Where were Parisians born? Based on 2020 figures, nearly two-thirds of the 2.1 million registered Parisians were not born within the walls of the capital. This surprising figure is the result of a study by two INSEE analysts, based on census data dating back to 1968. A previously unprecedented piece of work that lifts the veil on the true origins of Parisians.
How many real Parisians are there in Paris?
We’ve seen this figure on the city’s billboards: only 30% of Parisians were actually born within the capital’s walls. Which goes to show that being born in Paris clearly doesn’t mean you’ll stay there for the rest of your life. A figure that may make people sit up and take notice, but it should be remembered that in 1968, contrary to popular belief, this figure had risen to 35%. In the final analysis, this picture has changed little in 40 years, but one trend has been confirmed: more and more Parisians are leaving the capital every year.
For the rest of the breakdown, 29% of Parisians come from the provinces or DROM-COM, 25% from abroad and 16% from another département in the Paris region. But when compared with other major cities in France, this percentage is quite similar and lies in the middle, between the antipodes Bordeaux (24% natives) and Marseille (50%). And if we go into more detail, when it comes to former provincials, the top region of origin for Parisians is Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, followed by Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Grand Est.