France Cities by Population 2024

Despite being one of the most populous countries in the world, it surprisingly only has one city with a population that exceeds one million residents. However, there are over 100 cities that have a population of over 50,000, 38 that have over 100,000 and hundreds of smaller cities and towns which make this country one of the most populated in the world. In France, there are several classifications for its populated areas, including urban areas (metropolitans), urban units (classified as the densely populated agglomeration of metro areas) and communes (boroughs with municipal councils.) Many of the communes of France have tens of thousands of residents, further adding to the population of this country.

France is made up of 22 metropolitan regions and five overseas regions that include French Guiana and Martinique. The country also has dependent areas, including French Polynesia. These are similar to territories like Puerto Rico in the United States. Like other countries around the world, France's population is divided between urban and rural cities, and in 2014, it was determined that the rural population exceeded 13 million, which showed a significant increase following rural population declines in the recent past. However, this doesn't mean that the population in more urban areas has decreased. In fact, it's continuing to show a pattern of steady growth with the current birth rate as well as continued immigration to the larger cities of France.