Photo: Florence Mirval · CC BY-SA 4.0Couples with children make up 12% in Les Abymes, less than in 97% of compared French towns
Against a figure of 11% in the typical compared French town, the share of households without a car in Les Abymes comes in at 31%. The 2023 Census put the town’s population at 51,055, in 24,670 households. Households headed by a manager or professional account for 4.6%. 26% of households rent social housing (HLM), more than in 89% of compared French towns.
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 Les Abymes
Fewer residents than in 2012
Les Abymes had 58,606 residents at the 2012 census and 51,055 in 2023, down 13%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 6,130 homes empty (19%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Slower than most: −13% since 2012, behind 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 −9%, and from 2017 to 2023 −5%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Guadeloupe town ±0%.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 87% 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
■ Les Abymes 42.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 20%, against 22% in the typical compared French town. The median age in Les Abymes is 42.8, lower than in 60% of compared French towns. For comparison, 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
57% women, 43% men
About 76 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
Single-parent households make up 30% in Les Abymes, more than in 99% of compared French towns
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
The average household has 2.1 people. Higher than in 78% of compared French towns: 43% of households are one person living alone. As a reference point, one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town.
19% of homes stand empty, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
There is little gap on second homes: 2.7%, about the same as in the typical compared French town. For Les Abymes, the census puts flats at 43%. The share of empty homes in the typical compared French town is 6.7%.
25% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 83% 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
Across Les Abymes, 13% of households are headed by a manual worker. 4.6% of Les Abymes’ households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the median compared French town; 25% by a retired person (32%).
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Les Abymes ranks above 75% of compared French towns on foreign nationals: 8.3%
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.
Immigrants make up 7.7%, against 6.5% in the typical compared French town. That is higher than in 59% of compared French towns. Against that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals 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.
Les Abymes sits above 99% of compared French towns for single residents (57%)
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
Set against 43% in the typical compared French town, 24% of residents 15 and over are married in Les Abymes. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Les Abymes sits above 95% of compared French towns for adults with no qualification (32%)
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 graduates of higher education is 22%, against 30% in the typical compared French town. The wider picture: nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 11th oldest of 41 French towns of 47,167 to 55,252 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.
The youngest is Vaulx-en-Velin (32.5), the oldest Les Sables-d'Olonne (59.6).
Around Les Abymes, 4 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Abymes | 42.8 | 20% | 2.7% | 7.7% |
| Pointe-à-Pitre 15,040 · 2.8 mi | 37.5 | 18% | 15% | 11% |
| Le Gosier 27,757 · 4.6 mi | 45.8 | 21% | 19% | 7.2% |
| Morne-à-l'Eau 16,228 · 5.3 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 4.6% | 3.1% |
| Baie-Mahault 30,924 · 5.4 mi | 40.8 | 16% | 1.4% | 4.8% |
| Petit-Canal 8,212 · 7.5 mi | 48.5 | 22% | 5.2% | 3.6% |
| Petit-Bourg 24,665 · 7.9 mi | 44.3 | 19% | 6.7% | 3.5% |
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 Les Abymes
What is the population of Les Abymes?
51,055 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 13% fewer than in 2012 (58,606).
How old are Les Abymes’ residents?
The median age is 42.8, younger than 60% of compared French towns. 22% are under 18 and 20% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Les Abymes?
860, with occasional dwellings: 2.7% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Les Abymes?
INSEE counts 3,950 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 7.7% of residents, and 4,240 foreign nationals (8.3%). 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.