2.9% of residents are 65 or over, below 99% of compared French towns
In the typical compared French town, the share of flats is 30%; Bestiac has 6.7%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 35, in 16 households. Across Bestiac, 6.3% of households rent social housing (HLM). Half are older than 45.5, older than 60% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Ariège 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 Bestiac
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 14 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bestiac, 47% of its 30 homes: higher than in 97% 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 ↓
Growing fast
Bestiac had 20 residents at the 2012 census and 35 in 2023, up 75%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
A town of families
33% of households are couples with children and 0% single parents with children; 11% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bestiac: 47% of homes are second homes, above 97% 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
Households without a car are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
A growing town: +75% since 2012, faster 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
The first five years brought −5%; the six to 2023, +84%.
Bestiac is older than 60% of compared French towns: a median age of 45.5
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bestiac 45.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as in the typical compared French town, at 11%.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of couples with children than 88% of compared French towns, at 33%
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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. There are 2.2 people in the average household. Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in Bestiac comes in at 33%.
Bestiac sits above 55% of compared French towns for households headed by a retired person (33%)
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. For comparison, 32% 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).
Fewer foreign nationals than 67% of compared French towns: 2.9%
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.
The median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%; immigrants here make up a share lower than in 57% of compared French towns. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. The census found that 5.7% of residents are immigrants in Bestiac.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A smaller share of married residents than 96% of compared French towns: 32%
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
About one in four: that is how common single residents are in Bestiac (26%). As a reference point, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Bestiac sits below 99% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (3.4%)
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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 28% in Bestiac and 30% in the typical compared French town. The share of adults with no qualification in the typical compared French town is 19%.
Of 41 French towns its size (35 to 2,582 people), the 21st oldest
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.
No nearby town is as young as Bestiac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bestiac | 45.5 | 2.9% | 47% | 5.7% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 10.9 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 11.8 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Foix 9,934 · 16.3 mi | 46.8 | 27% | 7.6% | 15% |
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 Bestiac
What is the population of Bestiac?
35 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 75% more than in 2012 (20).
How old are Bestiac’s residents?
The median age is 45.5, older than 60% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 2.9% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bestiac?
14, with occasional dwellings: 47% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bestiac?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 5.7% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (2.9%). 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.