French population passes 65million

FRANCE IS THE SECOND MOST POPULATED COUNTRY IN EUROPE, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE THE population of France has broken the symbolic 65million barrier, according to figures from

national statistics office INSEE. Figures published yesterday reveal the population was 65,241,241 on January 1, 2012 - an increase of 300,000 on the previous year. It confirms France as the

second most populous country in Europe, still well behind Germany (80.3million) but slightly ahead of the UK (63.5million). France experienced a 0.5% increase in population in a year, above

the European average growth of 0.3%, INSEE said. Not surprisingly, the Ile-de-France is the most populated region, with 11.9 million inhabitants, ahead of the Rhône-Alpes (6.3million) and

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (4.9million). The least populated metropolitan areas are Corsica (316,257 inhabitants) and Limousin (738,633 inhabitants). Approximately 1.87 million French

residents live overseas, representing 2.86% of the total population. The population increase is spread around the country. INSEE said that 80% of departments have seen the number of

inhabitants rise over the past five years. Regionally, the populations of Burgundy and Limousin have fallen slightly, while Aquitaine and Languedoc-Roussillon have seen the biggest increases

in residents. The 60million population figure was broken in 1999. Photo: Guilhem Vellut