A town of second homes: 12% of its homes
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. 104 residents in 46 households: that is Berlise at the 2023 Census. The share of households headed by a retired person stands at 44%. In the typical compared French town, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 11%; Berlise has 13%.
Throughout this page, the Aisne median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of Berlise
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 7 second homes and occasional dwellings in Berlise, 12% of its 58 homes: higher than in 90% of compared French towns. 100% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Berlise had 123 residents at the 2012 census and 104 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
8.8% of homes stand empty, more than in 71% of compared French towns
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Here, 11% of households have no car. Some 4.3% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 28% who have been there 30 years or more.
A −15% change since 2012: slower than 99% of compared French towns
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
Against +5% for the median compared French town and −4% for the median Aisne town, the change came in two steps: −10% from 2012 to 2017, then −6% to 2023.
Berlise is older than 83% of compared French towns: a median age of 50
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Berlise 50. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 24% in Berlise and 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
Below 64% of compared French towns: 22% of households are couples with children
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Aisne median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.3 people. The usual figure: a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are more common here than in 66% of compared French towns. By contrast, the figure for one-person households is 33% in Berlise and 35% in the typical compared French town.
Only 11% of households are headed by a manual worker in Berlise
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Berlise ranks below 99% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1%
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A higher share of married residents than 76% of compared French towns, at 47%
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
The share of single residents stands at 25%. In the median compared French town 43% are married and 6.1% in a PACS; here it is 47% and 4.5%, and 13% are widowed.
Graduates of higher education make up 13% in Berlise, less than in 99% of compared French towns
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
By its share of adults with no qualification (40%), Berlise is above 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
14th highest median age among 41 French towns of 104 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Villejust (37.2), the youngest, and Prayssac (62.3), the oldest.
No nearby town is as old as Berlise
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlise | 50 | 24% | 12% | 1% |
| Vervins 2,549 · 14.8 mi | 42.2 | 23% | 2.2% | 4.2% |
| Rethel 7,444 · 15.7 mi | 47 | 26% | 1.8% | 2.6% |
| Villeneuve-sur-Aisne 2,792 · 16.6 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| Saint-Michel 3,199 · 17.8 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in Berlise
What is the population of Berlise?
104 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (123).
How old are Berlise’s residents?
The median age is 50, older than 83% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Berlise?
7, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Berlise?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1% of residents, and 0 foreign nationals (0%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 8, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.