CORSE - Population
Population drain from the interior
With 30 inhabitants per km2, Corsica has a very low population density. Topographical constraints and the lack of an efficient communications network have resulted in communes, which are isolated enclaves. The difficulties of setting up economic activities which will persuade the population to stay put have led to an exodus towards the coastline and towns, where tourism and public services provide jobs.
The small rural communes are less populated and the population is concentrated around the two main towns, Bastia and Ajaccio, with these cities and their suburbs counting more than 50 000 inhabitants each. This urban reinforcement is supplemented by population growth in small cities, notably Porto-Vecchio and Calvi that benefit from their tourist attraction, and Corte instigated by the reopening of its university in 1981.
Immigration leads to a population increase
The last one hundred years split into two distinct periods:
- between 1884 and 1955, a demographic crisis reduced the island's population from its historical peak of 276 000 to its lowest ever figure of 170 000 inhabitants. The reason was the emigration of young people to the mainland, leaving behind an ageing population;
- since 1955, the population has increased but the rate of increase is now slowing down. Immigration has come mainly from North Africa and, more recently, mainland Europe.
Since 1982 the population has increased on average by nearly 1 200 inhabitants per year, essentially due to immigration. In 2000 with more than 260 000 inhabitants, Corsica is still below its peak of the beginning of the 20th century (300 000 inhabitants). Representing only 0.4% of the population of France, Corsica has the lowest population of the regions of France, after French Guiana.
Migration flows are positive for all age groups, except for 18 to 25 year olds who leave the island to study or to find a first job. On the other hand, the arrival of new inhabitants far out ways that of departures, for the age group 26 to 40 thanks to the arrival of young workers, and for the age group 55 to 65 with retired people returning to the island.
Corsica has the second highest proportion of foreign population in metropolitan France, after Ile-de-France. In 1999 its foreign population accounted for 9.9% of the total population of the region. The foreign population is mainly composed of nationals coming from countries outside the European Union (70%), notably Moroccans who make up 53% of the island?s foreign population.
The population of Corsica remains elderly
The population is ageing slightly. Inhabitants aged less than 20 are now less numerous than those of 60. The number of inhabitants aged less than 25 years old represented 27.2% of the population of the region in 1999; this is the second lowest share of all the French regions after Limousin. The 60 plus age group accounted for 24.9% of the population of Corsica in 1999.
The age of the population explains the low fertility and birth rate and high mortality rate. In 1999 the island had the second lowest fertility rate, after Limousin with 154 children for 100 women. In 1999 the gross birth rate was under the national average: 10.4 per 1 000 inhabitants. Between 1990 and 1999 the number of live births fell from 3 000 to 2 700 in 1999. In 2000 the number of births was 2 900 (+7.4% compared to 1999).
With 10.3 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants the rate for Corsica is higher than the national average (9.1). Over the nineties the number of deaths recorded remained stable. In 1999 the infant mortality rate (2.6 deaths of children under 1 year old per 1 000 live births) was the lowest in France.
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