Photo: Enrevseluj · CC BY-SA 4.0In Basse-Terre, 11% of households are couples with children, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Households without a car: 40%, above 98% of compared French towns. For Basse-Terre, the census puts households headed by a manager or professional at 3.9%. Half of the town’s residents are over 48.4, older than in 76% of compared French towns. This Guadeloupe town had 9,417 residents in 4,520 households at the 2023 census.
Throughout this page, the Guadeloupe 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 Basse-Terre
Fewer residents than in 2012
Basse-Terre had 11,534 residents at the 2012 census and 9,417 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 1,560 homes empty (25%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Social housing
28% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 28% rent privately and 36% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Basse-Terre’s population moved −18% on 2012, less than in 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
Against +5% for the median compared French town and ±0% for the median Guadeloupe town, the change came in two steps: −13% from 2012 to 2017, then −6% to 2023.
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 88% of compared French towns: 13%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Basse-Terre 48.4. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 26%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. On average, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Basse-Terre ranks above 99% of compared French towns on single-parent households: 29%
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 Guadeloupe median and the France median
Living alone · share
45% of households are one person living alone; in the typical compared French town the figure is 35%. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
More empty homes than 99% of compared French towns: 25%
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
8.8% of households moved in less than two years ago; 26% have been in their home 30 years or more. Elsewhere, 6.7% of homes stand empty in the typical compared French town. At 28%, the share of households in social housing is higher than in 91% of compared French towns. On top of that, the share of flats tops just over two thirds of compared French towns: 44%.
Basse-Terre sits below 70% of compared French towns for households headed by a manual worker (11%)
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
A third of households are headed by a retired person. 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).
9.6% of residents are foreign nationals, a share 80% of compared French towns don’t reach
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 figure for immigrants is 8.2% in Basse-Terre and 6.5% in the typical compared French town. For comparison, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in just over three fifths of compared French towns.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Below 99% of compared French towns: 21% 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
25% of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, against 59% in Basse-Terre. The comparison figure for married residents is 43% in the typical compared French town.
More adults with no qualification than 99% of compared French towns: 37%
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
Graduates of higher education make up 16%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. Across the comparison, 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
8th highest median age among 41 French towns of 9,275 to 9,554
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Vert-Saint-Denis (35.7), the youngest, and Carqueiranne (57.9), the oldest.
Among its 6 nearest neighbors, 5 are older than Basse-Terre
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basse-Terre | 48.4 | 26% | 1.2% | 8.2% |
| Baillif 5,096 · 1.9 mi | 51 | 29% | 8.1% | 6.1% |
| Gourbeyre 7,307 · 2.7 mi | 49.6 | 24% | 5.4% | 4% |
| Saint-Claude 10,177 · 3.2 mi | 48 | 24% | 3.3% | 4.3% |
| Vieux-Habitants 7,077 · 4.8 mi | 52.5 | 27% | 3.4% | 3.7% |
| Trois-Rivières 7,415 · 6 mi | 52.2 | 27% | 4.6% | 3.7% |
| Bouillante 6,127 · 9.7 mi | 54.1 | 28% | 12% | 2% |
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 Basse-Terre
What is the population of Basse-Terre?
9,417 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (11,534).
How old are Basse-Terre’s residents?
The median age is 48.4, older than 76% of compared French towns. 20% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Basse-Terre?
71, with occasional dwellings: 1.2% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Basse-Terre?
INSEE counts 770 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.2% of residents, and 900 foreign nationals (9.6%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
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.