Focus on

How is abortion use evolving in France?

En 2022, l’avortement a pu être davantage mobilisé dans une période possiblement jugée peu propice à la décision d’accueillir un enfant

Fewer induced abortions in France following the first lockdown period (March-April 2020)

After rising in France in the years 2016-2019—230,000 abortions in 2019—induced abortions fell to slightly under 220,000 in 2020 (207,000 of them in metropolitan France), a decrease of 4% directly due to the health crisis.

French women turning to infertility treatment at increasingly older ages

Using data from the French national health insurance system now available to researchers, Khaoula Ben Messaoud, who has just defended her doctoral thesis, INED researcher Elise de La Rochebrochard, and INSERM epidemiologist Jean Bouyer were able to measure annual infertility treatment use in France.

Level of education and religiosity in France and Britain: impacts on fertility?

In an article published in Population 2020-1, Nitzan Peri-Rotem analyses individual interactions between two major fertility determinants: education and religiosity or religious affiliation.

Fertility along the Paris Metro

What metro line(s) show(s) the highest fertility rate in 2012 and the highest average age of mothers at baby’s birth?
A study by John Tomkinson, former PhD student at INED.

Fertility and public policy: a comparison of France and Italy in tribute to Valeria Solesin’s thesis work

Contraception across the world (2011)

Around 63% of women of reproductive age who are married or in a union use a contraceptive method. The most widespread method worldwide is sterilization.

China, a demographic giant with feet of clay

China, the world’s largest country in terms of population, is now a predominant player on the international economic and geopolitical stage.

Intended and realized fertility: France and Italy compared

Within Europe, France and Italy stand virtually opposed in terms of fertility: women in France have 2 children on average, as against 1.4 in Italy. The difference is explained in part by the fact that women in Italy have their first child at a later age

Is male fertility higher or lower than female fertility?

En 2021, l’âge moyen à la parentalité est de près de trois ans plus élevé chez les hommes

Late maternity does not bring about lower fertility in European countries

The fact that women have their first child at later ages does not account for lower fertility at the country level.

Les évolutions démographiques de l’Afrique subsaharienne entre 2000 et 2020 et les défis d’ici 2050

Consacrée à l’Afrique au Sud du Sahara (47 pays, 1,1 milliard d’habitants en 2020), la chronique parue en 2020 dans la revue Population 2020 2-3 propose à la fois une synthèse approfondie des grands changements sociodémographiques et sanitaires survenus dans la région entre 2000 et 2020 et un bilan statistique rassemblant les données récentes les plus fiables sur chaque pays.

Premiers cris - Premières nourritures [First cries, first foods]

"Premiers cris, premières nourritures" is an international-scale study of breastfeeding and weaning practices through the ages, from prehistory to the twenty-first century.

Fifty years of legal contraception in France: diffusion, medicalization, feminization

Fifty years ago, on 19 December 1967, in response to strong mobilization by the French Family Planning Movement, the parliamentarian Lucien Neuwirth persuaded the National Assembly to pass a law authorizing the sale and use of contraception methods in France.

Men have children later than women

Des différences d’âge dans les comportements de fécondité apparaissent entre hommes et femmes

Abortion across the world

In 2014, about 56 millions abortions were performed accross the world. Slightly under half were high-risk abortions.

France’s twin birth boom

The number of twin births in France has almost doubled in the last 40 years. Why? What are the effects?

Women Who Give Birth "Secretly"

France is the only Western country, apart from Luxembourg, Italy and the Czech Republic, where the law allows women to request that their identity be kept secret and withheld from their child’s birth certificate

Contraception: disparities in use between women according to income level

Malgré leur remboursement, les femmes ayant de plus faibles revenus utilisent moins de contraceptifs que les autres

Success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in France

7 in 10 couples treated by IVF achieve parenthood, but not always through medical treatment.
Achieving parenthood through IVF remains difficult: 1 in 4 couples discontinue treatment after their first attempt (cycle).

