63 186 117 inhabitants: that is the official population figure of France as of 1 January 2006. For the first time, INSEE has published population figures for each of the 36 681 communes in France drawn from the new census. The new census method, based on annual census surveys and rotating samples, allows to update the population figurs every year at all geographical levels. This method, world wide unique, guarantees moreover the best quality monitoring of the produced data.

Paper presented at the 57th Session of the International Statistical Institute (ISI), Durban (South Africa), August 2009.

[In French only]