2,175,601 inhabitants in Paris on 1st January 2018

In 2018, Paris counted 2,175,601 inhabitants. The Parisian population had decreased on average -5% per year between 2013 and 2018. On a metropolitan scale, the population grew by +0,3% per year, particularly in the area of Seine-Saint-Denis which experienced a dynamic demographic growth.

© Apur - Clément Pairot

The declining demographic trend in Paris continues
On 1st January 2018, 2,175,601 people lived in Paris proper. This figure shows a decrease of 54,020 inhabitants compared with a population of 2,229,621 inhabitants in 2013.
Between 2013 and 2018, the Parisian population decreased, on average by 10,800 inhabitants each year, that is a rate of -0.5% per year, while it had grown by 14,000 per year between 2006 and 2011. This fall can be explained mainly by the the widening of the  visible migratory deficit¹ which took place between these two periods with -0.2% to -1.1% on average per year. 

Paris, évolution de la population de 1968 à 2018 - Sources : Insee, recensements

 

Over a longer period, figures show a form of stability in the curve over the last four decades. The 2018 figure remains higher than the census figures of 1999, 1990 and 1982.
Between 1968 and 1999, Paris lost 465,500 inhabitants, the equivalent of the City of Toulouse. This drop was inevitable in view of the changing ways of life which took place during the second half of the 20th century (evolution of family models and housing standards of comfort, resorption of substandard housing, etc.). 
This long period of the Parisian population declining ended in the beginning of the 2000s and was accompanied by a significant increase in the number of births. Between 1999 and 2011, Paris gained 125,000 new inhabitants, an increase similar to the baby-boom following the second world war. Since 2012, the Parisian territory has recorded a fall in its population.

Parisians represent a third of the Grand Paris Metropolis’ population while covering 13% of its surface area. The population density in Paris is 206 inhabitants per hectare, compared with an average of 87 on the scale of Grand Paris Metropolis and 10 on the scale of Ile-de-France.

Densité de population

Between 2013 and 2018, the population decreased in all districts except in the 4th, 9th and 20th 

Seventeen districts recorded a decrease in their population. The greatest decrease was seen in the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th districts. On the whole, the decreasing population can be explained in all districts by a rise in unoccupied housing which included vacant housing units, secondary residences and occasional dwellings. This sometimes combined with a drop in the number of housing units, as in the 5th, 6th and 16th (housing units being merged) and/or a decrease in the average size of households particularly in the 13th and 19th districts, no doubt partly due to the ageing of the population living in social housing stock.

However in contrast, three districts recorded an increase in their population during this period, with +1,400 people in the 4th, +800 people in the 20th and +400 in the 9th.

In the 4th, the number of housing units did indeed increase (+360 in the stated period) but the population growth can be explained in this district mainly by the the drop in the percentage of unoccupied housing units and by an increase in the average size of households (1.75 people per household in 2018 compared with 1.70 in 2013).

In the 20th, a rise in the number of housing units combined with a drop in the percentage of unoccupied dwellings explains the slight demographic increase, while the average size of households decreased (1.95 in 2018 compared with 1.99 in 2013). 

Finally, in the 9th, the population was maintained thanks to a rise in the number of housing units and the stabilisation of the percentage of unoccupied housing units and the average size of households. 
 

Evolution de la population entre 1999 et 2018

 

Strong dynamic growth of the population in Plaine Commune, Est Ensemble and Paris Terres d’Envol
In 2018, the Grand Paris Metropolis (MGP) had a population of 7,075,028 inhabitants. Between 2013 and 2018, the population of the metropolis grew each year by, on average +0.3%, that is at a slightly lower rate than the previous period 2008-2013 (+0.4%). During the period 2013-2018, the growth of the metropolitan population was driven mainly by the Seine-Saint-Denis Department whose population grew at a rate of +1% per year, thanks to a natural surplus of  +1.3% per year, the highest in France. Indeed the highest rate of growth of the population was seen in the territories T6 – Plaine Commune, T8 – Est Ensemble and T7 – Paris Terres d’Envol. In these territories the population increased at a rate three time more rapidly than on the regional scale (annual rate of growth above or equal to 1%). In T11 – Grand Paris Sud Est Avenir and T12 – Grand Orly Seine Bièvre, the growth of the population was also sustained (between +0.8% and +0.9% per year). These developments can be explained by the youthfulness of the population and the dynamic urban projects taking place. The territories whose populations grew most rapidly benefited from an acceleration in their demographic growth compared with the period of 2008-2013.
Conversely, in certain areas generally located in the west of the metropolis, the population growth slowed down. This was notably the case in T3 – Grand Paris Seine Ouest, T4 – Paris Ouest la Défense and in T5 – Boucle Nord de Seine and T10 – Paris-Est-Marne&Bois.

Generally speaking, in Ile-de-France, the population growth during the 2013-2018 period was particularly great on a scale that corresponded to the densely populated areas of the conurbation, except for in Paris proper and the western territories. Conversely, the less populated territories, located on the southern and eastern peripheral areas of the region, tended towards the contrary, seeing their population diminish. In the north of the region, the municipalities in over half of the western part of Val-d’Oise and the north-western half of Seine-et-Marne saw their populations grow considerably, thanks to their regained attractiveness linked to new housing being built and their economic development. Franconville, Bussy- Saint-Georges and Meaux are among the municipalities where the population increased annually by at least 2%.
In the south, the municipalities of the northern half of Essonne and those around Melun-Sénart had the greatest growth during that period.
 