Sexual début and preventive practices among male and female higher education students in France

The student population is a privileged target in terms of prevention but also in terms of information on consent.

Abortion around the world: An overview of legislation, measures, trends and consequences

Access to abortion around the world is highly unequal. In African and Latin American countries access may be restricted to particular causes of pregnancy or totally outlawed.

The situation of student parents in France

Becoming a parent while studying thus seems socially unthinkable, and the French educational system today does not really take account the fact that some students are parents.

When do girls start to menstruate ?

In France, first menstruation or "menarche" occurs at around age 13. According to a survey conducted in 1994, half of all girls had already started menstruating at age 13. Most girls (9 out of 10) have their first period between ages 11 and 14.

Selective abortion in Asia

On average, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. However, in China, India and several other Asian and Caucasian countries, the proportion of newborn boys is abnormally high because couples practice sex-selective abortion.

The ECAF survey

The ECAF survey (Emergency Contraception in Africa) was conducted in 2006-2007 in three countries of West Africa-Senegal and Burkina Faso (French-speaking) and Ghana (English-speaking)-and the North African country of Morocco (French-speaking)

The family name given to children born in 2017

Since the law no. 2002-304 of 4 March 2002 applicable to children born since January 2005, parents can now choose between four options for their child’s family name

Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic: sharp regional contrasts within Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in excess mortality throughout Europe. A new study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, provides the first detailed analysis of regional disparities in excess mortality in Europe in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021.

How is abortion use evolving in France?

En 2022, l’avortement a pu être davantage mobilisé dans une période possiblement jugée peu propice à la décision d’accueillir un enfant

Heavy excess mortality among immigrant groups in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

The excess mortality observed from March 18 to May 19, 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, was much higher among France’s foreign-born population groups than in the French-born population.

COVID-19 mortality: the delicate exercise of international comparison

Each country set up its own counting system for Covid-19 mortality , which in turn evolved as the epidemic wore on, making it difficult to compare the mortality differences observed over time and space.

Les évolutions démographiques de l’Afrique subsaharienne entre 2000 et 2020 et les défis d’ici 2050

Consacrée à l’Afrique au Sud du Sahara (47 pays, 1,1 milliard d’habitants en 2020), la chronique parue en 2020 dans la revue Population 2020 2-3 propose à la fois une synthèse approfondie des grands changements sociodémographiques et sanitaires survenus dans la région entre 2000 et 2020 et un bilan statistique rassemblant les données récentes les plus fiables sur chaque pays.

Cancer the leading cause of death in France

La mortalité pour les principaux types de cancers évolue favorablement en France, mais à des rythmes très variés selon la localisation organique et selon le sexe.

Farewell Life, Farewell Love

Le numéro 3 de la revue Population de 2018 présente, dans son avant-propos, une analyse des inégalités de temps de survie chez les soldats "Morts pour la France" durant la Grande Guerre

Silicosis, a 21st century scourge from the remote past : between medicine, business and politics

Silicosis can only progress at fast pace, in relationship with the industrialization of emerging countries.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Overview and Current Knowledge

Length of life in France

The mean length of life has more than tripled in France over the last two and a half centuries, from 25 years in 1740 to more than 80 years today.

The inexorable rise of centenarians and supercentenarians

The increase in the number of centenarians since the end of the Second World War has been spectacular. From above 1,000 in France in 1970, their number grew to over 8,000 in 2000, and over 31,000 on 1 January 2024. Assuming that current mortality trends continue, INSEE projects that there will be more than 200,000 centenarians in France in 2070.

Contraception: disparities in use between women according to income level

Malgré leur remboursement, les femmes ayant de plus faibles revenus utilisent moins de contraceptifs que les autres

Recent demographic trends in France

En région comme au niveau national, des comportements démographiques encore marqués par la Covid-19

Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis among adolescents

Consumption varies greatly depending on the family configuration

England, Wales and Scotland among nations with highest death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic

The research, led by Imperial College London and published in the journal Nature Medicine, analysed weekly death data from 21 industrialised countries between mid-February and end of May 2020.

