Older than 97% of compared French towns: half of Besse is over 57.5
30% of homes are flats in the typical compared French town, against 1.5% in Besse. At the 2023 Census, 148 people lived locally, in 79 households. Here, half of households are headed by a retired person. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Throughout this page, the Dordogne 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 Besse
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 38 second homes and occasional dwellings in Besse, 29% of its 130 homes: higher than in 95% 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 Besse’s residents are under 57.5 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 10% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Besse had 156 residents at the 2012 census and 148 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 88% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
29% of homes are second homes, more than in 95% 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, 6.7% of homes stand empty; in Besse, 11%. The share of second homes in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. The census found that 3.8% of households have no car here.
−5% since 2012: slower than 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
Over those years, the median Dordogne town changed −1% and the median compared French town +5%.
Besse sits below 99% of compared French towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (4.7%)
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Besse 57.5. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over: 34% here and 22% in the typical compared French town. The usual figure: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Dordogne 52.7%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Only 19% of households are couples with children in Besse
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 Dordogne 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 Besse comes in at 37%. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Measured more widely, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Average household size: 1.9 people.
Median standard of living: €24,800 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €24,800 a year: lower than in 63% of compared French towns.
25% of households are headed by a manual worker, a share 96% 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
Here 6.2% of households are headed by a manager or professional, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 9.4%. The comparison figure for households headed by a manual worker is 14% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
8.8% of residents are foreign nationals, more than in 77% 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.
The median compared commune in Dordogne has 5.4%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 68% of compared French towns. Elsewhere, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Locally, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents: 16%, a lower share than 99% 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
Where 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town, Besse has 45%. In the typical compared French town, single residents come to 25%.
17% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 93% 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
By its share of adults with no qualification (28%), Besse is above 87% of compared French towns. The benchmark for graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town: 30%.
Ranked by age, 5th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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.
Besse and its 5 nearest towns: 2 of them are older
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besse | 57.5 | 34% | 29% | 9.5% |
| Prayssac 2,519 · 11.5 mi | 62.3 | 45% | 12% | 9.4% |
| Fumel 4,690 · 13.4 mi | 54.6 | 34% | 6.6% | 17% |
| Gourdon 4,206 · 14.2 mi | 59.4 | 40% | 13% | 9.5% |
| Montayral 2,654 · 14.5 mi | 57.3 | 38% | 3.2% | 11% |
| Sarlat-la-Canéda 8,763 · 16.4 mi | 55 | 34% | 19% | 9.1% |
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 Besse
What is the population of Besse?
148 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (156).
How old are Besse’s residents?
The median age is 57.5, older than 97% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 34% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Besse?
38, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Besse?
INSEE counts 14 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.5% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (8.8%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Besse?
€24,800 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 9, 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.