Les territoires de la MGP - Sources : Insee, recensements de 2008, 2013 et 2018

évolution de la population entre 2013 et 2018

 

The main factors that explain Parisian changes
The principal explanation for the decrease in the Parisian population is the drop in the number of main residences, which is linked to the growing number of unoccupied housing units. The drop in the number of main residences had a direct impact on the deterioration of the visible migratory balance, which corresponds to the difference between the number of arrivals and departures. The evolution of the average size of households, which has also decreased, equally plays a part but to a more limited extent. 

Evolution des facteurs de l’évolution de la population parisienne entre 2013 et 2018 (en %) - Source : Insee, recensement 2013 et 2018

The rising percentage of unoccupied housing continues

The percentage of unoccupied housing units formed by vacant housing, occasional and secondary residences, dropped in Paris between 1999 and 2011 which enabled the number of main residences, not including those being built, to increase.

Since 2012, the percentage of unoccupied housing has greatly increased and reached 17.7% in 2018, linked mainly to the rise in residences being rented full time as furnished  accommodation for tourists.

This trend was a great drawback on the efforts made to build new housing. In the 10th, 11th and 12th districts for example, the population decreased despite the increasing number of housing units. In three districts (1st, 7th and 8th), the percentage of unoccupied housing units exceeded 30%.
 

Evolution comparée de la population et de la part de logements inoccupés à Paris de 1968 à 2018 - Source : Insee recensements

In this context,the balance of migratory exchanges with the rest of the national territory, calculated as the difference between the variation in the  population and the natural balance became more in deficit. These migratory movements led to the Parisian population decreasing by approximately 25,300 people each year instead of 12,800 from 2008 to 2012. The migratory deficit was not compensated for by a natural surplus (difference between births and deaths), which resulted in a decrease in the population. More Parisians left the capital, but over 40% of them stayed in the Grand Paris Metropolis. The high cost of housing, the limited offer of large housing units and the desire to find another living environment are factors which explain these migratory movements.

A positive but decreasing natural balance
The excess of births over deaths slightly decreased, contributing to a reduction in the population. During the 2013-2017 period, this natural surplus corresponded to an average of nearly 14,500 more people per year instead of the 16,500 people per year from 2008 to 2012.

Facteurs démographiques des évolutions de la population municipale légale - Source : Insee, recensements de 2013, 2018 ; Etat civil de 2008 à 2017

The drop in the natural surplus can be explained essentially by the reduced number of births after 2010. With 28,000 births per year between 2013 and 2017, Paris had 2,100 fewer births per year than in the period 2008-2012, during which the number of births was established at 30,500 per year. Three factors explain this decrease: There were fewer Parisians of child-bearing age, they had fewer children and had them increasingly later. In France, the drop in the number of births came later (in 2014) but was just as marked. Between 2014 and 2017, the decrease in births seen in Paris (-5.9%) was not as great as the national average (-6.6%).

The continued low number of deaths limited the decrease in the natural balance: 13,900 deaths on average per year were recorded from 2013 to 2017, compared with 14,000 per year during the previous period (2008-2012). Since 2014, the number of deaths has slightly increased in Paris each year. This rise is linked to the effect of the baby-boom. The first bay-boomers, being born at the end of 1940s, are reaching the ages of high mortality. This progression in the number of deaths in Paris (+5.5%) is slightly less marked than on the regional (+7.2%) and national (+8.5%) level.
 

Evolution des naissances et des décès à Paris de 1999 à 2017 - Source : Insee, état civil de 1999 à 2017

The average size of households decreased in Paris: going from 1.89 to 1.87 in 5 yearsWhile the average size of households steadily decreased in France after the 1960s, it stabilised in Paris and Ile-de-France in the 2000s. The 2018 figures show a decrease in the average size of households in Paris after 2013. This decrease is linked partly to the fewer number of births and to the ageing of the population. In a context of increasing housing construction on a metropolitan and regional scale, a reduction in the average size of households can also be seen to affect the greater fluidity of residential movements (decohabitation, access to larger housing units, etc.).

Evolution de la taille moyenne des ménages - Source : Insee, recensements

What is the impact of the health crisis? Demographic prospects

The results presented in this note date from 2018 and highlight the continuation of these trends. They are based on population census data collected over a five years period, between 2016 and 2020. In the years to come population trends could be impacted by the health crisis and its multiple effects on the territories, in directions that are difficult to foresee (development of telework, new residential choices, economic crisis, new transport networks opening, etc.). Although it is still too early to know, we can remember that the Parisian housing stock represents 38% of the metropolitan stock, that the evolution of the population depends directly on the occupation of this housing stock and that the structure of the Parisian population has been relatively stable for the last 50 years.

¹ The migratory balance of exchanges or the visible balance of entrances and exits is calculated as the difference between the variation of the population and the natural balance. It depends on the movements of the population between Ile-de-France and other regions or abroad.

Infographie - 2 175 601 habitants à Paris au 1er janvier 2018 © Apur

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