On January 1, 2019, Occitania had 5,933,185 inhabitants according to an INSEE publication made public this Wednesday, December 29. Occitanie is the 5th most populous region.
Figures from the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) on the French population are still eagerly awaited. This Wednesday, December 29, the institute delivered those of the 2019 census.
Haute-Garonne and Hérault: the locomotives of the region
On January 1, 2019, Occitania had 5,933,185 inhabitants; it thus ranks fifth among the most populous French regions, behind Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, New Aquitaine, Hauts-de-France and ahead of the Grand Est. Our region confirms its dynamism since it gained an average of 41,600 inhabitants each year between 2013 and 2019, the equivalent of municipalities such as Alès or Castres.
After Guyana and Corsica, Occitanie shares with the Pays de la Loire the third place of the regions of France for the rate of demographic growth: + 0.7% per year against + 0.4% on the national average.
Municipal population of departments on January 1, 2019
“The growth of the population is mainly due to a number of arrivals in the region greater than the number of departures. This migratory surplus is the second highest in France (excluding Mayotte) in terms of rate (+ 0.7% on average per year) after Corsica (+ 1.1%), but the first in absolute value with 38,000 additional inhabitants per year. year. On the other hand, natural increase, which is measured by the difference between the number of deaths and births, remains in Occitanie one of the lowest regions of France (+ 0.1% per year), “observes INSEE.
Unsurprisingly, among the thirteen departments of Occitanie, Haute-Garonne and Hérault are distinguished by strong population growth which places them in the leading pack of metropolitan departments: Haute-Garonne occupies first place with Gironde (+ 1.3% per year), while Hérault is tied with Haute-Savoie and Loire-Atlantique (+ 1.2%). In these departments, which are also very populated, the excess of births over deaths is added to a particularly high migratory surplus (+ 0.7% in Haute-Garonne and +1% in Hérault). Only Tarn-et-Garonne and Gard also benefit from a natural increase (+ 0.1% per year). In the nine other departments, deaths outnumber births.
Population on January 1, 2019
But beware, the natural surplus is decreasing sharply: in Occitania, the increase in population slows down between 2013 and 2019 (+ 0.7% per year) compared to the period 2008-2013 (+ 1.0%). The migratory surplus decreases to reach 38,000 additional inhabitants per year, against +42,700 per year over the previous cycle, and the natural surplus shows a net decline to +3,600 people per year, warns INSEE, which notes that, as in France, under the effect of a decline in fertility and an aging of the population, the natural balance is widening in the departments of Occitanie compared to the previous period (2008-2013).
Another lesson from the INSEE publication that will surprise no one: the weight and training capacity of the two metropolitan areas Toulouse and Montpellier.
Municipal population of agglomerations with more than 50,000 inhabitants on January 1, 2019
“Within the region, the urban framework concentrates most of the population growth. Montpellier is the agglomeration (urban unit) of more than 1,00,000 inhabitants in mainland France, where the demographic growth is the strongest between 2013 and 2019 (+ 1.7% per year). That of Toulouse, with a population which is increasing by 1.4% per year, is located in fifth place nationally, behind the agglomerations of Geneva-Annemasse (French part), Bordeaux and Nantes “, indicates INSEE which underlines that” the agglomerations of Toulouse and Montpellier combine strong migratory and natural surpluses. Elsewhere in the region, INSEE notes that in agglomerations of more than 50,000 inhabitants, the migratory surplus is generally the engine of demographic growth, the natural balance being often low or negative. And to quote Montauban (+1.0;%), and certain agglomerations located along the Mediterranean coast (Lunel, Béziers, Narbonne, Saint-Cyprien).
The data from INSEE being those for 2019, so before the Covid pandemic, it will be interesting to see the evolution of the populations of medium-sized cities (Rodez, Castres, Mazamet, Cahors, etc.) which we have rediscovered on the occasion of the health crisis the quality of life.