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56.7median age
Who lives here · INSEE, census 2023

Half of Besmont is over 56.7, older than 96% of compared French towns

43% of households are headed by a retired person, against 32% in the typical compared French town. On the census count, just over a fifth of households are couples with children. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The 2023 Census put Besmont’s population at 132, in 68 households.

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 · In brief

What stands out about the people of Besmont

One home in four is a second home

The census counted 24 second homes and occasional dwellings in Besmont, 24% of its 100 homes: higher than in 94% 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

Besmont had 158 residents at the 2012 census and 132 in 2023, down 16%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓

An older town

Half of Besmont’s residents are under 56.7 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 30% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓

Immigrants

INSEE counts 0 immigrants in Besmont (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 17% of residents, against 5.7% for the median compared commune in Aisne. 14% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓

Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.

Homes & cars

In Besmont, 24% of homes are second homes, more than in 94% 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.

24second homes and occasional dwellings, 24% of Besmont’s 100 homes

All homes · share of homes

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
Main residences67%
Second homes24%
Empty8.9%
0%50%100%

Type of home

Besmont
Aisne median
France median
HousesFlats

Cars per household · share of households

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
No car10%
One car46%
Two or more44%
0%30%60%

Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Here, 8.9% of homes stand empty. One household in 10 has no car (median compared French town: 11%).

Population

Since 2012, Besmont has changed by −16%, 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.

Census 2012
158
residents
Census 2017
152
residents
Census 2023
132
residents
in today’s commune boundaries

2012 to 2023

Besmont−16%
Aisne median−4%
France median+5%

2017 to 2023

Besmont−13%
Aisne median−2%
France median+2%

In two steps, −4% to 2017 and −13% after, the town’s change compares with +5% for the median compared French town and −4% in Aisne.

Ages

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 95% of compared French towns: 7.6%

Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.

Age groups · share of residents

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
Under 159.1%
15 to 247.6%
25 to 4415%
45 to 6439%
65 and over30%
of whom 80 and over11%
0%25%50%

Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns

2535455565

■ Besmont 56.7. The median compared French town: 44.

Residents aged 65 and over make up 30%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. Set beside that, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Besmont
Aisne median
France median
WomenMen

About an even split. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.

Households

In Besmont, 36% of households are one person living alone, more than in 53% of compared French towns

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.

One person 36%Couple, no children 36%Couple with children 21%Single parent 0%Several people, not a family 7.1%

Against the Aisne median and the France median

Besmont
Aisne median
France median
One personCouple, no childrenCouple with childrenSingle parentSeveral people, not a family

Living alone · share

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
One-person households36%
Residents 65+ living alone36%
0%25%50%

Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The wider picture: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. A household here holds 1.9 people on average.

Income

The middle resident’s standard of living: €22,520 a year

The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.

Median standard of living
€22,520
a year, per consumption unit (2023)
Medians: Aisne €20,680 · France €25,970

Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.

The midpoint of living standards here is €22,520 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 85% of compared French towns.

Households by occupation

A larger share of households headed by a manual worker than 88% of compared French towns: 21%

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

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
Retired43%
Managers and professionals0%
Intermediate occupations0%
Clerical and service workers21%
Manual workers21%
Craftspeople, shopkeepers, business owners7.1%
Farmers7.1%
Others not working0%
0%25%50%
Unemployment rate
6.3%
of economically active residents 15 to 64 (census 2023)
Median of compared communes: 10.1%
Working residents
60
aged 15 or older

Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against 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).

Immigrants and foreign nationals

Besmont ranks above 90% of compared French towns on immigrants: 17%

INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.

Immigrants
23
17% of residents
Median of compared communes: 6.5%
Foreign nationals
19
14% of residents
Median of compared communes: 4.3%

Share of residents · census 2023

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
Immigrants17%
Foreign nationals14%
0%10%20%

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.

The share of foreign nationals is 14%, against 4.3% in the typical compared French town. Immigrants make up 6.5% in the typical compared French town.

INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.

Couples

Besmont ranks above 97% of compared French towns on married residents: 53%

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

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
Married53%
In a civil partnership (PACS)3.3%
Living together, unmarried12%
Single20%
Divorced0.8%
Widowed12%
0%30%60%

Compared with 25% in the typical compared French town, a fifth of residents 15 and over are single here. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.

Qualifications

Besmont ranks below 88% of compared French towns on graduates of higher education: 19%

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

BesmontAisne medianFrance median
No diploma (or primary certificate)30%
Brevet13%
CAP or BEP (vocational)23%
Baccalauréat15%
Bac+27%
Bac+3 or bac+411%
Bac+5 or more0.9%
0%20%40%

Here 30% of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%.

Towns its size

5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 132 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.

Besmont 56.7
VillejustPrayssacNoyen-sur-Sarthe
365064

Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).

Neighbors

Besmont is older than every town around it

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.

Saint-MichelHirsonVervinsAnorFourmiesWignehiesBesmont
Under 3838–4444–5050–5656+
TownMedian age65+Second homesImmigrants
Besmont56.730%24%17%
Saint-Michel
3,199 · 6.6 mi
46.524%2.5%3.4%
Hirson
8,469 · 6.9 mi
43.624%0.9%4.4%
Vervins
2,549 · 9.5 mi
42.223%2.2%4.2%
Anor
3,099 · 11.4 mi
41.321%3%6.6%
Fourmies
11,449 · 13.7 mi
42.523%0.9%2.6%
Wignehies
2,804 · 14.1 mi
42.724%1.5%2.1%
More about Besmont

Health, work, housing and schools

How to read these numbers

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 Besmont

What is the population of Besmont?

132 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% fewer than in 2012 (158).

How old are Besmont’s residents?

The median age is 56.7, older than 96% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 30% 65 or older.

How many second homes are there in Besmont?

24, with occasional dwellings: 24% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.

How many immigrants live in Besmont?

INSEE counts 23 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 17% of residents, and 19 foreign nationals (14%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.

What is the median income in Besmont?

€22,520 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). Source: INSEE, Filosofi.

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 9, 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.