Half of Merlines is over 56, older than 95% of compared French towns
The figure for households headed by a manager or professional is 5.5% in Merlines and 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Here, 16% of households are couples with children. 15% of households have no car, a higher share than in 69% of compared French towns. This Corrèze town had 741 residents in 360 households at the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Corrèze 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 Merlines
One home in eight is a second home
The census counted 63 second homes and occasional dwellings in Merlines, 12% of its 520 homes: higher than in 89% of compared French towns. 92% 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 Merlines’ residents are under 56 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 13% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Empty homes
The census found 97 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Many people living alone
48% of Merlines’ households are one person: higher than in 90% of compared French towns; 29% of residents 65 and over live alone. Households ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
19% of homes stand empty, more than in 99% 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
In the typical compared French town, 2.1% of homes are second homes; in Merlines, 12%. Flats are rarer here than in 58% of compared French towns. The comparison figure for empty homes is 6.7% in the typical compared French town. Put another way, about one in 11: 9.3% of households rent social housing (HLM).
−5% since 2012, a pace below 88% 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 change was −8%; from 2017 to 2023, +3%.
Merlines ranks below 95% of compared French towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 7.4%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Merlines 56. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 22% in the typical compared French town, 34% of residents are 65 or over in Merlines. As a yardstick, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Corrèze 51.9%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Merlines sits below 99% of compared French towns for single-parent households (4.1%)
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 Corrèze median and the France median
Living alone · share
Against a figure of 35% in the typical compared French town, the share of one-person households in Merlines comes in at 48%. On average, 10% of households are single parents in the typical compared French town. Households average 1.8 people.
Median living standard: €24,590 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.
Living standards centre on €24,590 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 65% of compared French towns.
38% of households are headed by a retired person, a share 78% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
Set against 14% in the typical compared French town, just over one in ten households are headed by a manual worker in Merlines. In the typical compared French town, nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A lower share of immigrants than 85% of compared French towns, at 2.7%
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 Merlines comes in at 1.6%. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
A smaller share of married residents than 80% of compared French towns: 38%
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
About one in four: that is how common single residents are in Merlines (25%). Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
A smaller share of graduates of higher education than 73% of compared French towns: 23%
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 adults with no qualification is 21% in Merlines and 19% in the typical compared French town. In the typical compared French town, the share of graduates of higher education is 30%.
Of 41 French towns its size (741 to 2,582 people), the 5th 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).
Merlines and the towns 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlines | 56 | 34% | 12% | 2.7% |
| Ussel 9,187 · 9.5 mi | 48.1 | 27% | 4.5% | 10% |
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 Merlines
What is the population of Merlines?
741 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (779).
How old are Merlines’ residents?
The median age is 56, older than 95% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Merlines?
63, with occasional dwellings: 12% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Merlines?
INSEE counts 20 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.7% of residents, and 12 foreign nationals (1.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Merlines?
€24,590 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.