France: Country Report | 2024

AI Generated Analysis based on UNHCR Forced Displacement Statisitics.

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Executive Summary

Population Overview

Population Overview: France

The data for France reveals a continued and significant upward trend in the number of persons of concern between 2019 and 2024, reinforcing its role as a key host country in Europe. By 2024, the total population of concern reached 813,000. Behind these stark numbers, the composition is heavily weighted towards refugees, who constitute 721,771 individuals, or nearly 89 per cent of the total. Asylum-seekers (5.6 per cent) and stateless persons (4.6 per cent) represent smaller but still significant communities in need of protection.

The demographic profile of displaced populations in the country underscores the specific needs for protection and integration. The data shows a population predominantly of working age (18-59 years) with a notable gender imbalance, where males account for 56.4 per cent. This structure highlights the critical importance of livelihood programmes and tailored integration support to enable self-reliance and contributions to the host society.

A closer look at the most recent annual changes reveals a dynamic shift in displacement patterns. While the established refugee population saw a marginal decrease (-0.2 per cent), the number of asylum-seekers surged, with an increase of over 57,000 individuals in the past year alone. This 8.6 per cent rise in asylum claims points to a growing number of people newly seeking international protection and places increasing demands on France’s reception and asylum systems.

Furthermore, the composition of the refugee population is shaped significantly by a single major crisis, with one country of origin accounting for 323,722 refugees. This concentration underscores how specific geopolitical events directly impact national asylum landscapes and necessitates the development of targeted, culturally and linguistically appropriate support services to facilitate effective integration for this predominant group. This complex picture illustrates the dual challenge facing France: ensuring the long-term integration of a large, established refugee population while simultaneously scaling up capacity to fairly and efficiently process new asylum claims.

Demographics

AI Insight: Treemap chart of the population of concern in France by type, where Refugees constitute the vast majority at 721,771 individuals, making up nearly 89% of the total., This treemap visualization details the composition of the 813,000 individuals classified as populations of concern by UNHCR in France for the year 2024. The chart is dominated by a single large rectangle representing Refugees, emphasizing their significant proportion.

The data is broken down as follows: - Total Population of Concern: 813,000 - Refugees: 721,771 (88.8% of total) - Asylum-seekers: 45,594 (5.6% of total) - Stateless persons: 37,212 (4.6% of total) - Other people in need of international protection: 8,423 (1.0% of total)

Categories with zero individuals reported include Returned Refugees and Returned Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The visualization clearly shows that while there are several categories of concern, the refugee population is by far the largest group in France, with other categories like asylum-seekers and stateless persons forming much smaller segments.

AI Insight: Population pyramid of gender and age demographics for 5.25 million persons of concern in France in 2024, where the population is predominantly male and heavily concentrated in the 18-59 age group., This population pyramid displays the age and gender distribution for the 5,250,581 refugees, asylum-seekers, and other persons of concern in France as of 2024. The data is fully disaggregated by gender.

The horizontal axis represents the population proportion, split by gender, while the vertical axis shows standard UNHCR age cohorts (0-4, 5-11, 12-17, 18-59, 60+). A significant gender imbalance is evident, with males constituting 56.4% of the population and females 43.6%.

The demographic structure is dominated by the 18-59 age group, which forms the widest part of the pyramid, indicating a large working-age population. The younger cohorts (0-17 years) and the senior cohort (60+ years) represent substantially smaller proportions, creating a narrow base and top. This demographic profile, characterized by a large, predominantly male, working-age population, is critical for informing UNHCR’s protection, integration, and livelihood strategies in France.

Geography & Movements

Geography of Displacement: The Dual Role of France

The geography of displacement in 2024 underscores France’s significant role as a major host country for refugees and asylum-seekers, a stark contrast to the limited scale of forced displacement originating from its own territory. The data reveals a large and growing population of forcibly displaced persons within France, whose composition is heavily shaped by a few major global crises.

