Urban population in France
France: Urban population was 54.18 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
54.18 million
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
17th
of 218 countries
All-time high
54.18 million
in 2025
All-time low
29.25 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Urban population in France, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population in France is 54.18 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in France peaked at 54.18 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 29.25 million, in 1960.
France ranks 17th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in France, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 29.25 million | — |
| 1961 | 29.96 million | +2.4% |
| 1962 | 30.71 million | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 31.56 million | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 32.54 million | +3.1% |
| 1965 | 33.51 million | +3.0% |
| 1966 | 34.42 million | +2.7% |
| 1967 | 35.23 million | +2.3% |
| 1968 | 35.87 million | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 36.48 million | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 37.11 million | +1.7% |
| 1971 | 37.73 million | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 38.30 million | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 38.80 million | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 39.18 million | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 39.43 million | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 39.63 million | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 39.85 million | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 40.05 million | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 40.25 million | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 40.49 million | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 40.75 million | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 40.94 million | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 41.19 million | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 41.43 million | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 41.68 million | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 41.94 million | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 42.22 million | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 42.53 million | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 42.84 million | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 43.15 million | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 43.46 million | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 43.78 million | +0.8% |
| 1993 | 44.10 million | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 44.40 million | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 44.72 million | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 45.03 million | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 45.35 million | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 45.68 million | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 46.08 million | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 46.61 million | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 47.19 million | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 47.75 million | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 48.22 million | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 48.59 million | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 48.92 million | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 49.21 million | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 49.45 million | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 49.67 million | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 49.89 million | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 50.13 million | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 50.39 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 50.67 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 50.98 million | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 51.29 million | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 51.75 million | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 52.45 million | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 52.63 million | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 52.83 million | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 53.02 million | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 53.21 million | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 53.42 million | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 53.70 million | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 53.86 million | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 54.02 million | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 54.18 million | +0.3% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 54.18 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.24 million, 24.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- France's 54.18 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.59 million, 15.1× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.95 million | 29.25 million | 36.48 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 39.03 million | 37.11 million | 40.25 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.60 million | 40.49 million | 42.84 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.58 million | 43.15 million | 46.08 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.55 million | 46.61 million | 49.89 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.61 million | 50.13 million | 53.02 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.73 million | 53.21 million | 54.18 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
- 14 Philippines 65.14 million compare
- 15 Bangladesh 58.40 million compare
- 16 United Kingdom 57.90 million compare
- 18 Democratic Republic of Congo 50.90 million compare
- 19 Egypt 50.78 million compare
- 20 Thailand 44.98 million compare
More climate change data for France
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 2.23 billion kg (2050)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in France?
- Urban population in France was 54.18 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 54.18 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.25 million in 1960.
- How does France rank for urban population?
- France ranks 17th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. 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. 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. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.