BASSE-NORMANDIE - Population
The 8th of March 1999, Lower Normandy accounted 1 422 200 inhabitants. Between 1990 and 1999 the population has increased by 30 500. This increase mainly took place in Calvados: indeed the population of this département has increased by 29 500. On the other hand the population expansion that took place in Manche during the last fifteen years has stopped.
The attractiveness of the coast is increasing, and unlike other rural regions, the Lower Normandy countryside is less affected by rural exodus, due to a vast number of small villages that have been able to maintain their inhabitants. However, the increase of the population in Lower Normandy mainly takes place in towns and especially in Caen. The dynamism of the Lower Normandy towns is however less strong compared to the ones of the neighbouring regions of Brittany and Loire.
The crude birth rate in Normandy, that used to be important, is now facing a decrease. In 1999 it was the second lowest in France with 10.3 births per 1 000 inhabitants.
As in most of the regions of the North of France, the migration is characterised by a number of departures higher than the number of arrivals.
Two reasons can explain the ageing of the population: on one hand, the young people are leaving the region for their studies or to find a job, on the other hand Lower Normandy is appreciated by the elderly, mainly coming from Ile-de-France. From 1991 to 2000 the population under 25 years old has decreased by 9.3% while the number of people over 65 years old has increased by 22.6%. In 2000 the less than 25 and the over 60 represented respectively 32.9% and 17.7% of the total population.
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