Analysis of the refugee population hosted by France shows a highly concentrated distribution by origin. A single nationality accounts for over 323,000 refugees, a figure that significantly outweighs contributions from other countries and skews the overall statistical picture. The median refugee population from a top country of origin is 37,546, highlighting the exceptional scale of the leading group. This is not a recent development. Longitudinal data from 2019 to 2025 illustrates that the overall growth in France’s displaced population has been propelled by significant and sustained increases from these same key countries of origin, whose flows have visibly widened over the period.

Conversely, the phenomenon of individuals seeking protection from France is of a vastly different magnitude. Behind these starkly lower numbers, the data reveals a pattern of small-scale, highly concentrated movement. While a primary destination country hosts a notable 2,705 individuals, the overall scope is minimal. Across the 13 countries hosting displaced persons from France, the median number is just 12 people. This distribution strongly suggests that such movements are not indicative of a widespread protection crisis but rather correspond to exceptional individual cases requiring international protection.

Ultimately, the data paints a clear picture of France as a key destination within the global protection landscape, shouldering significant responsibility for hosting those who have fled conflict and persecution. At the same time, displacement originating from the country remains a limited and highly specific phenomenon, reinforcing its primary role as a country of asylum.

AI Insight: Choropleth map of destination countries for displaced persons from France as of 2024, where overall numbers are small and concentrated in a few countries, with a maximum of 317 people in any one country., This world map visualizes the destination countries for refugees, asylum-seekers, and other persons of concern to UNHCR originating from France as of 2024. It highlights the limited scale and scope of displacement from this country.

Statistical Analysis: The data indicates that displacement from France is not a widespread phenomenon. Out of 241 countries and territories analyzed, only 13 host individuals of concern from France. The number of people in each of these host countries is low, demonstrating a highly concentrated and small-scale distribution.

Key statistics for the 13 countries with data: - Range: The number of individuals per country ranges from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 317. - Central Tendency: The median is 12 individuals, indicating that half of the host countries have 12 or fewer people from France. The mean is significantly higher at 56, which points to a right-skewed distribution where one or two countries host a larger portion of the total. - Quartiles: 75% of the host countries have 30 or fewer individuals.

Context and Interpretation: The visualization underscores that France is primarily a country of asylum rather than a country of origin for displaced populations. The small figures presented likely correspond to exceptional individual cases seeking international protection. On the map, this would be represented by most of the world having no data, with only a handful of countries lightly shaded to reflect these low numbers, and one country standing out with a slightly darker shade for the maximum value of 317.

Origin of Displaced Populations

AI Insight: Horizontal bar chart of the top 9 countries of origin for refugees in France in 2024, where the leading country accounts for over 323,000 people, a number significantly larger than any other., This horizontal bar chart displays the population of refugees in France as of 2024, broken down by their top nine countries of origin, plus an ‘Other’ category. The analysis reveals a highly skewed distribution in the refugee population’s origin. One country is a significant outlier, accounting for the maximum of 323,722 refugees. The refugee populations from the other countries are substantially smaller, with the lowest among the top origins being 24,159. The median value for a country of origin is 37,546, which is a more representative figure for a typical country in this dataset than the mean of 72,178, as the mean is inflated by the top value. Half of the listed countries of origin have refugee populations ranging between 30,480 and 63,042. The large standard deviation of approximately 90,946 further underscores the significant disparity between the top country of origin and the others.

AI Insight: Alluvial diagram of the composition of forcibly displaced populations in France by country of origin from 2019 to 2025, where the overall population size has increased, driven by significant growth from a few key countries., This alluvial diagram illustrates the changing composition of the forcibly displaced population in France by their country of origin over a seven-year period, from 2019 to 2025. The chart tracks data for 15 distinct countries of origin.

The vertical thickness of each colored flow represents the number of people from a specific country in a given year. The data shows a wide range of population sizes, from a minimum of 2,859 to a maximum of 290,518 people for a single origin country in a specific year. The overall trend indicates a growth in the total forcibly displaced population in France during this period.

Statistically, the mean population size per group is 45,144, while the median is significantly lower at 26,103. This suggests that the distribution is skewed, with a few origin countries having exceptionally large populations that pull the average up. The visualization highlights how the flows for these dominant countries widen considerably over the years, signifying their growing proportion within the total displaced population, while other smaller groups maintain more stable, thinner flows throughout the period.

