THE NATIONAL SYSTEM OF DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS
Population Structure
Population censuses in the modern sense of the word have been conducted in France only since the beginning of
the nineteenth century. Censuses prior to 1851, documented in Appendix Table F.7, were conducted in 1801,
1806, 1821, 1826, 1831, 1841, and 1846. But these censuses were very limited, intended to cover mainly
population number, and did not try to answer social questions by quantitative means.
A good overview of the history of the French census since the beginning is given by Croze (1987). Censuses
from 1801 to 1946 are described in the ‘Annexe’, pp. 33f.
Historical data on population size, dwellings and households from 1801 to 1886 are given in the introduction to
République Française. Ministère du Commerce et de l’Industrie (1888). The retrospective edition 1966 of the
Annuaire Statistique also deals with population figures from 1801 onwards (INSEE, 1966).
Population by age, sex, and marital status was published for the first time in 1851 and since that time for
almost every subsequent census. The first censuses still used grouped age data, but the more recent censuses
gave age in detailed form.
Vital Statistics
Basic variables of population movement such as mid-year population, births (by legitimacy), deaths, infant
deaths, and marriages are available since 1806. Stillbirths have been published since 1840, legal separations
since 1865, and divorces since 1884 (cf. INSEE, 1966: 66f.). In France, official statistics were organized already
early in the country’s history, which ensured a good supply of statistical information.
Households and Families
In France information on households (ménages) was collected for the first time in the 1851 census. The number
of all households and the respective population was given in the same year. In almost every subsequent census
households were counted and published. One might take this to mean that France devised elaborate and detailed
household statistics, but this is not the case. The only disaggregation which French statistics introduced was
households by size (number of household members); no other combinations were made (such as household
composition, household types, social status and occupation of household head).
Households were published by size already in 1856; this was repeated in 1861, 1886, 1891, 1896, and in the
1946 housing census. All other censuses presented only the number of households. The 1926 census was not a
national census but rather a housing census in towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
The rudimentary development of household statistics in France may perhaps be explained by late urbanization
and plentiful housing; in other countries (such as Germany) housing shortages were the main stimulus for
housing and household statistics. Another interpretation could emphasize the very early introduction of family
statistics (see below) in France in response to its extremely low birth rates.
A history of household statistics in France is given in the introduction to the 1946 housing census (République
Française. Ministère des Finances et des Affaires Économiques. Institut National de la Statistique et des Études
Économiques. Direction de la Statistique Générale, 1949: Vf.).
A definition of household (ménage) was given for the first time in the 1856 population census:
Par ménages, on a désigné non pas les familles, mais les individus mariés ou non mariés, avec ou sans enfants, habitant un
local distinct. Ainsi, aux termes des instructions ministérielles, une personne vivant seule dans un logement séparé a été
considérée comme formant un ménage, aussi bien qu’une famille composée du mari, de la femme, d’un ou plusiers enfants,
d’un ou plusiers domestiques demeurant ensemble dans le même appartement (Bureau de la Statistique Générale, 1859:
xxiii).
The same definition of household (ménage) was given in the 1861 population census (Bureau de la Statistique
Générale, 1864: XXXIX).
France pioneered family statistics as family-centred fertility statistics. Already in 1886 a special investigation
into the fertility of married women was carried out. Such investigations were repeated in 1891, 1896, and 1901.
In 1931 and 1946 extensive investigations into the ‘productivity of marriages’ were organized. This early and
very regular emphasis on fertility measurement in France is caused by the exceptionally low fertility in France
already in the nineteenth century, distinguishing France from all other European countries. French fertility
measurement was used as a model by other countries, particularly after World War I when births declined on a
massive scale in nearly all other European countries.
A history of family statistics in the sense of family-centred fertility statistics in France is given in the
introduction to the 1946 family statistics (République Française. Ministère des Finances et des Affaires
Économiques. Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques. Direction de la Statistique Générale,
1953: Xff.).
Remarks (also see introductory Table 6.1)
The age*sex*civil status table in the French population censuses of 1921 and 1926 use the age group of 40–49
years instead of 40–44 years. Data for the age group 40–44 have been calculated by splitting this age group into
two equal parts. The first post-war census was taken in 1946; the values of the variables v16–v21 have been
calculated using linear extrapolation with the growth rates from 1926 to 1931.