Does France have more people than Italy?
Yes. France has more people than Italy: about 68.7 million against 58.9 million (World Bank estimates for 2025), 1.2 times as many.
France has more people, but Italy is more crowded: 199 people per km² of land against 128.
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Why it surprises
France and Italy are neighbours with famous cities, long histories and similar places in many people’s minds, so their populations seem likely to be about equal. France has clearly more, though: about 68.7 million against 58.9 million in the World Bank’s 2025 estimates, almost ten million more. One thing that can make the French total look inflated is that it includes the overseas departments, such as Réunion and Guadeloupe. That is not the reason, however. France’s statistics office counted about 66.4 million people in mainland France alone at the start of 2025, while Italy’s counted about 58.9 million residents at about the same time, so even without its overseas regions France is well ahead. France also has much more land, about 539,000 km² against 296,000 km², and is less crowded: about 128 people per km² against Italy’s 199.
Sources for this explanation
- World Bank: api.worldbank.org, checked 25 October 2026
- Insee: insee.fr, checked 25 October 2026
- Istat: istat.it, checked 25 October 2026
Where the numbers come from
Population and area: The World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Total population (SP.POP.TOTL) for 2025. Details: France and Italy.
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