Foreigners make up 8.8% of France’s population, according to that country’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), which notes that this is lower than the European Union average,
Foreign residents in France, defined as people without French nationality, number 6.0 million. Of these, 5.1 million were born abroad, while 900,000—primarily minors—were born in France.
The proportion of foreigners in France is below the EU average of 9.6%. France also has a lower share compared to Italy (8.9%), Spain (13.4%), Belgium (13.8%), and Germany (14.5%), according to Insee, which based its findings on data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency.
France has a slightly higher percentage of non-European foreigners (6.5%) compared to the EU average (6.4%) and Belgium’s (5.4%). This figure is similar to that of Italy (6.6%) but lower than Germany’s (9.2%).
In 1968, nearly three out of four foreigners in France were European nationals, while one in four came from African countries.
By 2024, nearly half of foreigners in France held the nationality of an African country, while a third are from European countries.
Among foreigners living in France, 46% are African nationals, 35% hold European nationalities, and 13% are from Asian countries.
Insee also examined the immigrant population, defined as individuals who were born abroad as non-nationals. In 2024, France had 7.7 million immigrants, of whom 2.6 million have since acquired French citizenship.
