PARIS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 830,000 babies were born in France in 2006, the largest figure in more than two decades, according to official statistics released on Tuesday.

    The increase, combined with immigrants and lower mortality rate, pushed the total population to 63.39 million by the end of the reported year, said a report released by France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Study.

    Meanwhile, average lifespan has grown as well, for male, over 77 years old, and female, 84.

    The people at the age of 65 or above accounted for more than 16percent of the total population, or nearly 10.3 million, the report said.

    The number of people in Paris proper was 2.15 million, and the total population of metropolitan Paris stood at 11.49 million.