Urban population in France
France: Urban population was 54.18 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in France, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population in France is 54.18 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in France peaked at 54.18 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 29.25 million, in 1960.
France ranks 17th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.95 million | 29.25 million | 36.48 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 39.03 million | 37.11 million | 40.25 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.60 million | 40.49 million | 42.84 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.58 million | 43.15 million | 46.08 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.55 million | 46.61 million | 49.89 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.61 million | 50.13 million | 53.02 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.73 million | 53.21 million | 54.18 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near France
- 14 Philippines 65.14 million compare
- 15 Bangladesh 58.40 million compare
- 16 United Kingdom 57.90 million compare
- 18 Democratic Republic of Congo 50.90 million compare
- 19 Egypt 50.78 million compare
- 20 Thailand 44.98 million compare
More climate change data for France
- Population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Population, total 68.72 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Urban population 78.8% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 23.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 24.43 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 12.2% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 28.8% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 36.7% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 49.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in France?
- Urban population in France was 54.18 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 54.18 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.25 million in 1960.
- How does France rank for urban population?
- France ranks 17th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. 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
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.