Destination

AI Insight: Bar chart of the top 10 destination countries for forcibly displaced people from France as of 2024, where the top destination hosts a significantly larger population (2,705) than the other countries., This horizontal bar chart displays the top 10 destination countries for forcibly displaced people originating from France, with data reported as of 2024. The visualization highlights a highly skewed distribution of this population. The number of displaced individuals per country ranges from a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 2,705. The leading destination country hosts a substantially larger population than the others, indicating a primary corridor for displacement. The median number of displaced people across these ten countries is 210, whereas the average is much higher at 648.9, a discrepancy that underscores the influence of the top-ranking country on the overall statistics. The middle 50% of the countries host between 80 and 610 individuals. This pattern suggests that specific pull factors, such as established diaspora communities, linguistic ties, or favorable asylum policies, make one country a primary destination for this population.

Asylum System

National Asylum Systems Under Pressure

Global asylum systems continue to face immense pressure, a trend starkly illustrated by the situation in France. The period between 2019 and 2024 witnessed a significant surge in new asylum applications, placing considerable strain on national reception and processing capacities. While systems adapted following pandemic-related disruptions, the subsequent rise in claims has tested the limits of existing infrastructure.

The data reveals a growing disequilibrium between the volume of incoming claims and the processing capacity of national authorities. A cumulative analysis from 2020 to 2024 shows the gap between new applications and first instance decisions widening progressively. This growing backlog translates directly into prolonged periods of uncertainty for asylum-seekers, who remain in limbo for extended durations while awaiting a decision on their future. As of 2024, this systemic delay has resulted in an average processing time that underscores the urgent need for enhanced resources and procedural efficiencies.

The operational complexity of the asylum procedure is profound. In 2024 alone, an analysis of nearly 3 million decisions reveals that cases navigate through hundreds of distinct procedural pathways. Behind these aggregate figures, outcomes vary significantly depending on an individual’s country of origin, reflecting the diverse protection needs of those seeking safety. For the top 10 nationalities by decision volume in 2024, the refugee recognition rate ranged from as low as 5 per cent to as high as 38 per cent. The role of other forms of protection is also critical; for some nationalities, the total recognition rate, including complementary protection, rose to nearly 66 per cent, highlighting the importance of a comprehensive protection framework.

This complex landscape of need stands in sharp contrast to the near-zero recognition rates for nationals from safe countries of origin. For instance, asylum claims filed by French nationals in other countries are overwhelmingly rejected, reinforcing the principle that asylum is a vital lifeline for those fleeing persecution and serious harm, not a universal migration pathway. The challenge for states lies in maintaining fair and efficient systems that can distinguish between these cases in a timely manner, ensuring protection for those who need it most while upholding the integrity of the asylum process.

AI Insight: Bar chart of asylum applications and decisions in France from 2019 to 2024, where the total number of applications and decisions shows significant fluctuation, with a likely peak in the later years of the period., This bar chart provides a quantitative overview of asylum applications and decisions in France, spanning the years 2019 to 2024. The data is categorized by the stage of the asylum process, detailing the volume of cases annually. Based on the statistical profile, the total count for any given stage and year ranges from 18,868 to a peak of 218,948, with an average count of approximately 123,908. The chart likely illustrates a trend of increasing applications and decisions over the period, potentially with a dip around 2020 due to pandemic-related restrictions, followed by a significant surge in 2022-2024. The subtitle provides crucial context: ‘Under certain circumstances, one person may have more than one application,’ indicating that the figures represent the number of procedures, not necessarily the number of unique individuals.

AI Insight: Parallel sets diagram of refugee status determination decisions in France in 2024, where flows show the volume of 2,974,239 cases moving through different stages of the asylum process., This parallel sets diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the 2,974,239 refugee status determination (RSD) decisions made in France in 2024. The visualization illustrates the flow of asylum cases through the different stages of the legal process.

The chart is structured with vertical axes representing key decision points in the asylum procedure. The flows between these axes represent the progression of cases, with the width of each flow being directly proportional to the number of individuals in that specific pathway.

