Deaths outnumber births in France for first time since World War Two

People on the banks of the River Seine in Paris, France, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

PARIS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - France ‌recorded more deaths than births in 2025 for the first time ‌since the end of World War Two, a development that ‌erodes its long-held demographic advantage over other European Union nations, official figures showed on Tuesday.

The national statistics institue INSEE reported 651,000 deaths last year and 645,000 births, which ‍have collapsed in number since the global COVID ‍pandemic.