French population continues to grow

FRENCH people are living longer and have one of the highest birth rates in Europe, new population research from Insee has revealed.

According to the latest figures, a child born today will live seven years longer than they would if they were born in 1981.

Girls can expect to live to 84.5 - up two months on the previous year's estimate. For new-born boys, the life expectancy is 77.8.

A 60-year-old man in France today can expect to live to 82.2 on average - and 87 for women. The proportion of over-60s continues to rise, now at 23%.

According to Insee, France's population grew by 346,000 last year to 64.7 million. It the second biggest country in Europe behind Germany on 81.7 million.

The number of babies born last year is very slightly down on 2008 at 821,000, but continues to be higher than in previous decades. At 1.99 children per woman, France was beaten only by Ireland for birth rates in Europe.

Another trend is the growing popularity of the Pacs - 175,000 were signed last year, up 20% on 2008.

The number of marriages in the same period fell 3.5% to 256,000, meaning there are now two Pacs signed for every three marriages in France.