Mortality among second-generation immigrants in France

The first study on mortality among second-generation immigrants in France reveals a large amount of excess mortality among North African-origin males

Informal support for dependent older persons in France: understanding individual and family caregiving behaviors in order to adapt the welfare system

In 2011, 80% of persons aged 60 or older and at least partially dependent receive informal support from a family member.

Mortality among immigrants in France

The project about “Mortality among immigrants in France” was developed as part of a partnership between INED and the Population Study Center of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). It is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the period 2015-2019.

Suicide in prison in France

In France, suicide is seven times more frequent among prisoners than in the general population. Which inmates are most vulnerable?

The current situation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic - 2013

According to UNAIDS estimates for the year 2012, 35.3 million persons are infected with the HIV virus worldwide and there were 2.3 million new infections and 1.6 million deaths that year.

Remote working and mental health in France during the health crisis

What are the impacts of remote working on mental health and work-life balance? While there are several advantages to remote working, it can also have adverse effects on well-being, especially mental health.

Is there a limit to human longevity? New data, new study

Do people live longer in good health in some French departments?

En France, des disparités d’espérance de vie sans incapacité sont observées dans les territoires.

French women turning to infertility treatment at increasingly older ages

Using data from the French national health insurance system now available to researchers, Khaoula Ben Messaoud, who has just defended her doctoral thesis, INED researcher Elise de La Rochebrochard, and INSERM epidemiologist Jean Bouyer were able to measure annual infertility treatment use in France.

Excess COVID-19-related mortality in France’s Seine-Saint-Denis département:Minorities are invisible in the figures

The department of Seine-Saint-Denis saw particularly high rates of excess mortality due or related to COVID-19 compared to the rest of metropolitan France.

Inégalités de santé à Ouagadougou

No study has yet approached the question of how those health burdens are distributed across the different social strata of a single African city.

Mortality is falling in the global South but inequalities persist

In an article published in Population (2017-3), Dominique Tabutin and Bruno Masquelier assess mortality trends since 1990.

Mortality has fallen since 1950, but for whom?

Mortality fell considerably in the 20th century in western countries, but the decrease was neither regular nor continuous.

Infant mortality in France

In the past, it was very common for babies to die before their first birthday. Today infant mortality in France is very low. In 2013, fewer than four newborns (3,5) in 1,000 died before the age of one.

French end-of-life survey

Although nearly 2 out of 3 people die in hospital, an analysis of trajectories during the last month of life gives a more nuanced picture.

French retirees living in Morocco

For a study of North-to-South (rather than South-to-North) migration, social geography researchers Jordan Pinel and Brenda Le Bigot conducted two qualitative surveys with French retirees living in the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa (Agadir and Tiznit).

Chinese immigration in France

Très concentrée géographiquement, très féminine, la population d'immigrants chinois en France est en grande partie constituée d'étudiants.

Excess COVID-19-related mortality in France’s Seine-Saint-Denis département:Minorities are invisible in the figures

The department of Seine-Saint-Denis saw particularly high rates of excess mortality due or related to COVID-19 compared to the rest of metropolitan France.

Experience and perception of discrimination in the Île-de-France region

In April and May of 2015, the regional Île-de-France discrimination monitoring office together with INED and the iPSOS polling institute surveyed 2,500 people on their perceptions and experiences of discrimination.

Religiosity dynamics among immigrants and their descendants in France

Dual nationality and national identity

French law permits dual nationality and does not require foreigners who obtain French nationality to give up their original one.

The art of being a neighbor in France defined by social position and place of residence

Thirty-five years after the last major national survey on relations between neighbors in France (INED/INSEE “Contacts” survey, 1983), a new survey, entitled “Mon quartier, mes voisins” [My neighborhood, my neighbors], has studied those relations at different scales and documented individuals’ social integration at local (the immediate neighborhood) and extra-local (outside the neighborhood) levels.

