Half of Challement is over 61, older than 99% of compared French towns
40% of households are headed by a manager or professional, against 9.4% in the typical compared French town. Households without a car make up about one in 26 here (3.8%). Challement has more empty homes than nearly three quarters of compared French towns, at 9.1%. Census day 2023: 45 residents and 25 households locally.
Throughout this page, the Nièvre 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 Challement
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 34 second homes and occasional dwellings in Challement, 52% of its 65 homes: higher than in 98% of compared French towns. 100% 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 Challement’s residents are under 61 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 46% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 20% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Challement had 61 residents at the 2012 census and 45 in 2023, down 26%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Challement: 52% of homes are second homes, above 98% 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
Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
−26% since 2012, a pace below 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
For comparison, the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Nièvre town −8%. The first five years brought −16%; the six to 2023, −12%.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of compared French towns: 46%
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Challement 61. The median compared French town: 44.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 6.5%, against 11% in the typical compared French town. Against that, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%.
Below 74% of compared French towns: 20% of households are couples with children
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 Nièvre median and the France median
Living alone · share
The average household has 1.8 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. In the typical compared French town, couples with children come to 25%. Where just over a third of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town, Challement has 40%.
Households headed by a retired person make up 20% in Challement, less than in 95% 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
Households headed by a manual worker are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. Set beside that, 32% 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).
Fewer immigrants than 90% of compared French towns: 2.2%
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.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Challement has 2.2%. Elsewhere, 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.
In Challement, 31% of residents 15 and over are single, more than in 83% 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
Here 44% of residents 15 and over are married, where the figure in the typical compared French town is 43%. The comparison figure for single residents is 25% in the typical compared French town.
In Challement, 6.7% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, fewer than in 99% 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 adults out of school have no qualification (typical compared French town: 19%). Graduates of higher education: 30% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
Ranked by age, 4th oldest of 41 French towns this size
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 Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
Challement 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challement | 61 | 46% | 52% | 2.2% |
| Clamecy 3,544 · 10.2 mi | 49.8 | 31% | 6.8% | 11% |
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 Challement
What is the population of Challement?
45 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 26% fewer than in 2012 (61).
How old are Challement’s residents?
The median age is 61, older than 99% of compared French towns. 2.2% are under 18 and 46% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Challement?
34, with occasional dwellings: 52% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Challement?
INSEE counts 1 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 2.2% of residents, and 1 foreign nationals (2.2%). 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.