Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of Saint-Mathieu is over 59.3
Couples with children: 14%, below 94% of compared French towns. Few places have so few flats: 8.4% here, fewer than in 90% of compared French towns. At the 2023 Census, 1,085 people lived in Saint-Mathieu, in 570 households. Just over one in ten homes stand empty.
Throughout this page, the Haute-Vienne 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 Saint-Mathieu
One home in four is a second home
The census counted 220 second homes and occasional dwellings in Saint-Mathieu, 25% of its 890 homes: higher than in 94% of compared French towns. 99% 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 Saint-Mathieu’s residents are under 59.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 39% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 8.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Immigrants
INSEE counts 200 immigrants in Saint-Mathieu (people born abroad who weren’t French at birth, whatever their nationality now): 18% of residents, against 4.5% for the median compared commune in Haute-Vienne. 18% are foreign nationals. Immigrants and foreign nationals ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Saint-Mathieu had 1,140 residents at the 2012 census and 1,085 in 2023, down 5%: slower growth than in 87% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
25% of homes are second homes, more than in 94% 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
Here 7.3% of households have no car, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 11%. Second homes make up 2.1% in the typical compared French town. 1.7% of households rent social housing (HLM), or about one in 59.
Slower growth than 87% of compared French towns: Saint-Mathieu changed by −5% since 2012
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
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 97% of compared French towns: 39%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Saint-Mathieu 59.3. The median compared French town: 44.
5.6% of residents are 15 to 24; in the typical compared French town the figure is 11%. Elsewhere, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Haute-Vienne 52.5%, France 51.8%.
6.9% of households are single parents, below 91% 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 Haute-Vienne median and the France median
Living alone · share
One-person households make up 39%, against 35% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single-parent households is 10% in the typical compared French town.
Standard of living at the median: €22,640 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.
The midpoint of living standards here is €22,640 a year per consumption unit, lower than in 84% of compared French towns.
A larger share of households headed by a retired person than 97% of compared French towns: 50%
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
The figure for households headed by a manual worker is 12% in Saint-Mathieu and 14% in the typical compared French town. Compared with other places, households headed by a manager or professional are scarce here: 5.2%, fewer than in 84% of compared French towns. The wider picture: nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Saint-Mathieu: 18% of residents are immigrants, above 91% 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.
Compared with 4.3% in the typical compared French town, 18% of residents are foreign nationals here. Immigrants make up 6.5% 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.
Fewer single residents than 95% of compared French towns: 19%
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
Compared with 43% in the typical compared French town, half of residents 15 and over are married here. In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Below 86% of compared French towns: 20% of adults out of school hold a higher-education 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
Here 25% of adults out of school have no qualification, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 19%. Graduates of higher education make up 30% in the typical compared French town.
41 French towns of 1,085 to 2,582 people: this is the 4th oldest
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Prayssac the oldest (62.3).
Every neighbor is younger than Saint-Mathieu
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Mathieu | 59.3 | 39% | 25% | 18% |
| Rochechouart 3,603 · 9 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 11% | 6.4% |
| Nontron 3,057 · 13 mi | 54.9 | 35% | 10% | 6.8% |
| Saint-Junien 11,415 · 14.3 mi | 49.9 | 29% | 3.5% | 4.5% |
| Terres-de-Haute-Charente 3,777 · 14.9 mi | 53.6 | 31% | 5.1% | 7.6% |
| Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure 3,111 · 17.4 mi | 52 | 32% | 2.5% | 4.7% |
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 Saint-Mathieu
What is the population of Saint-Mathieu?
1,085 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 5% fewer than in 2012 (1,140).
How old are Saint-Mathieu’s residents?
The median age is 59.3, older than 98% of compared French towns. 13% are under 18 and 39% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Saint-Mathieu?
220, with occasional dwellings: 25% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Saint-Mathieu?
INSEE counts 200 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 18% of residents, and 190 foreign nationals (18%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Saint-Mathieu?
€22,640 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 8, 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.