
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 55,837 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,820 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 44,017 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,572 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 16,983 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,451 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 532.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 62.08 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.03 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in France?
- Urban population in France was 78.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 78.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.7% in 1960.
- How does France rank for urban population?
- France ranks 65th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.