Heavy excess mortality among immigrant groups in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

The excess mortality observed from March 18 to May 19, 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, was much higher among France’s foreign-born population groups than in the French-born population.

Mortality among second-generation immigrants in France

The first study on mortality among second-generation immigrants in France reveals a large amount of excess mortality among North African-origin males

Mortality among immigrants in France

The project about “Mortality among immigrants in France” was developed as part of a partnership between INED and the Population Study Center of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). It is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the period 2015-2019.

How are inequalities in academic performance constructed over the course of schooling?

Women in the immigrant population

The immigrant population of metropolitan France -that is, persons born non-French outside France-has been predominantly female for the last few years.

Changes in the composition of the immigrant population in metropolitan France’s rural and peri-urban areas

Drawing on detailed data from France’s 1999 and 2015 population censuses, Julie Fromentin, a former PhD student at INED, analyzed how the composition of the immigrant population in rural and peri-urban areas of metropolitan France and in the country’s small towns evolved over that period.

Internal post-secondary “student emigration” in France: more young women than men go to study in major cities but more also return to their original area of residence

Nearly half of women and slightly over a third of men aged 25 to 29 have a higher education degree

Immigrants’ children at school

Mathieu Ichou’s analysis of the academic performances of immigrant’s children, who in France account for nearly one-fourth of pupils, gives us a new sociological perspective on this fundamental social concern.

Climate-driven migration: an inevitable future?

It is frequently claimed that more and more migrations will result from environmental changes caused by global warming.

Analysing the educational trajectories of the second generation in France

French retirees living in Morocco

For a study of North-to-South (rather than South-to-North) migration, social geography researchers Jordan Pinel and Brenda Le Bigot conducted two qualitative surveys with French retirees living in the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa (Agadir and Tiznit).

Complex households in French Polynesia

What does the term “complex households” cover? What proportion of households in French Polynesia are “complex”?

Residential insecurity of young people leaving child welfare

Si les jeunes entrent dans le dispositif à des âges très variés, tous doivent en revanche en sortir à 18 ans, âge de fin de la prise en charge légale, ou à 21 ans au plus tard s’ils obtiennent un contrat jeune majeur.

Increasingly unequal levels of home ownership between poor and wealthy young households in France

Drawing on INSEE’s Housing surveys, the authors analyze growing disparities in first home purchases among young households (couples aged 25-44) over the long period from 1973 to 2013 in metropolitan France.

Climate-driven migration: an inevitable future?

It is frequently claimed that more and more migrations will result from environmental changes caused by global warming.

The homeless in France

It is difficult to count people who have no home, especially if they have no place of shelter at all and are sleeping in the street. To learn more about them, INSEE and INED conducted several surveys with users of shelters and free meal services. The surveys have found a considerable increase in the number of homeless in France since 2001.

The position of stepparents in blended families

Do stepfathers and stepmothers play the same roles in the lives of their partner’s children? Does the amount of time stepchildren spend in the household affect the degree of involvement of their stepfather or stepmother?

Changes in the composition of the immigrant population in metropolitan France’s rural and peri-urban areas

Drawing on detailed data from France’s 1999 and 2015 population censuses, Julie Fromentin, a former PhD student at INED, analyzed how the composition of the immigrant population in rural and peri-urban areas of metropolitan France and in the country’s small towns evolved over that period.

Measuring young child poverty better by taking into account a wider range of living conditions criteria

Drawing on data from the ELFE cohort study data (French Longitudinal Study of Children), INED researchers Marion Leturcq and Lidia Panico, together with Barbara Castillo Rico, who holds a PhD in economics, have called into question how early childhood poverty is measured using new indicators that adopt the child’s perspective.

We never name; we classify.

