A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of compared French towns, at 2.4%
In Serval, 11% of homes are flats, beside 30% in the typical compared French town. The town is home to 42 residents in 20 households, by the 2023 Census. 14% fewer people than in 2012. Empty homes are more common here than in 83% of compared French towns.
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 Serval
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 5 second homes and occasional dwellings in Serval, 18% of its 28 homes: higher than in 92% 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
Serval had 49 residents at the 2012 census and 42 in 2023, down 14%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
50% of Serval’s households are one person: higher than in 94% of compared French towns; 50% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
18% of homes are second homes, more than in 92% 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
Some 5% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 20% who have been there 30 years or more. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. Households without a car: a tenth of the total.
Serval changed by −14% from 2012 to 2023, behind 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +6%, and from 2017 to 2023 −19%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Aisne town −4%.
Serval is younger than 84% of compared French towns: a median age of 39
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Serval 39. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 24%, against 22% in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
45% women, 55% men
About 121 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Aisne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of one-person households than 94% of compared French towns, at 50%
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
On average, 2.1 people share a household. Against that, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Couples with children make up 25%, close to the figure in the typical compared French town.
More households headed by a retired person than 97% of compared French towns: 50%
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 manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Serval, 2.4% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 88% of compared French towns
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.
Foreign nationals are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
Single residents: 21%, a lower share than 88% of compared French towns
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
47% of residents 15 and over are married; in the typical compared French town the figure is 43%. Single residents make up 25% in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 21%, a lower share than 84% 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
Set against 19% in the typical compared French town, 21% of adults out of school have no qualification in Serval. The wider picture: 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (42 to 2,582 people), the 2nd youngest
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.
Every neighbor is older than Serval
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serval | 39 | 24% | 18% | 2.4% |
| Fismes 5,850 · 3.1 mi | 43.6 | 23% | 1.5% | 3.1% |
| Fère-en-Tardenois 2,836 · 13.2 mi | 47.8 | 28% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Villeneuve-sur-Aisne 2,792 · 14.3 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 1.3% | 2.4% |
| Laon 24,220 · 14.8 mi | 40.8 | 21% | 1.8% | 9.4% |
| Saint-Brice-Courcelles 3,566 · 15 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 0.6% | 3.9% |
| Villeneuve-Saint-Germain 2,616 · 15 mi | 42.3 | 21% | 1.3% | 12% |
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 Serval
What is the population of Serval?
42 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 14% fewer than in 2012 (49).
How old are Serval’s residents?
The median age is 39, younger than 84% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 24% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Serval?
5, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Serval?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.4% 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 4, 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.