Back to home page

 France (Paris)

ECONOMIE ET STATISTIQUE

MAY-JUNE 1992 - NUMBER 254-255
93.23.01 - French - Michel CYNCYNATUS and 
Nicole DUVAL, Division Agriculture, INSEE, blvd. Adolphe Pinard, 
75675 Paris Cédex 14 (France)
The Decline in the Farming Population is Likely to Continue (La 
population agricole devrait continuer à baisser)
In 1990, one economically active person out of 17 was a farmer 
whereas, in 1954, it was one out of every four. Between 1982 and 
1990, the economically active farming community lost almost half a 
million people and only the larger farms were spared from these 
losses. As of today, the activity rate in French farming is 
drawing closer to that of its partners in the developed world. The 
farming population which is mainly composed of men, remains aged. 
The slight rejuvenation observed in recent years will not last: 
the replacement of farmers who retire from the community - at 
progressively younger ages - by young workers is too low. If the 
trends observed between the two most recent censuses do not 
improve, there will only be 700,000 farmers by the year 1998. 
(FRANCE, AGRICULTURAL POPULATION, AGEING)

Back to home page