Chaque année, plusieurs centaines de milliers d'élèves de Terminale passent le bac. Devenu un véritable rite de passage national, le bac concerne plus des trois quart d'une génération mais n'est pas un rite égalitaire.

How are inequalities in academic performance constructed over the course of schooling?

Poorly housed Parisians

Paris still has a certain amount of dilapidated, unhealthy housing

The art of being a neighbor in France defined by social position and place of residence

Thirty-five years after the last major national survey on relations between neighbors in France (INED/INSEE “Contacts” survey, 1983), a new survey, entitled “Mon quartier, mes voisins” [My neighborhood, my neighbors], has studied those relations at different scales and documented individuals’ social integration at local (the immediate neighborhood) and extra-local (outside the neighborhood) levels.

Aware of and worried about the problem—yet themselves polluters

Une enquête sur le personnel de la recherche française face au changement climatique

Évolutions des infrastructures de transport franciliennes et mobilités résidentielles des classes sociales au XXe siècle

Quels impacts le développement du maillage de transport a-t-il eus sur les trajectoires géographiques des générations nées entre 1911 et 1950 et sur la redistribution spatiale des différents groupes sociaux ? Dans quelle mesure, les différentes générations et classes sociales ont-elles contribué aux divisions sociales de l’espace francilien que l’on observe au début des années 2000 ?

Having a wash outside the home. A survey of users of City of Paris free public bathing facilities (bains-douches)

Paris has 16 free public bathing facilities, for a total of 500 private individual showers

Homeownership in France

Nearly six in ten households own their home in France. Homeownership rose considerably after World War II, then came to a standstill in the mid-1980s. Today, an increasing share of the population is finding it hard to buy a home.

Sexual violence in the lives of gay and bisexual men: diverse ways of life and specific vulnerabilities

Research has been increasingly attentive in recent years to sexual violence in the lives of gay and bisexual men. However, those studies have focused mainly on sexual abuse in childhood, overlooking violence in adulthood in these male sexual minority groups, as well as their diverse ways of life, the varied types of violence undergone, and the situations and contexts in which it is experienced.

Remote working and mental health in France during the health crisis

What are the impacts of remote working on mental health and work-life balance? While there are several advantages to remote working, it can also have adverse effects on well-being, especially mental health.

Gender gap in math: At what age does it appear?

The ELFE study (French Longitudinal Study of Children) has enabled researchers to determine for the first time the precise age at which that gap appears

Internal post-secondary “student emigration” in France: more young women than men go to study in major cities but more also return to their original area of residence

Nearly half of women and slightly over a third of men aged 25 to 29 have a higher education degree

Maternity wards: the main obstacle to professional equality in France

La situation des femmes sur le marché du travail a connu une évolution radicale ces 50 dernières années

Gender, pay and career advancement

Quel dialogue possible entre les entreprises et les chercheurs ? L’Ined a noué des partenariats avec des entreprises pour saisir les mécanismes de production des inégalités professionnelles entre femmes et hommes.

Mortality has fallen since 1950, but for whom?

Mortality fell considerably in the 20th century in western countries, but the decrease was neither regular nor continuous.

World Atlas of Women

Twenty years after the last international conference on women, held in Beijing in 1995, has women’s overall situation really improved? The “Atlas Mondial des Femmes” brings to light “paradoxes of emancipation” in such diverse areas as education, health, the economy, politics and sexuality. In addition to marked geographical disparities, many advances in the direction of equality are found to be fragile, incomplete or paradoxical.

China, a demographic giant with feet of clay

China, the world’s largest country in terms of population, is now a predominant player on the international economic and geopolitical stage.

The position of stepparents in blended families

Do stepfathers and stepmothers play the same roles in the lives of their partner’s children? Does the amount of time stepchildren spend in the household affect the degree of involvement of their stepfather or stepmother?

Is male fertility higher or lower than female fertility?

