The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs report reveals where they are – and how many are returning home
“Are the new neighbors speaking French?”
The answer is “very possibly.” They might be among the estimated 2.5 million French people living outside France as expats. Of course, this answer also depends on where in the world you live.
France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) has released its report on French citizens living abroad in 2022. The annual report itself is huge (and in French). So, in this short article, we cut through the “officialese” to reveal the top ten most popular countries for French expats for that year. We’ll pick out the noticeable trends and investigate which countries gained in popularity as a destination and which might be losing their appeal for French expats.
The Number of French Expats Is Growing
As of the 31st of December 2022, 1,683,915 French citizens were officially registered as expats. This number was 4.3% higher than the figure in 2021. It’s worth noting that although the French Government strongly recommends French expats register with them, it’s not required that expats do so. MEAE conservatively estimates that the total number of French expats living (more or less permanently) outside of France is probably closer to 2.5 million.
So, with no further ado, who are the winners – where are the top 10 emigration destinations?
The Top 10 Countries for French Expats
- Switzerland
- United States of America
- United Kingdom
- Belgium
- Canada
- Germany
- Spain
- Israel
- Morocco
- Italy
What Do We Know About the Top 10?
- The top five countries in this list each host a community of over 100,000 French people. Put together those people are 40.5% of all French expats.
- Countries numbers six to ten have more than 33,000 French expats each; countries #11 Luxembourg and #12 Algeria each have more than 32,000 registered people.
- All but two of the top 10 countries (Switzerland and Italy) saw their French expat populations increase.
- The top 10 countries include all of France’s major neighbors, countries with strong historical and cultural ties to France (Morocco, Algeria, Israel and Canada) and the largest economy in the world (the United States).
The same 12 countries have remained the most popular for expats in 2020, 2021 and 2022, with only the rankings shifting slightly from year to year. This indicates that French expats’ preferences for a new home have remained largely unchanged in recent times.
What Regions are French Expats Living In?
Almost a third (27.9%) of registered French expats live in countries within the European Union. This is more than the 21.0% of French expats living in non-EU countries in continental Europe. More than 20% of French expats live in the Americas (North, Central and South). The Middle East and North Africa have 15.2% of registered French expats. Asia-Oceania represents 7.8% of the registered expat population, which is roughly the same as those living in Africa (apart from North Africa).
- In 2022, the population of registered French expats grew by at least 10% in 37 countries, including Canada, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the Netherlands, Thailand, Ireland, Japan and Sweden.
- All of the Baltic countries saw their French communities increase significantly from 2021 to 2022: +25.1% in Estonia, +14.4% in Latvia and +17.9% in Lithuania.
- In both China and Russia, the number of French expats decreased by about 7%.
- The French expat population went down by 11.6% in Mali and by 36.1% in Ukraine.
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Brexit and French Expats
French expats seem to have adapted to “Brexit” (the term for the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on January 31, 2021). The population of registered French expats living in the United Kingdom increased by 4.5% between 2021 and 2022. 142,233 French expats were living in that country as of December 31, 2022, a slight decline from the 144,084 living there two years earlier. The United Kingdom is still #3 among expat countries for the French.
French Emigration and Covid-19
Thanks in part to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions, the number of French expats sharply declined in 2020 and 2021. However, that downward movement reversed in 2022. Though French expat levels haven’t reached pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, 2022 was the first year to see an increase in French expats since 2017.
Who Are the French Expats?
The Ministry’s report contains some statistical information about French citizens living abroad, such as their gender, age, and dual nationality. The male to female split of French expats is almost equal: 50.1 % of expats are female and 49.9% are male. Among expats, 75% are over 18 years old. People in their golden years, meaning those over 60 years, make up 15% of registered French expats.
Many French expats live abroad for years. Nearly three quarters of these French expats have been registered as such for more than five years. Only 7.2% of expats have less than a year on this registry. French expats who have dual nationality with their country of residence make up 31.8% of those registered.
French expats tend to be more highly educated than global expats. According to an Internations survey, 11% have a Ph.D. and 65% have at least a master’s degree.
Why Do French Expats Move Abroad?
The government report does not offer explanations for French expats choosing to live abroad. However, other sources tell us that, in just over 50% of cases, expats’ departures from France are motivated by professional reasons. Many French expats arrive in their new countries hoping to find better work opportunities, and roughly 86% of them work full time in their new land. You can find French expats in all types of jobs, but the top five areas are IT, finance, education, manufacturing and engineering.
The French magazine Management asked French expats what motivated them to emigrate. The answers ranged widely. Some were what you might expect: because jobs are rare, because wages are blocked, because the hierarchy weighs upon us, because the taxman is strangling us, and because the apartments are too expensive. Other responses were purely personal and sometimes whimsical: because I’m having a mid-life crisis, because depression is contagious, and because I want to go where the grass is greener, the sun more present and the relationships warmer.
Family also plays an important role in expats’ decision to emigrate. French people mainly go abroad as a couple or as a family. 75% of French expats brought their entire families, including dependent children, to their new land. Almost 95% of French expats live as a couple and left France together with their spouse. Many French left France to be closer to members of their family, their spouse or even to discover their roots. In fact, a third of these expats are retirees.
Now that you know more about French expats, perhaps now is the time to say “Bonjour!” to the new neighbors. Of course, when you talk to them, you’ll find each expat has stories as different and interesting as they are.