The French population has been growing more slowly due to a decrease in fertility rates. Contraception is used by only a third of women of childbearing age, but this low usage is not the main reason for the declining birth rate. Most French couples believe that having two children is ideal, but this is not enough to maintain a stable population. If every woman had 2.6 children, the French population in 2100 would be 131 million, with a lower population density compared to Germany, Holland, and Belgium.