Population census 

RP

The population census makes it possible to determine the official populations of France and its administrative districts.

It also provides statistics on the characteristics of the inhabitants (gender, age, profession, nationality, employment, etc.), households (composition, size, family ties, etc.) and their dwellings (type of dwelling, type of building, number of rooms, etc.).

The census data are disseminated every year.

Articles 156 to 158 of Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 on local democracy provide a framework for census operations. In particular, they define the partnership between INSEE and the municipalities for carrying out the census.

The municipalities - or the public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation (EPCI) - prepare and carry out the census surveys. INSEE organises and controls the data collection. It then collects the information, processes the questionnaires and disseminates the results.

Nearly 350 articles of laws or orders refer to the population of each administrative district. They concern the organization of the municipalities as well as our daily life: the State's allocations to the municipalities, the number of municipal councillors, the conditions for the establishment of pharmacies, the constitution of communities of agglomerations, the rates of certain taxes (advertising, games, shows, liquor stores, etc.). The results of the census are also used to plan the necessary community facilities (schools, hospitals, etc.).

The first census of the modern era took place in 1801. From 1946 onwards, when INSEE was founded, all municipalities were exhaustively enumerated at irregular intervals (every 6 to 9 years). These general population censuses ended in 1999.

Since 2004, the census has been based on an annual collection of information, successively concerning all municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants and 40% of dwellings in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants over a five-year period.

The first five Annual Census Surveys (ACS) were conducted from 2004 to 2008. They produced the results of the 2006 census, the mid-point of the period. Since then, each year, census results are produced from the five most recent annual surveys, dropping the information from the oldest survey and taking into account the new survey.

Survey

Annual