French fertility is the highest in Europe. Because of its immigrants?
Population and Societies
n° 568, July/August 2019
With a total fertility rate of 1.9 children per woman in 2017, France is close to replacement level. Is this due to the presence of immigrants, as is often claimed? Using new data from
the latest annual census surveys, Sabrina Volant, Gilles Pison, and François Héran estimate the contribution of immigrant women to French fertility and compare the situation in France with that of its European neighbours.
Immigrant mothers account for 19% of all births in France today. The total fertility rate of immigrant women is higher than that of native-born French women (2.6 children versus 1.8 in 2017), but as only a minority of women are concerned, their births increase the French fertility rate by just 0.1 children, from 1.8 to 1.9 children per woman in 2017. With or without immigrants, fertility in France is among the highest in Europe
