France records more deaths than births for first time since end of second world war

A public consultation last year found the financial cost of raising children was a barrier to parenthood for 28% of French adults. Photograph: SDI Productions/Getty Images

For the first time since the end of the second world war, France has recorded more deaths than births, suggesting that the country’s long-held demographic advantage over other EU countries is slipping away.

Across the country in 2025, there were 651,000 deaths and 645,000 births, according to newly released figures from the national statistics institute Insee.