Afnic, the .fr registry, is publishing the 2021 edition of the .fr review, which details the activity of the French TLD over 2021 and analysis of its market. The finding: the .fr TLD has maintained its momentum and corroborates the digital transformation in France.

Towards Consolidated Uses

Like 2020, the year 2021 saw exceptional conditions, with the persistence of the health crisis. As registry for the .FR TLD, Afnic was well placed to observe the adaptation of French society to these exceptional conditions, particularly from the viewpoint of the digital transition process.

Following on from a historical record in .fr domain name creations in 2020 (793,441), the 776,514 in 2021 have confirmed the take-up of digital benefits by French users, with registrations still up 12% as compared to 2019.

These changes result from the change of pace in the digital transformation, which led numerous VSEs and SMEs to develop their online activities. This dynamic remained strong in 2021, although a slowdown has been seen with businesses that still do not have an online presence becoming increasingly rare.

This performance also outstrips that of the French market for all TLDs combined, which stood at +3.6%, and exceeds that of the EU zone (+2.9%) and the global market (+0.7%). The retention rate also improved, reaching 84.6% compared with 83.9% in 2020. The age structure of .FR domain names has contributed so far to the TLD’s stability but also to its growth.

.fr Still on the Rise in France With 38.75% of Market Share

Posting higher growth than the local market, the .fr TLD has seen its market share continue to increase, reaching 38.75% in 2021 (compared to 38.0% in 2020). This 0.8-point increase exceeds that of the .com TLD at 0.6 points. It is also interesting to note that the market share of .fr has constantly risen for the past five years, with a total increase of 3.1 points, while .com has only gained 1.9 points.

2022 Outlook for the .fr

Prospects for the .FR TLD in 2022 is determined by two phenomena, the extent of which it is difficult to predict:

• on the one hand, the persistent dynamic, albeit slowing at a more or less pronounced rate, of the digital transformation, which will play a decisive role for create operations;
• on the other hand, the economic context, which may work in favour of this digital transformation while at the same time leading to business failures and a slowdown in investments and new projects.

Download the 2021 review of the .fr TLD here.

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 .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic 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 organisation, donates 90% of its profits to its 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 80 employees. For more information, visit www.afnic.fr.