En 2021, l’âge moyen à la parentalité est de près de trois ans plus élevé chez les hommes

Survey of LGB persons on violence experienced in metropolitan France

The survey provides first-time data on violence experienced within the family circle as defined below and in public places by persons identifying as LGB

Unequal distribution of assets in favor of men within heterosexual parental couples

Angèle Jannot, a PHD student at INED, questions the influence of income and degree levels on wealth inequalities within parental couples.

Marriage for all in France

differences between male and female married couples

Sectors of Activity and Occupations of Gays and Lesbians in a Union

This study, published in Population (2017-3) and based on the 2011 Families and Housing Survey.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Overview and Current Knowledge

Age at first sexual intercourse in France

At age 17, about half of French teenagers have experienced their first sexual intercourse. With a median age of 17.2 for women and of 16.4 for men in 2010, the gap between the sexes has narrowed to just a few months.

VIRAGE survey

In 2009, the taskforce for assessing French national policy for preventing and combating violence against women (Mission d’Evaluation de la Politique de Prévention et de Lutte contre les Violences faites aux Femmes), a body working under the aegis of/a commission of France’s National Assembly, recommended conducting a new survey on violence against women that would modelled be on the national survey on the same issue done in 2000 by the demographic institute of the Université Paris I (ENVEFF)

Does a difference in partners’ earned incomes increase the risk of couple separation?

With the rise in number of dual-earner couples and higher female educational levels, couples in which women earn more than their partners are increasingly frequent.

The positive effect of shared custody on mothers’ employment after divorce or legal separation

Mothers who share physical child custody with the child(ren)’s father after divorce or legal dissolution of their civil union are more likely to be working than mothers with residential custody

United States and Europe: towards a balance of time devoted to domestic work between men and women?

Si l’écart entre hommes et femmes diminue, cela résulte principalement d’une réduction du temps consacré par les femmes aux tâches ménagères.

Gender pension gaps: structural inequalities

Carole Bonnet, directrice de recherche à l’Ined, Dominique Meurs, et Benoit Rapoport, chercheurs associés à l’Ined, se sont intéressés aux inégalités selon le secteur public ou privé et le niveau de pensions, celles-ci ayant jusqu’alors fait l’objet de moins d’attention.

Housework, babysitting, errands...

How do men and women divide domestic work since the introduction of the 35-hour reform?

“Gender: history, inequalities”: a set of book reviews published in Population, 2016-3 and 2016-4

Defined as “a hierarchically ordered bi-categorization of the sexes (men/women) and the values and representations associated with them (masculine/feminine)” (Bereni et al. 2012), gender is an increasingly high-profile subject in today’s academic world as well as in the media, politics, civil society and community organizations.

The effect of masculinization of births on the marriage market

By 2050 in China and India, the number of single men seeking to marry is expected to exceed the number of eligible women by over 50%. This suggests the degree of marriage market saturation.

Selective abortion in Asia

On average, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. However, in China, India and several other Asian and Caucasian countries, the proportion of newborn boys is abnormally high because couples practice sex-selective abortion.

French retirees living in Morocco

For a study of North-to-South (rather than South-to-North) migration, social geography researchers Jordan Pinel and Brenda Le Bigot conducted two qualitative surveys with French retirees living in the Moroccan region of Souss-Massa (Agadir and Tiznit).

Gender gap in math: At what age does it appear?

The ELFE study (French Longitudinal Study of Children) has enabled researchers to determine for the first time the precise age at which that gap appears

Attending a childcare center in France : a positive effect on early language development, particularly for disadvantaged children

With other variables controlled for, attending a crèche positively affects language acquisition, while having little effect on motor skill development or behavior.

What happens to young people after child welfare?

The "Longitudinal study on access to autonomy after a placement" makes it possible for the first time in France to measure the living conditions of young people in care at the end of their care.

Socioeconomic inequalities and two-year-old children’s language and motor development

Differences by parents’ socioeconomic milieu may be observed from the child’s earliest years.

