The .fr top-tevel domain is a vital tool for the digital transformation of our economy. And its growing popularity has been resoundingly affirmed with over 4.5 million .fr domain names registered to date. It is the preferred Internet TLD among VSEs/SMEs: 62% of these businesses with a domain name opted for .fr as their first choice (vs 33% for .com), establishing its pivotal role in digital sovereignty.
After a robust start to the year, the .fr TLD has reached the 4.5 million domain names milestone. The number of .fr domain names is increasing annually and growth of the national TLD has been particularly strong in 2026. An additional 200,000 .fr domain names were registered in the past 10 months, whereas previously only 100,000 names were registered over a 13-month period.
In October 2024, the national TLD passed the 4.2 million domain names mark, before reaching 4.3 million in November 2025. Less than one year later, it crossed the 4.5 million domain names milestone in September 2026. The twofold gain in names over a shorter period is evidence of this shift in pace.
This momentum continues on the back of a year marked by a historic 853,000 creations in 2025. As of May 2026, 54 of the 100 highest rating days for .fr domain name creations since the start of the year had been recorded, confirming the exceptional vitality of the national TLD.
This growth is proof that .fr is continuing to take hold among users. Businesses, associations, local authorities and private individuals still represent the majority of those choosing this trusted TLD, managed and operated in France, as a means to affirm their sovereign digital identity.
The document is a graph titled “.fr domain name registrations over 40 years”, illustrating the evolution of the number of .fr domains from 1986 to 2026.
It shows exponential growth, starting from 0 in 1986 and reaching 4,500,000 in 2026.
Key milestones are marked:
0 in 1986, 300,000 in 2004, 1,000,000 in 2008, 2,000,000 in 2011, 3,000,000 in 2016, 4,000,000 in 2022 and 4,500,000 in 2026.
The graph highlights the strong expansion of the .fr domain over the decades, with a notable acceleration from 2004 onwards. It features the .fr logo and a clear layout with a blue curve and light blue background to emphasize the progression.
About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .gf (French Guiana), .gp (Guadeloupe), .mq (Martinique), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .re (Reunion Island), .tf (French Southern Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 100 employees.
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