French departments by legal population (2013)

This table lists the 101

French departments In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...

in descending order of population, area and population density.

Data description

The figures include: *

population without double counting Population without double counting is an English translation of the French phrase ''Population sans doubles comptes''. In France, for the purposes of the census, the INSEE has defined several population indicators that allow people who live in ...

for 1999; * ''municipal population'' (legal population in 2008, with effect from 1 January 2011)Populations légales 2008: Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble
INSEE published i
decree No. 2010-1723 of 30 December 2010
as amended by Decree No. 2011-343 of 28 March 2011 which corresponds to data compiled as at 1 January 2008. * ''municipal population'' (legal population in 2019 with effect from 1 January 2022)Populations légales des départements en 2019
INSEE, 29 December 2021. The total population takes into account double counting.

Evolution

Between 1999 and 2006 all French departments have grown in population with the exception of the following seven departments: Allier and Cantal in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

, Creuse in

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

, Ardennes and Haute-Marne in

Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the ...

, Nièvre in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

, and Vosges in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

. See

population decline A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...

for more information. In contrast the seven departments that have gained the most population in absolute value are Haute-Garonne, Gironde, Bouches-du-Rhône, Seine-Saint-Denis, Loire-Atlantique, Hauts-de Seine, and Hérault.

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and ...

has seemingly lost population between 1999 and 2008. However, this diminution of the legal population is due to the creation of the overseas communities of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in Englis ...

and Saint Martin. In the 1999 census, the population of Guadeloupe without the arrondissement of Saint-Martin-Saint-Barthélemy was 386,566 inhabitants. The department's population has actually increased by more than 15,000 people over the period based on a constant territory.

List of departments by descending population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of French Departments By Population * Lists by population Ranked lists of country subdivisions