The total population of France on 1 January 2016 stood at 66,661,600. Its population grew by 246,500 in 2015, of which 45,800 was due to inward migration.
As of 1 January 2016, the core Jewish population of France was estimated to be 460,000 (0.69% of the wider population), and the enlarged Jewish population was estimated at 600,000 (0.90% of the wider population).
The French Jewish population is the largest in Europe in absolute terms and is second only to Gibraltar as a percentage of the total population.
The core Jewish population was estimated to be 530,000 in 1990 (0.94% of the wider population) and has therefore declined by approximately 13% over 25 years during which the wider population grew by approximately 14%.
Between 1990 and 2015, 53,911 French citizens emigrated to Israel. The annual rate has almost trebled since 1990 with 6,627 emigrating in 2015.
An estimated 700,000 French citizens qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
There are Jewish communities in over 200 localities in France. The majority (over 300,000) live in Paris. Other large Jewish communities include Marseilles, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice and Strasbourg.