54% of homes are second homes, a share 98% of compared French towns don’t reach
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. There were 25 households in Buzan at the 2023 Census, home to 47 residents. Empty homes account for 14%. Where 30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, Buzan has 3.8%.
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 Buzan
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 43 second homes and occasional dwellings in Buzan, 54% of its 79 homes: higher than in 98% 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
Buzan had 28 residents at the 2012 census and 47 in 2023, up 68%: faster growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Many people living alone
60% of Buzan’s households are one person: higher than in 99% of compared French towns; 33% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
An older town
Half of Buzan’s residents are under 54.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 38% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 4.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A higher share of households without a car than 57% of compared French towns, at 12%
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 in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 11% of households have no car in the typical compared French town.
From 2012 to 2023, Buzan outgrew 99% of compared French towns: +68%
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 years 2012 to 2017 brought +4%; 2017 to 2023, +62%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Ariège town +2%.
Half of Buzan is over 54.5, older than 93% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Buzan 54.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 38%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. 2.1% of residents are 15 to 24.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
60% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% 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 Ariège median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 1.9 people. By way of comparison, 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
A higher share of households headed by a retired person than 99% of compared French towns, at 60%
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: 20% here and 14% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 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).
Above 97% of compared French towns: 21% of residents are foreign nationals
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 share of immigrants is 17%, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in 89% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Ariège has 9.1%. Measured more widely, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Above 96% of compared French towns: 38% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Married residents: 32% here and 43% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, 25% of residents 15 and over are single.
In Buzan, 5.6% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer 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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Buzan has 47%. Adults with no qualification make up 19% in the typical compared French town.
Of 41 French towns its size (47 to 2,582 people), the 7th 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.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
No nearby town is as old as Buzan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buzan | 54.5 | 38% | 54% | 17% |
| Saint-Girons 6,008 · 9.6 mi | 51.9 | 33% | 6.7% | 9.1% |
| Saint-Gaudens 12,139 · 16.9 mi | 50.1 | 31% | 2.3% | 11% |
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 Buzan
What is the population of Buzan?
47 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 68% more than in 2012 (28).
How old are Buzan’s residents?
The median age is 54.5, older than 93% of compared French towns. 21% are under 18 and 38% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Buzan?
43, with occasional dwellings: 54% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Buzan?
INSEE counts 8 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 17% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (21%). 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 October 30, 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.