These pages contain several sets of tables for France as a whole, including the overseas départements but not the other French overseas territories, collectivities and countries. For other data on France, refer to the section on Metropolitan France, for which more complete and consistent datasets are available over long periods.

Until recently, the demographic data published by INSEE covered metropolitan France only, excluding the overseas départements (départements d'outre-mer, DOM) and territories (térritoires d'outre-mer,TOM). Since 2003, the status of these DOM-TOMs has changed. The DOMs (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana) have become DOM-ROMs (départements et régions d'outre mer), French Polynesia and New Caledonia have become overseas countries (pays d'outre-mer, POM). Wallis & Futuna and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon have become overseas collectivities (collectivités d'outre-mer, COM) while Mayotte, which was already a COM, has become a "collectivité départemental d'outre-mer" and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories maintain their status as a TOM.

INSEE includes the DOMs in its annual demographic report. The detailed annual volume on the French demographic situation includes the DOMs in most of its tables.