Older than 98% of compared French towns: half of Vivès is over 59.4
Set against 6.7% in the typical compared French town, 2.8% of homes stand empty in Vivès. Put another way, about one in 24: 4.2% of households have no car. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The town is home to 190 residents in 91 households, by the 2023 Census.
Throughout this page, the Pyrénées-Orientales 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 Vivès
One home in three is a second home
The census counted 39 second homes and occasional dwellings in Vivès, 29% of its 130 homes: higher than in 95% of compared French towns. 43% 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 Vivès’ residents are under 59.4 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 37% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 6.1% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
29% of homes in Vivès are second 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
Recent arrivals (under two years) make up 15% of households; long-stayers (30 years or more) 12%. At 21%, the share of flats is lower than in nearly two thirds of compared French towns. The usual figure: 2.1% of homes are second homes in the typical compared French town.
Vivès grew +10% from 2012 to 2023, ahead of 71% 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
From 2012 to 2017 the population moved +2%, and from 2017 to 2023 +8%; the median compared French town changed +5% and the median Pyrénées-Orientales town +10%.
5.1% of residents are 15 to 24, below 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
■ Vivès 59.4. The median compared French town: 44.
In the typical compared French town, 22% of residents are 65 or over; in Vivès, 37%. The wider picture: 11% of residents are 15 to 24 in the typical compared French town.
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Pyrénées-Orientales 52.6%, France 51.8%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Vivès sits below 70% of compared French towns for couples with children (21%)
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 Pyrénées-Orientales median and the France median
Living alone · share
The typical household size is 2.1 people. Against that, a quarter of households are couples with children in the typical compared French town. Here, 32% of households are one person living alone.
€27,180 a year: the median standard of living
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.
Half of Vivès’ residents live in households with a standard of living below €27,180 a year per consumption unit, and half above: higher than in 63% of compared French towns.
Above 87% of compared French towns: 21% of households are headed by a manual worker
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 nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Vivès has 37%. 16% of households are headed by a manager or professional, more than in 79% of compared French towns. By way of comparison, 14% of households are headed by a manual worker in the typical compared French town.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
More foreign nationals than 70% of compared French towns: 7.1%
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.
The median compared commune in Pyrénées-Orientales has 7.9%; immigrants here make up a share higher than in 61% of compared French towns. Against that, 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town. Here, nearly one in ten residents are immigrants.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Vivès: 55% of residents 15 and over are married, above 99% 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
By its share of single residents (17%), Vivès is below 99% of compared French towns. Against that, 43% of residents 15 and over are married in the typical compared French town.
13% of adults out of school have no qualification, fewer than in 82% 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
30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town, against 36% in Vivès. To put it in context, nearly a fifth of adults out of school have no qualification in the typical compared French town.
Among 41 French towns of 190 to 2,582 people, 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).
Around Vivès, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivès | 59.4 | 37% | 29% | 8.1% |
| Céret 7,521 · 2.8 mi | 57 | 37% | 13% | 8.9% |
| Maureillas-las-Illas 3,006 · 3.5 mi | 55.4 | 33% | 13% | 8.3% |
| Le Boulou 5,487 · 3.7 mi | 54 | 35% | 13% | 11% |
| Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda 3,529 · 5.7 mi | 60.7 | 43% | 54% | 9.1% |
| Thuir 8,243 · 7.1 mi | 49.8 | 27% | 2.1% | 9% |
| Ponteilla 3,101 · 7.4 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 2.3% | 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 Vivès
What is the population of Vivès?
190 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 10% more than in 2012 (172).
How old are Vivès’ residents?
The median age is 59.4, older than 98% of compared French towns. 15% are under 18 and 37% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Vivès?
39, with occasional dwellings: 29% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Vivès?
INSEE counts 15 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 8.1% of residents, and 13 foreign nationals (7.1%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Vivès?
€27,180 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 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.