INSEE has published today the French birth figures for 2013. Germany is now the last European country that hasn't published its 2013 birth figures.
The number of births in France (excluding Mayotte) in 2013 was 811,510. This is slightly better than the preliminary estimate released by INSEE last January (810,000). Including Mayotte, the number of births in 2013 was approximately 818,000. Including the overseas collectivities, the number of births in the entire French Republic in 2013 was approximately 827,500.
In 2013 the number of births in France (excluding Mayotte) declined by -1.2%. In comparison, the number of births in the UK in 2013 was 778,805, which means a decline of -4.2% compared to 2012. Still waiting for Germany to complete the comparison.
Now regarding the origin of the mothers, since this is an issue many people like to ask about: in 2013, 20.1% of the births in France (excluding Mayotte) were due to mothers born in foreign countries. In comparison, 25.3% of births in the UK in 2013 were due to mothers born outside of the UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands (26.5% in England and Wales). This is the highest percentage of births in France due to foreign-born mothers since the birth records started (the same is true in the UK and in many other European countries).
More in detail, 79.9% of the births in France (excluding Mayotte) in 2013 were due to mothers born in the French Republic, 7.6% to mothers born in the Maghreb, 4.5% to mothers born in sub-Saharan Africa (interestingly, 4.7% of births in England & Wales were due to mothers born in sub-Saharan Africa, so more than in France), 3.6% in European countries other than France, 1.0% in Turkey, 2.0% in Asian countries other than Turkey (notably China, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam), 0.1% in North America, and 1.2% in Latin America (notably Haiti, Suriname, and Brazil).
Regarding the mothers born in sub-Saharan Africa, the main countries of origins were:
- the Congos (Kinshasa and Brazzaville; French birth records cannot differentiate women from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville): 6,125 births in France in 2013 were due to women themselves born in the Congos
- Senegal: 4,121
- Côte d'Ivoire: 3,841
- Cameroon: 3,282
- Mali: 3,146
So mostly Christian families there. This mirrors the census results which show that the fastest growing sub-Saharan immigrant groups in France are the Congolese (now the #1 sub-Saharan immigrant group in France), the Ivorians, and the Cameroonians. Former waves of sub-Saharan immigrants, which were mostly Muslim (Senegalese, Malians) are now growing slowly (few new arrivals).
Now some very interesting information regarding the European immigrants. INSEE publishes immigration figures only very late (for instance in July 2014 we had only finally the number of immigrants by country of birth as of Jan. 2011), so it's not yet possible to tell whether the economic crisis has brought Portuguese, Spaniards, and Italians to France, as is the case in Germany and the UK, but the birth figures published today suggest a new wave of Portuguese, Spaniards, and Italians has indeed arrived in France.
Births due to women born in Portugal had been continuously declining from a peak in the 1970s, but since 2011 they are rising again. In 2013 there were 4,593 births due to women born in Portugal, compared to 4,350 in 2010.
The same for births due to women born in Spain/Italy: continuous decline since the 1970s, then rising again since 2008. In 2013 there were 2,686 births due to women born in Spain & Italy, compared to 2,321 in 2010. In 2013 in particular, the number of births due to women born in Spain & Italy jumped by +9.4% compared to 2012.