A larger share of second homes than 98% of compared French towns: 54%
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (4.5%), Orlu is below 99% of compared French towns. The town had 157 residents in 82 households at the 2023 census. Flats: 6.2% of the total. On households headed by a manual worker, Orlu sits lower than 94% of compared French towns: 5.9%.
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 Orlu
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 100 second homes and occasional dwellings in Orlu, 54% of its 190 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 95% 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
Orlu had 188 residents at the 2012 census and 157 in 2023, down 16%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Orlu’s residents are under 53.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 32% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 11% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Households in social housing: 4.9%, a lower share than 87% 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
Of all households, 13% moved in during the last two years and 34% have stayed three decades or more. For households in social housing, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 12%. 7.3% of households have no car, fewer than in 71% of compared French towns. What’s more, the share of empty homes is 4.1%, against 6.7% in the typical compared French town.
Orlu’s population moved −16% on 2012, less than in 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
Here the change came as −15% to 2017, then −2% to 2023.
A median age of 53.2: Orlu is older than 91% 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
■ Orlu 53.2. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, nearly a third of residents are 65 or over in Orlu.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Ariège 52.2%, France 51.8%.
Fewer couples with children than 83% of compared French towns: 18%
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
One-person households make up 41%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. Orlu has more single-parent households than three quarters of compared French towns, at 12%. On average, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. The average household has 1.9 people.
A typical living standard of €24,010 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.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
At €24,010 a year per consumption unit, the median standard of living here is lower than in 71% of compared French towns.
Fewer households headed by a retired person than 98% of compared French towns: 18%
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
Compared with 9.4% in the typical compared French town, 5.9% of households are headed by a manager or professional here. Households headed by a retired person: 32% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Below 98% of compared French towns: 1.3% of residents are immigrants
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: 0.6%, below 98% of compared French towns. As a reference point, 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.
Above 89% of compared French towns: 49% of residents 15 and over are married
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
The share of single residents is 21%, against 25% in the typical compared French town. As a reference point, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Adults with no qualification make up 14% in Orlu, less than in 78% 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
The figure for graduates of higher education is 24% in Orlu and 30% in the typical compared French town. Elsewhere, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 7th oldest of 41 French towns of 157 to 2,582 people
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).
Around Orlu, 1 of 2 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlu | 53.2 | 32% | 54% | 1.3% |
| Lavelanet 5,987 · 16.1 mi | 54.4 | 33% | 12% | 14% |
| Tarascon-sur-Ariège 3,085 · 17.6 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 8% | 18% |
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 Orlu
What is the population of Orlu?
157 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 16% fewer than in 2012 (188).
How old are Orlu’s residents?
The median age is 53.2, older than 91% of compared French towns. 19% are under 18 and 32% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Orlu?
100, with occasional dwellings: 54% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Orlu?
INSEE counts 2 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 1.3% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (0.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Orlu?
€24,010 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 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.