In 2023, 677,800 babies will be born in France, INSEE reveals this Thursday, November 14.
This is the lowest total since World War II.
The drop from the previous year is the largest since the end of the baby boom.
A historically low number. Some 677,800 babies will be born in France in 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) reported this Thursday. Never since the end of the Second World War has this indicator been so low. We have to go back to 1945 to find traces of a smaller total: 645,900 births.
Above all, the trend is towards an acceleration of the decline. In 2023, the number of births further decreased by 48,200 compared to 2022, a drop of 6.6%, notes INSEE. “This is a decline on a scale not seen since the end of the baby boom in the mid-1970s”notes the institute. “Even in 1983 and 1993, years of strong decline in a context of poor economic situation the decline was less steep (respectively -5.8% and -4.3%).”
20% fewer births in 13 years
It remains that this new record is registered “in a long-term trend”. Since 2010, the number of births has decreased each year in France, with the exception of 2021, where a slight rebound was noted. The French are thus having almost 20% fewer babies than in 2010, a reduction of 130,000 births in less than 15 years.
A trend that is observed regardless of the age of the mother. “For the first time since 2010, the drop in births concerns mothers of all ages, including the oldest”continues INSEE. This is also the case everywhere in the territory. “They decrease more in rural municipalities, whether they are peri-urban (-9.1%) or not (-8.4%)”notes the institute. This is less the case in large urban centers (-5%).
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What about 2024? The trend is confirmed. “Over the first nine months of the year, the decline in births continues, but at a slower rate than in 2023”anticipates INSEE. “Compared to the first nine months of 2023, and taking into account that 2024 is a leap year, the number of births decreases by 2.7%.”
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