Matha is older than 97% of compared French towns: a median age of 57.2
Compared with 12% in the typical compared French town, 2.1% of households rent social housing (HLM) here. Matha is home to 2,191 residents in 1,110 households, by the 2023 Census. 52% of households are headed by a retired person. On one-person households, Matha sits higher than 84% of compared French towns: 45%.
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Matha
An older town
Half of Matha’s residents are under 57.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 40% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 14% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 160 homes empty (12%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−1% since 2012, a pace below 72% 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 years 2012 to 2017 brought −2%; 2017 to 2023, +1%. Over the whole period the median compared French town changed +5%, and the median Charente-Maritime town +8%.
In Matha, 40% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% 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
■ Matha 57.2. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (8.2%), Matha is below 91% of compared French towns. As a yardstick, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente-Maritime 53.1%, France 51.8%.
Matha sits below 95% of compared French towns for couples with children (13%)
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 Charente-Maritime median and the France median
Living alone · share
There are 1.8 people in the average household. At 9.9%, the share of single-parent households is lower than in 51% of compared French towns. To put it in context, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
In Matha, 12% of homes stand empty, more than in 88% 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
The figure for second homes is 3.5% in Matha and 2.1% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, flats are scarce here: 14%, fewer than in 80% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town.
At the median, €22,910 a year to live on
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 residents live in households above €22,910 a year per consumption unit and half below; the level is lower than in 82% of compared French towns. Poverty touches 21.0% of residents.
A smaller share of households headed by a manager or professional than 77% of compared French towns: 5.9%
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 14% in the typical compared French town, 16% of households are headed by a manual worker here. Set beside that, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A smaller share of immigrants than 84% of compared French towns: 2.8%
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.
With foreign nationals at 2%, Matha is behind 78% of compared French towns on that count. 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.
Married residents: 41%, a lower share than 62% 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
Compared with other places, single residents are scarce here: 25%, fewer than in 51% of compared French towns. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 16%, a lower share than 95% 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
Adults with no qualification make up 34%, against 19% in the typical compared French town. As a yardstick, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
5th highest median age among 41 French towns of 2,191 to 2,582
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Matha is older than every town around it
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matha | 57.2 | 40% | 3.5% | 2.8% |
| Val-de-Cognac 3,471 · 8.6 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély 6,784 · 11.1 mi | 56 | 36% | 4.6% | 4.5% |
| Cognac 18,532 · 12 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Châteaubernard 3,878 · 12.8 mi | 49.5 | 29% | 1.9% | 4.8% |
| Rouillac 2,919 · 13.3 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 5.7% | 2.6% |
| Jarnac 4,486 · 14.4 mi | 52.5 | 33% | 3.8% | 4.5% |
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 Matha
What is the population of Matha?
2,191 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (2,205).
How old are Matha’s residents?
The median age is 57.2, older than 97% of compared French towns. 14% are under 18 and 40% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Matha?
46, with occasional dwellings: 3.5% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Matha?
INSEE counts 61 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.8% of residents, and 44 foreign nationals (2%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Matha?
€22,910 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 21.0% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 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.