Where French move
2.5M French live abroad — #30 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Considering a move from France? — See top destinations, regional flows, and how it's changed since 1990.
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 26% of all emigrants
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| United States | 253094 |
| Spain | 217960 |
| Belgium | 196995 |
| Switzerland | 195100 |
| United Kingdom | 174571 |
| Germany | 155932 |
| Canada | 131039 |
| Portugal | 117183 |
| Italy | 115100 |
| Reunion | 89556 |
| Türkiye | 52315 |
| Martinique | 52018 |
| Guadeloupe | 50623 |
| Luxembourg | 49649 |
| New Caledonia | 48935 |
| Israel | 43511 |
| Morocco | 41301 |
| Australia | 40681 |
| Netherlands | 38275 |
| Thailand | 30148 |
| French Guiana | 25829 |
| Poland | 22881 |
| French Polynesia | 22420 |
| Mayotte | 18736 |
| Gabon | 17428 |
| United Arab Emirates | 16977 |
| Ireland | 15924 |
| Japan | 15078 |
| Senegal | 14719 |
| Sweden | 14381 |
| Romania | 11775 |
| Brazil | 11237 |
| Central African Republic | 10823 |
| Madagascar | 10776 |
| Austria | 10544 |
| Republic of Congo | 10198 |
| China | 10089 |
| Denmark | 10002 |
| Mexico | 9938 |
| Tunisia | 9616 |
| Monaco | 7938 |
| New Zealand | 7445 |
| Norway | 7423 |
| Greece | 7251 |
| Mali | 7061 |
| Chile | 6250 |
| Serbia | 6141 |
| Cameroon | 5968 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 5917 |
| Hungary | 5708 |
| Libya | 5670 |
| Kuwait | 5575 |
| Andorra | 4455 |
| Argentina | 4394 |
| Czechia | 4320 |
| Dominican Republic | 4200 |
| Bulgaria | 4154 |
| Colombia | 3574 |
| Venezuela | 3395 |
| Slovakia | 3308 |
| Finland | 3159 |
| South Africa | 3082 |
| Egypt | 2419 |
| Hong Kong | 2367 |
| Malta | 2253 |
| Russia | 2013 |
| Peru | 1804 |
| Panama | 1774 |
| Bahrain | 1715 |
| Taiwan | 1670 |
| Croatia | 1577 |
| Bolivia | 1537 |
| Mauritius | 1532 |
| Benin | 1487 |
| Chad | 1381 |
| Iceland | 1374 |
| Slovenia | 1340 |
| Costa Rica | 1262 |
| Qatar | 1133 |
| Estonia | 978 |
| Cyprus | 964 |
| India | 888 |
| Wallis and Futuna | 886 |
| Togo | 804 |
| Ecuador | 787 |
| Uruguay | 722 |
| Paraguay | 707 |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 706 |
| Namibia | 594 |
| Vanuatu | 565 |
| Algeria | 563 |
| Lithuania | 547 |
| Comoros | 477 |
| Haiti | 450 |
| Montenegro | 442 |
| Burundi | 402 |
| Moldova | 357 |
| Eritrea | 341 |
| Cambodia | 311 |
| Sri Lanka | 303 |
| Guatemala | 302 |
| Western Sahara | 290 |
| Ghana | 284 |
| Latvia | 257 |
| Seychelles | 246 |
| Guinea | 229 |
| Cape Verde | 221 |
| El Salvador | 219 |
| Bahamas | 161 |
| Nicaragua | 160 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 153 |
| Honduras | 149 |
| Liechtenstein | 138 |
| Maldives | 133 |
| Zambia | 111 |
| Bermuda | 101 |
| Sint Maarten | 97 |
| Mongolia | 91 |
| Dominica | 82 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 66 |
| Puerto Rico | 55 |
| Cuba | 49 |
| Saint Lucia | 49 |
| Cayman Islands | 45 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 43 |
| Liberia | 42 |
| Georgia | 40 |
| San Marino | 32 |
| Bhutan | 31 |
| British Virgin Islands | 30 |
| Greenland | 13 |
| Samoa | 6 |
By destination region
Europe is the leading destination region at 55%
1.4M
385K
262.3K
181.9K
122.2K
120.9K
61.1K
Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from France.
Türkiye is the fastest-growing major destination
Emigration to Türkiye has increased by 85% since 2015, rising from 28.3K to 52.3K in 9 years.
Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990
3 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: Türkiye, Australia, Thailand — Türkiye rose from outside the top 20 to rank #11.
How emigration changed over time
Total emigrant population by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 1412768 |
| 1995 | 1628729 |
| 2000 | 1720515 |
| 2005 | 1853671 |
| 2010 | 2040298 |
| 2015 | 2247690 |
| 2020 | 2398187 |
| 2024 | 2545102 |
Top destinations over time
Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries
| Year | United States | Spain | Belgium | Switzerland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 160846 | 132349 | 147728 | 99313 | 50575 |
| 1995 | 251923 | 142733 | 149698 | 105573 | 68006 |
| 2000 | 204122 | 153520 | 151704 | 112955 | 90748 |
| 2005 | 196697 | 187208 | 155088 | 126528 | 111713 |
| 2010 | 204225 | 209075 | 173219 | 135578 | 135705 |
| 2015 | 229140 | 199180 | 183005 | 156030 | 150186 |
| 2020 | 232437 | 208191 | 188926 | 175221 | 163882 |
| 2024 | 253094 | 217960 | 196995 | 195100 | 174571 |
Fastest-changing destinations
How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year
France as an emigration source
Share of immigrants in each country who originate from France