French population to beat Germany
High fertility rate will mean France overtaking Germans by 2055 as life expectancy hits 86.5 years
FERTILE France is set to have a larger population than Germany by 2055, a new study shows.
At present, France’s population stands at 65 million compared to Germany's 82m but the National Institute of Demographic Studies says that will change because of high fertility rates in French citizens.
In 2010 this led to population growth of 5.3% against a decline of 0.6% in Germany.
Gilles Pison, who directed the study, said: "Without immigration, the German population would have declined 2.2% because deaths outweigh births. In France the reverse is true, births exceed deaths (802,000 in 2011 compared to 540,000 in 2010).
"Life expectancy will continue to increase in both countries, reaching 86.5 years in 2055” he says.
The French population would then stand at 72m against Germany’s 71m.
After 1945, France experienced a ‘baby boom’ which increased the French population at an annual rate close to 1% in 50s and 60s, against just 0.7% in Germany, where the boom was later and shorter.
Mr Pison says that “family policy in France" is old “and very consistent, and has always been a subject of political discussion" while in Germany " the memories of the birth rate during the Nazi period has long prevented the development of a similar policy."
Moreover, in Germany, "the belief is widely shared that a good mother should take care of her baby by herself and not go to work, leaving it at the crèche during the day".