French longitudinal study from birth: an unprecedented look at child learning in the first year of elementary school in France

French youth policy: critical analysis and recommendations

Stéphane Carcillo (OECD, Sciences Po), Claire Guichet (CESE, Paris II, CERSA), Bruno Palier (CNRS and Sciences Po) and Olivier Thévenon (OECD and INED) shared their answers to this question at a round table discussion at INED on May 27, the closing event of the Demographic Economy unit research day on transitions to adulthood. The following is a summary of their remarks.

Age at first sexual intercourse in France

At age 17, about half of French teenagers have experienced their first sexual intercourse. With a median age of 17.2 for women and of 16.4 for men in 2010, the gap between the sexes has narrowed to just a few months.

The inexorable rise of centenarians and supercentenarians

The increase in the number of centenarians since the end of the Second World War has been spectacular. From above 1,000 in France in 1970, their number grew to over 8,000 in 2000, and over 31,000 on 1 January 2024. Assuming that current mortality trends continue, INSEE projects that there will be more than 200,000 centenarians in France in 2070.

Recent demographic trends in France

En région comme au niveau national, des comportements démographiques encore marqués par la Covid-19

Gender pension gaps: structural inequalities

Carole Bonnet, directrice de recherche à l’Ined, Dominique Meurs, et Benoit Rapoport, chercheurs associés à l’Ined, se sont intéressés aux inégalités selon le secteur public ou privé et le niveau de pensions, celles-ci ayant jusqu’alors fait l’objet de moins d’attention.

Regional variations in home and nursing home care for dependent older persons in France under decentralized policymaking

Models of care for older persons who have lost or are in the process of losing their autonomy vary widely from one region to another. At the European Union scale, southern countries show stronger family solidarity than northern ones (Peyrache and Ogg 2017); within France, institutional care solutions are more frequently used in Brittany and the Pays-de-la Loire than elsewhere (Trabut and Gaymu 2016).

Informal support for dependent older persons in France: understanding individual and family caregiving behaviors in order to adapt the welfare system

In 2011, 80% of persons aged 60 or older and at least partially dependent receive informal support from a family member.

The place of children in the ELFE study

The ELFE study centres on childhood at this stage, then it is natural to have them communicate directly through computer games, an appropriate medium for their age and generation.

The age of puberty in boys

Boys reach puberty at around 15 years—later than girls, who usually begin menstruating around age 13.

China, a demographic giant with feet of clay

China, the world’s largest country in terms of population, is now a predominant player on the international economic and geopolitical stage.

Changes in the family resources and environment of France’s old people have slowed a rise in the use of institutional long-term care

The recent increase in the proportion of very old people in the French population has not led to as great an increase in institutional LTC as was anticipated.

Population aging is accelerating in France and most developed countries

Developed countries’ populations are aging inexorably, creating new equilibria that societies have to adapt to.

The trajectories of care by Child Welfare

Parcours d’étudiants - Sources, enjeux, et perspectives de recherche [Student trajectories: sources, issues, and research perspectives]

In a context of mass higher education and successive reforms, the training, occupational futures, and living conditions of students constitute major issues that require detailed analysis. It is crucial to study connections between student living conditions, transition to adulthood, and trajectories.

Institute for the study of longevity, ageing, and the different situations of older persons

Longevity, ageing and the situations of older persons are major social, health, quality-of-life and public policy issues in today’s society, issues that require a multi-disciplinary human and social sciences (HHS) approach if we are to grasp how the questions they raise are interrelated.

Mortality has fallen since 1950, but for whom?

Mortality fell considerably in the 20th century in western countries, but the decrease was neither regular nor continuous.

When do girls start to menstruate ?

In France, first menstruation or "menarche" occurs at around age 13. According to a survey conducted in 1994, half of all girls had already started menstruating at age 13. Most girls (9 out of 10) have their first period between ages 11 and 14.

Excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic: sharp regional contrasts within Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in excess mortality throughout Europe. A new study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, provides the first detailed analysis of regional disparities in excess mortality in Europe in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021.

70th anniversary of Stalin’s death. European Deportees to Stalin’s Gulag recount

A new type of online editing that gives website visitors access a considerable number of accounts collected by researchers in recorded interviews with former Gulag deportees.

Will the world population continue to grow, stay the same, or fall?

In 2020 the world population was at nearly 8 billion. In 1800 it was only 1 billion. And over the last fifty year it has doubled, from 4 billion in 1974. It is expected to keep growing, and could reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. Why is growth expected to continue? Could the world population stabilize in the long term? Might it decrease in the coming decades?

Climate-driven migration: an inevitable future?

It is frequently claimed that more and more migrations will result from environmental changes caused by global warming.

Contraception across the world (2011)

Around 63% of women of reproductive age who are married or in a union use a contraceptive method. The most widespread method worldwide is sterilization.

The current situation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic - 2013

According to UNAIDS estimates for the year 2012, 35.3 million persons are infected with the HIV virus worldwide and there were 2.3 million new infections and 1.6 million deaths that year.

The ECAF survey

The ECAF survey (Emergency Contraception in Africa) was conducted in 2006-2007 in three countries of West Africa-Senegal and Burkina Faso (French-speaking) and Ghana (English-speaking)-and the North African country of Morocco (French-speaking)

The art of being a neighbor in France defined by social position and place of residence

Thirty-five years after the last major national survey on relations between neighbors in France (INED/INSEE “Contacts” survey, 1983), a new survey, entitled “Mon quartier, mes voisins” [My neighborhood, my neighbors], has studied those relations at different scales and documented individuals’ social integration at local (the immediate neighborhood) and extra-local (outside the neighborhood) levels.

Chinese immigration in France

Très concentrée géographiquement, très féminine, la population d'immigrants chinois en France est en grande partie constituée d'étudiants.

Les évolutions démographiques de l’Afrique subsaharienne entre 2000 et 2020 et les défis d’ici 2050

Consacrée à l’Afrique au Sud du Sahara (47 pays, 1,1 milliard d’habitants en 2020), la chronique parue en 2020 dans la revue Population 2020 2-3 propose à la fois une synthèse approfondie des grands changements sociodémographiques et sanitaires survenus dans la région entre 2000 et 2020 et un bilan statistique rassemblant les données récentes les plus fiables sur chaque pays.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Overview and Current Knowledge

Abortion across the world

In 2014, about 56 millions abortions were performed accross the world. Slightly under half were high-risk abortions.

China, a demographic giant with feet of clay

China, the world’s largest country in terms of population, is now a predominant player on the international economic and geopolitical stage.

2024: the United Nations publishes new world population projections

Alors que certains pays continuent de croître rapidement, d’autres voient leur population diminuer. Dans le même temps, la population mondiale vieillit, l’espérance de vie mondiale continuant à augmenter et la fécondité à baisser. Tels sont les enseignements des dernières estimations et projections de la population mondiale qui viennent d’être publiées par la Division de la population des Nations Unies.

Aware of and worried about the problem—yet themselves polluters

Une enquête sur le personnel de la recherche française face au changement climatique

Thirty Rewarding Years of Population in French and English,1989–2019

Authors have the option of submitting their articles in either French or English, to be translated by us and published in both languages.

The effect of masculinization of births on the marriage market

By 2050 in China and India, the number of single men seeking to marry is expected to exceed the number of eligible women by over 50%. This suggests the degree of marriage market saturation.

Selective abortion in Asia

On average, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. However, in China, India and several other Asian and Caucasian countries, the proportion of newborn boys is abnormally high because couples practice sex-selective abortion.

Demographic situation of Canada and the United-States

Since the early 1980s, the demography of Canada and the United States has been quite dynamic.