Based on the underlying data, there are 264 distinct pathways visualized. The volume of decisions varies dramatically across these paths, with the smallest group containing 53 decisions and the largest containing 437,214. This wide distribution highlights the major and minor routes within the French asylum system.

By following the flows, users can analyze the outcomes at each stage, discerning the proportion of applicants who are granted refugee status, receive other forms of protection, or are rejected. This visualization is a critical tool for policymakers, researchers, and humanitarian organizations like UNHCR to understand the operational dynamics of the asylum system, identify potential bottlenecks, and assess the overall protection landscape in France.

AI Insight: Area chart of cumulative asylum applications versus first instance decisions in France from 2020 to 2024, where a widening gap between the two series illustrates a growing processing backlog and increasing wait times., This area chart provides a comparative analysis of the cumulative number of asylum applications and the cumulative number of first instance decisions in France for the period 2020 to 2024. The x-axis represents the years, and the y-axis shows the cumulative total of cases.

Two distinct areas are plotted: the upper area represents the total number of asylum applications received, while the lower area represents the total number of decisions issued at the first instance. The vertical gap between these two areas visually represents the number of pending cases, or the system’s backlog, at any given point in time.

Key observations from the data indicate that the number of cumulative applications consistently outpaces the number of decisions, causing the gap between the two to widen over the years. This trend signifies that the French asylum system is receiving applications faster than it can process them, leading to a growing backlog. The chart is annotated to quantify this gap, translating the number of pending cases into an ‘average processing time’ measured in days as of 2024. From a UNHCR perspective, this visualization is critical for highlighting the challenges faced by asylum seekers, including prolonged periods of uncertainty and vulnerability, and for advocating for increased resources and efficiency within the French asylum procedure.

Recognition Rates

AI Insight: Bar chart of Refugee Recognition Rate by Country of Origin in France for 2024, where rates for the top 10 countries by decision volume vary significantly from 5% to 38%., This horizontal bar chart presents the Refugee Recognition Rate in France for 2024, specifically for the 10 countries of origin with the highest number of asylum decisions. The chart is ordered descending by the total number of decisions made, not by the recognition rate itself.

Statistical analysis reveals a significant variation in protection outcomes among these nationalities. The average Refugee Recognition Rate across these 10 countries is 17.6%, with a median of 15.3%. The rates range widely, from a minimum of 5.0% for one country to a maximum of 37.6% for another.

When complementary protection is also considered, the average Total Recognition Rate increases to 24.0%. The disparity in this broader measure is even more pronounced, with the total protection rate for one country reaching as high as 65.8%.

The visualization underscores that the volume of asylum applications from a specific country does not directly correlate with its recognition rate. It highlights the distinct protection needs and case profiles of different nationalities arriving in France, and demonstrates the important role that complementary protection plays alongside formal refugee status in the French asylum system.

AI Insight: Bar chart of 2024 refugee recognition rates for French nationals in the top 10 asylum countries by decision volume, where overall rates are extremely low, peaking at 11% with more than half of the countries having a rate of 0%., This bar chart displays the refugee recognition rates for asylum seekers with French nationality in 2024. The data is limited to the top 10 countries of asylum, ranked by the total number of decisions made during the period.

Contextually, France is typically a country of asylum rather than a country of origin for refugees. Therefore, asylum claims from French nationals are rare and generally have a very low probability of success, which is strongly reflected in this data.

Statistical analysis of the underlying data for these 10 countries reveals the following key points: - The number of decisions processed per country varies significantly, from a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 629. - The Refugee Recognition Rate is exceptionally low, with a mean of 2.2%. The median rate is 0%, indicating that at least half of these top 10 countries did not grant refugee status to any French nationals. - The highest recognition rate observed among these countries was 11.0%. - The absolute number of individuals granted protection is minimal. The number of people ‘Recognized’ as refugees ranges from 0 to 30, and those granted ‘Complementary Protection’ range from 0 to 5.

In conclusion, the visualization demonstrates that asylum claims from French nationals are overwhelmingly rejected in the countries that handle the most such cases, reinforcing France’s status as a safe country of origin.

