POITOU-CHARENTES - Population
Between 1990 and 1999 the population grew at roughly the same rate than it did for France as a whole: 0.31% annual average per year against 0.39% at the national scale.
In 1999, with 1 640 000 inhabitants, i.e. 2.8% of the population of metropolitan France, Poitou-Charentes, ranked in 15th position among the French regions. The region has a fairly low population density (63.7 inhabitants/km2). Poitiers, the capital of the region, is the centre of the most populated conurbation (7.3% of the population). The conurbations of La Rochelle and Angoulême also have more than 100 000 inhabitants, housing respectively 7.1% and 6.3% of the region?s population. In total, 13 communes have more than 10 000 inhabitants.
Four main population areas
This mainly rural region with a dispersed population is characterised by a high amount of houses and a very high proportion of house owners. The region has an urban framework which consists of medium-sized towns and has avoided urban sprawl and the associated social problems. The people of Poitou-Charentes are concentrated in four areas: along the valley of the River Charente (Angoulême, Cognac and Rochefort), along the RN10 and RN11 roads (Châtellerault, Poitiers and Niort), along the Atlantic coast (La Rochelle, Rochefort, Royan), and in the north of Deux-Sèvres (Bressuire, Thouars and Parthenay). Outside these areas the region is thinly populated: the zone between Montmorillon and Confolens, the south of the Charente and Charente-Maritime départements, the centre of the region, and the border between the Deux-Sèvres and Vienne départements.
A rural region with an ageing population
Between 1990 and 1999, as did the West of France as a whole, the region Poitou-Charentes attracted newcomers. Over this period, the region gained 45 000 inhabitants. This growth is almost exclusively due to the surplus of arrivals over departures. Every year the number of newcomers exceeded by 4 600, on average, the number of inhabitants leaving the region. The départements Charente-Maritime and Vienne are very attractive and their population is increasing. Charente and Deux-Sèvres on the other hand have a negative net migration and their population has fallen slightly.
The newcomers are mainly students and young workers. Nevertheless, Poitou-Charentes?s population is older than the national average. Thus those aged less than 20 are less numerous than those aged more than 60. The region?s net natural demography is close to nil, and the life expectancy is one of the highest in France.
The age structure is reflected in the fertility, and birth and mortality rates. In 1999 the fertility rate was below the national average with 170 children for 100 women in Poitou-Charentes compared to 179 on average. In 1999 the crude birth rate was 10.9 live births per 1 000 inhabitants compared to the national average of 12.9 live births per 1 000 inhabitants. The infant mortality rate (3.0 deaths of children under 1 year old per 1 000 live births) is the lowest after Corsica. The crude death rate is above the national average with 10.8 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants, compared to the national average of 9.1.
In 1999 the foreign population only accounted for 1.6% of the total population of the region, much below the national average (5.5%). The region Poitou-Charente is one among the few regions of France whose foreign population mainly comes from countries of the European Union: 56%. This percentage is in fact the second highest, after its southern neighbouring region, Aquitaine.
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