Photo: NullAspect · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 25.2: Papaichton is younger than 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 35% in the typical compared French town, 10% of households are one person living alone here. At 3.2%, the share of households headed by a manager or professional is lower than in 97% of compared French towns. Papaichton counted 5,006 residents and 850 households at the 2023 Census. One in ten homes are second homes, or about one in ten.
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 Papaichton
Immigrants
INSEE counts 1,800 immigrants in Papaichton (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 37% of residents, against – for the median compared commune in French Guiana. 40% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
A young town
Half of Papaichton’s residents are under 25.2 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 34% are under 15 and 2.4% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
A town of families
42% of households are couples with children and 39% single parents with children; 34% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Papaichton had 6,097 residents at the 2012 census and 5,006 in 2023, down 18%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Papaichton’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
Here the change came as +9% to 2017, then −25% to 2023. Medians for comparison: +5% across compared French towns, ±0% in French Guiana.
Only 2.4% of residents are 65 or over in Papaichton
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Papaichton 25.2. The median compared French town: 44.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 97% of compared French towns: 16%. The usual figure: 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: France 51.8%.
42% of households are couples with children, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
By its share of single-parent households (39%), Papaichton is above 99% of compared French towns. A household here holds 5.1 people on average. Measured more widely, 25% of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town.
95% of households have no car, 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
5.5% of homes are flats (typical compared French town: 30%). In the typical compared French town, households without a car come to 11%. Across Papaichton, 0.5% of households rent social housing (HLM). Few places have so few empty homes: 0.6% here, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns.
6.3% of households are headed by a retired person, fewer than in 99% 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
Where 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town, Papaichton has 9.9%. Households headed by a retired person make up 32% in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A larger share of immigrants than 99% of compared French towns: 37%
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.
Two in five residents are foreign nationals; in the typical compared French town the figure is 4.3%. The share of immigrants in the typical compared French town is 6.5%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
A lower share of married residents than 99% of compared French towns, at 3.5%
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 a quarter of residents 15 and over are single in the typical compared French town, Papaichton has 63%. In the typical compared French town, married residents come to 43%.
Fewer graduates of higher education than 99% of compared French towns: 3.4%
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
With adults with no qualification at 75%, Papaichton is ahead of 99% of compared French towns on that count. Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
The youngest of 41 French towns of 4,951 to 5,062 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.
Papaichton is the youngest (25.2); Gruissan the oldest (58.6).
Papaichton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papaichton | 25.2 | 2.4% | 9.8% | 37% |
| Maripasoula 9,579 · 14.2 mi | 26.3 | 1.9% | 4.4% | 36% |
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 Papaichton
What is the population of Papaichton?
5,006 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 18% fewer than in 2012 (6,097).
How old are Papaichton’s residents?
The median age is 25.2, younger than 99% of compared French towns. 39% are under 18 and 2.4% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Papaichton?
93, with occasional dwellings: 9.8% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Papaichton?
INSEE counts 1,840 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 37% of residents, and 1,980 foreign nationals (40%). 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.