Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France
France: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million was 15.87 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
15.87 million
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
26th
of 121 countries
All-time high
15.87 million
in 2025
All-time low
10.06 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France stood at 15.87 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France peaked at 15.87 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 10.06 million, in 1960.
That places France 26th out of 121 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.06 million | — |
| 1961 | 10.26 million | +2.0% |
| 1962 | 10.43 million | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 10.56 million | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 10.69 million | +1.2% |
| 1965 | 10.82 million | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 10.95 million | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 11.08 million | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 11.21 million | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 11.31 million | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 11.41 million | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 11.52 million | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 11.62 million | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 11.73 million | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 11.84 million | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 11.93 million | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 12.00 million | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 12.07 million | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 12.14 million | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 12.21 million | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 12.28 million | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 12.35 million | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 12.42 million | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 12.51 million | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 12.59 million | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 12.68 million | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 12.76 million | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 12.85 million | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 12.93 million | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 13.02 million | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 13.10 million | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 13.15 million | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 13.20 million | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 13.25 million | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 13.30 million | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 13.35 million | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 13.40 million | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 13.45 million | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 13.50 million | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 13.57 million | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 13.66 million | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 13.75 million | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 13.85 million | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 13.94 million | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 14.04 million | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 14.14 million | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 14.24 million | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 14.33 million | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 14.43 million | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 14.53 million | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 14.63 million | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 14.70 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 14.78 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 14.85 million | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 14.93 million | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 15.01 million | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 15.09 million | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 15.17 million | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 15.24 million | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 15.32 million | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 15.41 million | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 15.49 million | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 15.58 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 15.68 million | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 15.77 million | +0.6% |
| 2025 | 15.87 million | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.73 million | 10.06 million | 11.31 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.85 million | 11.41 million | 12.21 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.64 million | 12.28 million | 13.02 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 13.33 million | 13.10 million | 13.57 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.09 million | 13.66 million | 14.53 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.97 million | 14.63 million | 15.32 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.63 million | 15.41 million | 15.87 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
More urban development data for France
- Population in the largest city 20.9% (2025)
- Population density 126.86 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 8.23 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2309 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.6226 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 29.09 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 11.35 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 19.12 Tonnes (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 1,345 Hectares (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France?
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in France was 15.87 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 15.87 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.06 million in 1960.
- How does France rank for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- France ranks 26th out of 121 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million. 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
Population in urban agglomerations of more than one million is the country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.