How many immigrants are there in France?

In France, demographers classify as "immigrants" all persons of foreign nationality born outside France. They exclude persons born abroad to French parents, such as the children of expatriates.

In 2018, there were 6.5 million immigrants living in France—9.7% of the total population (of 67 million). 4.1 million were foreign nationals and 2.4 million, or 37%, had acquired French citizenship.

The composition of the immigrant population in France is changing. The proportion of immigrants born in Spain or Italy who came to France long ago and are now in old age is continuously falling, while immigrants born in North Africa, who are younger and came more recently, now make up a considerable share of the immigrant population. In 2018, 13% of immigrants in France were born in Algeria; 11.9% in Morocco; 9.2% in Portugal; 4.4% in Tunisia; 4.3% in Italy; 3.8% in Turkey; and 3.7% in Spain. Half of France’s immigrants (50.3%) come from these seven countries. In 2018 52% of immigrants to France were women (provisional figures from advanced population estimates).