5.3% of residents are 15 to 24, below 99% of compared French towns
One-person households: 20% here and 35% in the typical compared French town. La Besace’s 54 households held 133 residents at the 2023 Census. The census found that 1.7% of homes are flats here. Lower than in 83% of compared French towns: 5.6% of households have no car.
Throughout this page, the Ardennes 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 La Besace
Growing fast
La Besace had 105 residents at the 2012 census and 133 in 2023, up 27%: faster growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+27% since 2012, a pace 95% of compared French towns didn’t match
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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Ardennes town −9%. The first five years brought +34%; the six to 2023, −6%.
La Besace ranks above 79% of compared French towns on residents aged 65 and over: 28%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Besace 41.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The median age in La Besace is 41.5, lower than in 69% of compared French towns. On average, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 108 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ardennes 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children make up 30% in La Besace, more than in 75% 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.
Against the Ardennes median and the France median
Living alone · share
Each household has 2.5 people on average. For couples with children, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 25%. Single-parent households are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 10%.
Empty homes: 5.2%, a lower share than 72% 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
Second homes: 3.4% here and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Meanwhile, households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Typically, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. 1.9% of households arrived within the last two years, while 33% have stayed 30 years or more.
A median of €24,110 a year per consumption unit
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.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
Half of La Besace’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €24,110 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 70% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 10% in La Besace, less than in 77% of compared French towns
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of households headed by a retired person is 32%; La Besace has 30%. The benchmark for households headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town: 14%. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
La Besace ranks below 97% of compared French towns on immigrants: 1.5%
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.
0.8% of residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. On average, 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.
In La Besace, 52% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 97% 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
Single residents: 20% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Above 84% of compared French towns: 27% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
Against a figure of 30% in the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education in La Besace comes in at 24%. For comparison, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 133 to 2,582 people: this is the 7th 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Every neighbor is older than La Besace
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Besace | 41.5 | 28% | 3.4% | 1.5% |
| Sedan 16,667 · 9.9 mi | 45 | 24% | 1.3% | 8% |
| Carignan 2,680 · 10.5 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 1.8% | 7.2% |
| Vrigne aux Bois 3,518 · 13.5 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 1.2% | 4.3% |
| Vivier-au-Court 2,732 · 13.9 mi | 42.4 | 20% | 0.4% | 11% |
| Vouziers 3,825 · 15.9 mi | 55.5 | 35% | 2.3% | 1.8% |
| Villers-Semeuse 3,615 · 16.2 mi | 49.6 | 27% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
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 La Besace
What is the population of La Besace?
133 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 27% more than in 2012 (105).
How old are La Besace’s residents?
The median age is 41.5, younger than 69% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 28% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Besace?
2, with occasional dwellings: 3.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Besace?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.5% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Besace?
€24,110 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.