Have there always been so many Parisians? Has their profile changed over time? Have social gaps narrowed? Such are the many questions this study addresses in the endeavour of providing elements of a response.
The study presents an analysis of the demographic and social dynamics in Paris. It gives a key for reading the characteristics of Paris’ population, its specificities and the changes it has undergone. These dynamics are observed on two time scales. Recent trends are analysed making it possible to identify the changes which have taken place over the past ten years. A long term view helps to put the results of the past ten years into perspective and to identify the continuity and points of rupture which may have taken place.
Paris has 2,188,000 inhabitants, making it the most densely populated European city covering such a vast area. Over the past twenty years the number of inhabitants has fluctuated slightly between +/- 0,5% per year, ending a long period of depopulation throughout the second half of the 20th century.
The evolution in the number of its inhabitants can be explained by three main factors: demographic factors (number of births and deaths), the housing stock and its occupants and residential migration.
One out of every two households in Paris is formed of a single person. Paris also accommodates 254,800 families with at least one child aged under 25, that is 22% of Parisian households.
Apart from its residents, Paris is characterised by having a daily influx of 3.5 million people, which includes those who come to work, to study or for leisure activities, of which there are 79,000 tourists each day.
