Younger than 97% of compared French towns: half of La Possession is under 34.8
By its share of households headed by a retired person (15%), La Possession is below 99% of compared French towns. In La Possession, 17% of households have no car. Few places have so few one-person households: 28% here, fewer than in 85% of compared French towns. Census day 2023: 36,568 residents and 14,390 households locally.
Throughout this page, the Réunion 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 La Possession
A young town
Half of La Possession’s residents are under 34.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 24% are under 15 and 10% are 65 or older. Ages ↓
Growing fast
La Possession had 30,653 residents at the 2012 census and 36,568 in 2023, up 19%: faster growth than in 89% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
+19% since 2012, a pace 89% of compared French towns didn’t match
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 median Réunion town changed +6% and the median compared French town +5%; here the first five years brought +8% and the next six +11%.
In La Possession, 10% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% of compared French towns
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ La Possession 34.8. The median compared French town: 44.
Compared with 11% in the typical compared French town, 12% of residents are 15 to 24 here. As a reference point, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Réunion 51.8%, France 51.8%.
More single-parent households than 99% of compared French towns: 22%
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 Réunion median and the France median
Living alone · share
Couples with children: 30% here and 25% in the typical compared French town. The comparison figure for single-parent households is 10% in the typical compared French town.
Households in social housing: 23%, a higher share than 83% 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
At 1.3%, second homes sit close to the figure in the typical compared French town. More flats than in 66% of compared French towns: 42%. Households in social housing make up 12% in the typical compared French town. Empty homes account for 5.4%.
Per consumption unit, the median standard of living is €23,650 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.
Per consumption unit, half of residents live on more than €23,650 a year: lower than in 75% of compared French towns. Some 24.8% of residents fall below the poverty line.
A larger share of households headed by a manager or professional than 68% of compared French towns: 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
In La Possession, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker. Set beside that, 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).
La Possession sits below 94% of compared French towns for foreign nationals (1%)
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.
2.5% of residents are immigrants (typical compared French town: 6.5%). The share of foreign nationals in the typical compared French town is 4.3%. Immigrants make up a share lower than in 86% of compared French towns; the median compared commune in Réunion has 1.6%.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Single residents make up 38% in La Possession, more than in 96% of compared French towns
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
35% of residents 15 and over are married (typical compared French town: 43%). In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%.
Adults with no qualification: 23%, a higher share than 70% of compared French towns
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
A third of La Possession’s residents 15 and over who have left education hold a higher-education diploma, against 30% in the median compared French town; 23% have no diploma (19%).
Among 41 French towns of 34,708 to 38,477 people, the 6th youngest
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 Saint-Martin-d'Hères (29.9), the oldest Saint-Raphaël (58.9).
No nearby town is as young as La Possession
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Possession | 34.8 | 10% | 1.3% | 2.5% |
| Le Port 33,969 · 2.6 mi | 36.2 | 14% | 0.8% | 4.8% |
| Saint-Paul 108,088 · 7.1 mi | 40.3 | 15% | 7.3% | 1.6% |
| Saint-Denis 155,634 · 8.8 mi | 37 | 15% | 1.8% | 6.2% |
| Les Trois-Bassins 7,221 · 11.4 mi | 41.4 | 15% | 2.7% | 1.1% |
| Salazie 7,268 · 12.7 mi | 39.4 | 15% | 7.3% | 0.7% |
| Sainte-Marie 37,093 · 12.9 mi | 36.1 | 12% | 1.6% | 2.7% |
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 La Possession
What is the population of La Possession?
36,568 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 19% more than in 2012 (30,653).
How old are La Possession’s residents?
The median age is 34.8, younger than 97% of compared French towns. 29% are under 18 and 10% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in La Possession?
200, with occasional dwellings: 1.3% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in La Possession?
INSEE counts 930 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.5% of residents, and 370 foreign nationals (1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in La Possession?
€23,650 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970); 24.8% of residents live below the poverty line. 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 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.