Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Bessac is over 57.5
3.2% of households have no car; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Bessac is home to 122 residents in 63 households, by the 2023 Census. For Bessac, the census puts households headed by a retired person at 54%. Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Charente 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 Bessac
One home in six is a second home
The census counted 17 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bessac, 18% of its 94 homes: higher than in 92% 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 ↓
An older town
Half of Bessac’s residents are under 57.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 17% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 14 homes empty (15%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 18% of its homes
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
In the typical compared French town, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in Bessac, 15%. Typically, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
−1% since 2012, a pace below 73% 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
Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, +1% in Charente. Here the change came as −13% to 2017, then +14% to 2023.
Residents aged 65 and over: 37%, a higher share than 96% 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
■ Bessac 57.5. The median compared French town: 44.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 6.6% in Bessac and 11% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%.
Bessac ranks above 64% of compared French towns on one-person households: 38%
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 median and the France median
Living alone · share
Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Across the comparison, just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town. For Bessac, the census puts couples with children at 23%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,540 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.
The median standard of living in Bessac is €23,540 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 77% of compared French towns.
Households headed by a manual worker make up 7.7% in Bessac, less than in 88% 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, 9.4% of households are headed by a manager or professional; in Bessac, 7.7%. Set beside that, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
In Bessac, 4.9% of residents are immigrants, fewer than in 64% of compared French towns
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Bessac comes in at 3.3%. As a yardstick, 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 98% of compared French towns: 53% 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
19% of residents 15 and over are single; in the typical compared French town the figure is 25%. For married residents, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 43%.
19% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 88% 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: 21%, above 61% of compared French towns. For comparison, 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 122 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).
No nearby town is as old as Bessac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessac | 57.5 | 37% | 18% | 4.9% |
| Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire 4,726 · 7.4 mi | 52.1 | 32% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Roullet-Saint-Estèphe 4,357 · 11.3 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 1.4% | 2.9% |
| Châteauneuf-sur-Charente 3,550 · 11.7 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 2.9% | 6.4% |
| La Couronne 7,765 · 13.6 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 2.1% | 6.3% |
| Saint-Michel 3,196 · 15.7 mi | 49.8 | 32% | 2.4% | 8.2% |
| Angoulême 41,908 · 17.1 mi | 39.9 | 21% | 3.1% | 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 Bessac
What is the population of Bessac?
122 at INSEE’s 2023 census, about the same as in 2012 (123).
How old are Bessac’s residents?
The median age is 57.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessac?
17, with occasional dwellings: 18% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessac?
INSEE counts 6 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.9% of residents, and 4 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessac?
€23,540 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.