PARIS, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) - A long-term decline in the population of Paris has been put in reverse, according to statistics released Monday, which showed a gain of 28,000 inhabitants between 1999 and 2005.

A total of 2,153,600 inhabitants was recorded in an official census in January 2005, which meant an increase of 1.3 percent on the previous study, Paris city hall said.

Between 1975 and 1999, the city lost some 171,000 of its population, largely as a result of rising housing costs which continue to push lower and middle income families into the suburbs.

The turnabout is largely caused by a high birth rate in the capital, according to the report. It noted that 20 percent of Parisians are now under 20, compared to 18 percent in 1999.

The population of Paris has been steadily falling from its peak of three million in 1921, while the suburbs -- or banlieues -- have continued to expand. Today the greater Paris area contains some 10 million people.

Copyright AFP

Subject: French news, Paris