France sees fall in immigration, new official figures show
Census reveals fewer arrivals after post-Covid peak
Published
The number of immigrants entering France has decreased, a study by national statistics agency Insee based on the latest census figures has shown.
Immigration is expected to be a key topic ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with candidates such as Bruno Retailleau (Les Républicains) proposing a referendum on the subject, and Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement national) looking to drastically limit immigration and block foreigners from receiving certain benefits and services.
We break down four key conclusions from Insee’s Flux migratoires (Migration trends) study, which was published in June and is based on data from 2024.
Fewer people are ‘arriving’ in France
Insee defines an immigrant as “a person born abroad who is a foreign national and resides in France... A person continues to be an immigrant even if they acquire French nationality.”
Insee also distinguishes between immigrants and foreign nationals. A foreign national is “a person who resides in France and does not hold French nationality… A foreign national is not necessarily an immigrant; they may have been born in France.”
Some 438,000 people arrived in France in 2024 to live there for at least one year.
This figure can be divided into 125,000 ‘non-immigrants’ – representing 40,000 people who were born abroad to French parents and 85,000 born in France (and returning to their birth country after a period abroad) – as well as 313,000 immigrants.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice also approved over 103,000 naturalisations in 2024 – up 6.6% on the previous year.
The number of immigrants entering the country in 2024 represents a decrease compared with recent years: a 10% decrease compared with 2023 (347,000) and a 16% decrease compared with 2022 (375,000).
Data on sorties (exits) is not yet available for 2023 and 2024.
In the UK, the difference between the number of people entering the country and those leaving it fell from 331,000 in 2024 to 171,000 in 2025, said the Office for National Statistics.
This was likely linked to measures introduced in early 2024, which banned foreign carers and students from bringing their dependent family members with them, and raised the minimum salary requirement for skilled foreign workers.
Immigration has returned to pre-Covid levels
In 2022, the net migration figure for France’s total population reached a record high, but immigration “has returned to its 2019 level, following four years marked by the health crisis and the war in Ukraine,” reads the study.
It highlights these factors as key influences on immigration trends.
France recorded the arrival of 46,200 Ukrainians in 2022, compared with 1,700 in 2021. This influx of refugees from Eastern Europe has since declined and, by 2024, Insee recorded 5,800 Ukrainians entering France.
Immigration from European countries outside the EU fell by 19%
Nearly half (144,000) of the immigrants who arrived in France in 2024 were born in Africa.
Some 83,000 came from Europe, 57,000 from Asia and 30,000 from the Americas and Oceania.
Americans were the fifth-largest nationality group receiving first residence permits, with over 13,000 granted in 2024, according to data from the interior ministry.
The sharpest decline was among immigrants from Europe (-13%), particularly from European countries outside the EU, where the number of arrivals fell by 19% compared with 2023.
Some 8,900 first residence permits were issued to UK nationals in 2024, down from 9,300 the previous year.
The number of immigrants fell across all listed continents, but grew by 4% for ‘non-immigrants’ – people born in France or born with French nationality abroad.
The majority of immigrants are aged 18-36
Across all countries of origin, 50% of the immigrants who entered France in 2024 were aged between 18 and 36 years old.
Among European immigrants, those born in Spain, Italy or Portugal are younger, with an average age of 28, while people arriving from other European countries have an average age of 33.
Regarding all immigrants over the age of 15, 55% were either employed (33%) or in education (22%).
This percentage rises to 73% for those from an EU country, compared with 53% for those born in Asia and 50% for those from Africa.
“These differences stem mainly from the proportion of people in employment, which varies according to migratory origin, due in particular to differences in age, gender or educational attainment.
“Immigrants from an EU country who arrived in France in 2024 are, on average, older and less likely to have no qualifications than those from Asia or Africa,” reads the Insee report.
Note that due to improvements in Insee’s census data collection methodology, pre-2024 immigration figures are not directly comparable with those for 2024 and 2025.
