Although the number of newborn babies in 2009 in France slightly declined compared with the previous year, the rate of 1.99 children per woman still took the lead among the European countries, the official statistic institute Insee said on Tuesday in its demographic report.
Some 821,000 births were registered in France in 2009, 7,500 less than in 2008 when the birth rate posted a record high of two children per woman, but the figure was still at a high level, not only "well above the average level of the last ten years," but also among the highest rate of European members, Insee said.
With 346,000 more inhabitants in 2009, French population of the mainland and overseas departments grew by 0.5 percent to 64.7 million as a whole, of which 62.8 million live on the mainland.
Good news in the demographic report is that, French people live longer than most other Europeans. French women have an average life expectancy of 84.5 two years older than the European average level, while the average life span of French men also gained a two-month increase to 77.8 years.
Like in other European nations, the number of French women giving first delivery over 30 continued to increase and the number of children born to mothers aged 35 and over "almost quadrupled in past 30 years," the institute noted.
In 2009, over half of the newborn babies arrived in the world outside marriage, a slight increase over the prior year.
French population over 60 years old increased to 22.6 percent while those under 20 decreased to 24.7 percent, Insee added.
The report also pointed out that by Jan. 1, 2010, the population of the 27-nation European Union exceeded the threshold of 500 million for the first time.