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Migration in France: where do people move to and from?

Updated June 2026 · ~4 min read

France is one of the world's great migration crossroads - millions arrive, and a large, high-earning diaspora leaves. Here's where they go and where they come from, using official figures from INSEE, the French consular registry and UN DESA.

7.75M
Immigrants living in France (11.3% of the population, 2024)
~2.5M
French nationals living abroad (est.; 1.74M registered)

Where do French people move to?

French emigrants overwhelmingly head to wealthy, French-speaking or neighbouring countries. These are the top destinations by number of registered French nationals abroad:

1
🇨🇭Switzerland
171,884
2
🇺🇸United States
159,357
3
🇬🇧United Kingdom
141,065
4
🇧🇪Belgium
123,226
5
🇨🇦Canada
118,772
6
🇩🇪Germany
96,245
7
🇪🇸Spain
82,462
8
🇮🇱Israel
57,962
9
🇲🇦Morocco
52,678
10
🇮🇹Italy
33,130
Switzerland, the US, the UK, Belgium and Canada alone host about 40.5% of all registered French nationals abroad - the diaspora skews toward high-income and French-speaking countries.Source: France Diplomatie / MEAE, Registre des Français établis hors de France (2024)

Where do France's immigrants come from?

Inbound migration tells a different story, dominated by the Maghreb and southern Europe. Top countries of birth for immigrants living in France:

1
🇩🇿Algeria
977,000
2
🇲🇦Morocco
907,000
3
🇵🇹Portugal
558,000
4
🇹🇳Tunisia
380,000
5
🇮🇹Italy
271,000
6
🇹🇷Turkey
271,000
7
🇪🇸Spain
233,000
8
🇩🇪Germany
203,000
9
🇬🇧United Kingdom
170,000
10
🇧🇪Belgium
164,000
Africa has overtaken Europe as the leading origin of France's immigrants: in 2024, 49.2% were born in Africa versus 30.3% in Europe - a reversal from 1968, when European-born made up 76.8%.Source: INSEE, Insee Première n°2076 (2025)
Immigrants reached a record 11.3% of France's population in 2024 (7.75 million), the largest single-year rise on record (~+434,000) - though a census methodology change affects comparability with earlier years.Source: INSEE, Insee Première n°2076 (2025)
Thinking of moving to or from France? Compare France with 17 other countries on spending power, safety, climate and time off →

Sources

INSEE, Insee Première n°2076 (Oct 2025) - immigrant population by country of birth, 2024.
France, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - Registre des Français établis hors de France (2022 & 2024).
UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2020 - foreign-born population by origin.
OECD, International Migration Outlook 2024/2025 - France country note.

Note: inbound figures count foreign-born residents; outbound figures count registered French nationals (a voluntary registry that undercounts). The two are measured differently and are not directly symmetric.