A median age of 63.3: Fertrève is older than 99% of compared French towns
Compared with 32% in the typical compared French town, 73% of households are headed by a retired person here. The 2023 Census put Fertrève’s population at 89, in 51 households. In Fertrève, 1.9% of households have no car. Fewer couples with children than in 81% of compared French towns: 18%.
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 Fertrève
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 35 second homes and occasional dwellings in Fertrève, 35% of its 100 homes: higher than in 96% 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 Fertrève’s residents are under 63.3 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 46% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 1.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Fertrève had 133 residents at the 2012 census and 89 in 2023, down 33%: slower growth than in 99% of compared French towns. Population ↓
Empty homes
The census found 14 homes empty (14%): for sale, to let, awaiting work or simply unused. Homes & cars ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
A town of second homes: 35% of its homes
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
Flats are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. For second homes, the comparison in the typical compared French town is 2.1%. The census found that 14% of homes stand empty in Fertrève.
Slower growth than 99% of compared French towns: Fertrève changed by −33% 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
Over those years, the median Nièvre town changed −8% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −24%, then −12% to 2023.
Above 99% of compared French towns: 46% of residents are 65 or over
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Fertrève 63.3. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (6.5%), Fertrève is below 98% of compared French towns. To put it in context, 22% of residents are 65 or over in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Nièvre 53.7%, France 51.8%.
More one-person households than 55% of compared French towns: 36%
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
There are 1.7 people in the average household. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The usual figure: 35% of households are one person living alone in the typical compared French town.
In Fertrève, 27% of households are headed by a manual worker, more 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
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
A higher share of immigrants than 70% of compared French towns, at 9.8%
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.
Against a figure of 4.3% in the typical compared French town, the share of foreign nationals in Fertrève comes in at 7.6%. The median compared commune in Nièvre has 5.9%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 70% of compared French towns. On average, 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.
56% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 99% of compared French towns don’t reach
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
In the typical compared French town, the share of single residents is 25%; Fertrève has 17%. Typically, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
18% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 90% 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
Where 19% of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town, Fertrève has 18%. The share of graduates of higher education in the typical compared French town is 30%.
The oldest of 41 French towns of 89 to 2,582 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.
Villejust is the youngest (37.2); Fertrève the oldest (63.3).
No nearby town is as old as Fertrève
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fertrève | 63.3 | 46% | 35% | 9.8% |
| La Machine 3,192 · 7.7 mi | 54.8 | 35% | 6.2% | 4% |
| Decize 4,932 · 11.5 mi | 56.7 | 37% | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| Imphy 3,182 · 15.3 mi | 51.3 | 31% | 2.6% | 6.5% |
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 Fertrève
What is the population of Fertrève?
89 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 33% fewer than in 2012 (133).
How old are Fertrève’s residents?
The median age is 63.3, older than 99% of compared French towns. 11% are under 18 and 46% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Fertrève?
35, with occasional dwellings: 35% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Fertrève?
INSEE counts 9 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 9.8% of residents, and 7 foreign nationals (7.6%). 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 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.