Bessé is older than 98% of compared French towns: a median age of 59
Here nearly one in ten households are couples with children, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 25%. 1.1% of homes are flats. On households without a car, Bessé sits lower than 99% of compared French towns: 1.6%.
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 Bessé
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 10 second homes and occasional dwellings in Bessé, 12% of its 84 homes: higher than in 90% 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 Bessé’s residents are under 59 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 9.4% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Bessé had 141 residents at the 2012 census and 120 in 2023, down 15%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 15 homes empty (18%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Bessé: 18% of homes stand empty, above 98% 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
2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town, against 12% in Bessé. The wider picture: 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. Of all households, 4.8% moved in during the last two years and 22% have stayed three decades or more. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
A −15% change since 2012: slower 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved −14%, and from 2017 to 2023 −1%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Charente town +1%.
Bessé ranks below 99% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 2.3%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Bessé 59. The median compared French town: 44.
Where just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town, Bessé has 34%. As a reference point, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Charente 52.4%, France 51.8%.
A higher share of single-parent households than 98% of compared French towns, at 17%
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
Each household has 2 people on average. On average, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Bessé has fewer one-person households than 59% of compared French towns, at 33%.
A typical living standard of €22,720 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.
Half of Bessé’s residents live in households with a standard of living below €22,720 a year per consumption unit, and half above: lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
Bessé ranks above 96% of compared French towns on households headed by a manual worker: 25%
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
By its share of households headed by a retired person (42%), Bessé is above 87% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town. Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Above 77% of compared French towns: 8.6% 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.
Compared with 6.5% in the typical compared French town, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants here. That is higher than in 64% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Charente has 4.8%. The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%.
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 single residents than 99% of compared French towns: 13%
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 married residents is 46%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. By way of comparison, a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town.
Graduates of higher education: 18%, a lower share than 90% 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 share of adults with no qualification trails 84% of compared French towns: 13%. By way of comparison, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 4th oldest of 41 French towns of 120 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.
Ages run from 37.2 in Villejust to 62.3 in Prayssac.
Bessé is younger than 1 of its 5 nearest neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bessé | 59 | 34% | 12% | 8.6% |
| Ruffec 3,449 · 7.7 mi | 55.8 | 37% | 4.9% | 10% |
| Rouillac 2,919 · 13.4 mi | 49.3 | 30% | 5.7% | 2.6% |
| La Boixe 2,841 · 13.6 mi | 45.7 | 25% | 3.8% | 1.7% |
| Civray 2,522 · 16.7 mi | 61 | 43% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| Champniers 5,281 · 17.9 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 1.7% | 2.4% |
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 Bessé
What is the population of Bessé?
120 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 15% fewer than in 2012 (141).
How old are Bessé’s residents?
The median age is 59, older than 98% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Bessé?
10, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Bessé?
INSEE counts 10 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.6% of residents, and 10 foreign nationals (8.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Bessé?
€22,720 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 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.