Solutions

Solutions

The pursuit of durable solutions for refugees remains a critical global challenge, a reality starkly illustrated by trends in France over the past several years. While solutions are the ultimate goal of international protection, the data reveals a significant and widening gap between the number of people being recognized as refugees and the availability of long-term pathways to stability.

In 2022, there was a dramatic, albeit temporary, increase in solutions, which saw an exceptional surge to nearly 30,000. This peak, significantly higher than the preceding years’ average of under 4,000, was largely driven by the collective response to the large-scale displacement from Ukraine, including the implementation of temporary protection schemes. This demonstrated that rapid, large-scale responses are possible in times of acute crisis.

However, this momentum was not sustained. By 2023, the number of solutions had fallen sharply to just over 10,000, with projections indicating a continued downward trend. Behind these stark numbers lies a more worrying trend: a widening chasm between protection needs and available solutions. While the number of individuals granted refugee status or subsidiary protection continued to climb, reaching a peak of over 43,000 in 2023, the solutions available to them have not kept pace. This constitutes a solutions gap of more than 33,000 people in that year alone, a figure that widened further in 2024.

This growing disparity underscores the immense pressure on national systems and highlights a growing cohort of recognized refugees for whom a durable, long-term solution remains elusive, extending their state of uncertainty. The exceptional response in 2022 serves as a powerful reminder of what can be achieved, yet the subsequent trend underscores the urgent need for sustained investment and political will to bridge the gap between granting protection and providing lasting solutions.

AI Insight: Column chart of the number of solutions for forcibly displaced people in France from 2019 to 2025, where the number of solutions peaked dramatically in 2022 before decreasing in subsequent years., This column chart displays the trend in the number of solutions for forcibly displaced people in France for each year from 2019 to 2025. The vertical axis represents the count of solutions, while the horizontal axis represents the year.

The data reveals a significant anomaly in 2022. After relatively moderate levels in 2019 (mean: 2,172), 2020 (mean: 932), and 2021 (mean: 930), the number of solutions surged to an exceptional peak in 2022, with a mean of 7,414 and a maximum recorded value of 23,000. This spike likely reflects the response to large-scale displacement from Ukraine and the implementation of temporary protection schemes. Following this peak, the numbers began to decline, with the mean dropping to 2,508 in 2023, 1,052 in 2024, and a projected further decrease to 384 in 2025. The overall trend shows that 2022 was an exceptional year, with figures significantly higher than any other year in the observed period.

AI Insight: Line and area chart of refugee recognitions versus available solutions in France from 2019 to 2025, where the number of recognitions is consistently and significantly higher than the number of available solutions., This time-series chart visualizes the gap between the number of refugee recognitions and the number of available durable solutions in France, from 2019 to 2025. The data shows two distinct trend lines: one for recognitions and one for solutions, with the area between them highlighting the disparity.

Detailed Analysis:

Refugee Recognitions (persons granted refugee status or subsidiary protection): The number of recognitions started at 30,129 in 2019. It saw a sharp dip to 18,868 in 2020, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on asylum processing. Following this, recognitions increased steadily, rising to 32,571 in 2021, 41,681 in 2022, and reaching a peak of 43,195 in 2023. The figure for 2024 is 40,749, with a projection of 19,007 for 2025.

Available Solutions (e.g., resettlement, voluntary repatriation, naturalization): The number of solutions has been more volatile and consistently lower than recognitions. Starting at 8,687 in 2019, it dropped to 3,730 in 2020 and 3,720 in 2021. There was a dramatic, anomalous spike in 2022, with solutions reaching 29,658, which significantly narrowed the gap with recognitions for that year. However, this was not sustained; solutions fell to 10,032 in 2023 and further to 4,208 in 2024. The projection for 2025 is 1,535.

Key Insight - The Solutions Gap: The central story of the chart is the significant and persistent gap between the number of people recognized as needing international protection and the durable solutions available to them. In 2023, this gap was at its widest, with 33,163 more recognitions than solutions (43,195 vs. 10,032). Even during the 2022 spike in solutions, a gap of 12,023 remained. The data for 2024 shows this gap widening again to 36,541, indicating a growing challenge in providing long-term solutions for recognized refugees in France.