Half of Kourou is under 28.3, younger than 99% of compared French towns
22% of households are one person living alone, against 35% in the typical compared French town. Kourou had 24,824 residents in 7,870 households at the 2023 census. Here, just over one in ten households are headed by a retired person. Higher than in just over four fifths of compared French towns: 10% of homes stand empty.
Throughout this page, the French Guiana 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 Kourou
Immigrants
INSEE counts 8,000 immigrants in Kourou (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 32% of residents, against – for the median compared commune in French Guiana. 36% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Kourou’s residents are under 28.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 29% are under 15 and 6.4% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Social housing
31% of households rent from a social landlord (HLM), 27% rent privately and 35% own their home. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
−3% since 2012: slower than 80% 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
The first five years brought +1%; the six to 2023, −3%. For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median French Guiana town ±0%.
Only 6.4% of residents are 65 or over in Kourou
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Kourou 28.3. The median compared French town: 44.
Set against 11% in the typical compared French town, 17% of residents are 15 to 24 in Kourou. In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
More single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 28%
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 French Guiana median and the France median
Living alone · share
Households average 3.1 people. The usual figure: one in ten households are single parents in the typical compared French town. At 32%, the share of couples with children is higher than in 82% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households without a car than 96% of compared French towns: 31%
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
The share of flats tops 63% of compared French towns: 40%. For households without a car, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 11%. Second homes account for 6.4%. On households in social housing, Kourou sits higher than 93% of compared French towns: 31%.
Kourou ranks above 69% of compared French towns on households headed by a manager or professional: 13%
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
Locally, 15% of households are headed by a manual worker. For comparison, nearly one in ten households are headed by a manager or professional in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Immigrants: 32%, a higher share than 99% 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.
In the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals is 4.3%; Kourou has 36%. The usual figure: 6.5% of residents are immigrants 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.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 49% of residents 15 and over are single
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
Married residents make up 28%, against 43% in the typical compared French town. The share of single residents in the typical compared French town is 25%.
Above 98% of compared French towns: 35% of adults out of school have no qualification
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
Where 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, Kourou has 26%. As a reference point, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 23,559 to 26,211 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.
Kourou is the youngest (28.3); Biarritz the oldest (55.2).
Kourou 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kourou | 28.3 | 6.4% | 6.4% | 32% |
| Macouria 19,899 · 15.3 mi | 26.4 | 5.9% | 2.9% | 27% |
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 Kourou
What is the population of Kourou?
24,824 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 3% fewer than in 2012 (25,490).
How old are Kourou’s residents?
The median age is 28.3, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 36% are under 18 and 6.4% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Kourou?
610, with occasional dwellings: 6.4% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Kourou?
INSEE counts 8,000 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 32% of residents, and 8,850 foreign nationals (36%). 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 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.