Occitania is still gaining inhabitants, Toulouse and Montpellier among the most attractive large areas of France

Occitanie is the third region of France where the population increased the most between 2014 and 2020 according to the latest INSEE data published on Thursday 29 December. Toulouse and Montpellier are among the most attractive cities in France.

According to latest INSEE data published on Thursday 29 DecemberOccitania is the third region where the population increased the most (+0.7%) after Corsica (+1%) and Guyana (+2.1%) between 2014 and 2020. As of 1 January 2020, France had 67.16 million inhabitants (excluding Mayotte), Occitania had 5,973,969 inhabitants. The region ranks fifth, behind Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Hauts-de-France.

According to INSEE data, the population of Haute-Garonne and Hérault experienced strong growth between 2014 and 2020, with an annual increase of 1.2%. Haute-Garonne is the most populous department of Occitania, with 1,415,757 inhabitants, thanks to an excess of births over deaths of 0.5% per year and a migratory surplus of 0.7% per year. The Hérault has seen its population increase mainly due to its attractiveness, with a migratory surplus of 1.0% per year.

Compared with the previous period, population growth in Haute-Garonne and Hérault decreased slightly, from 1.4% between 2009 and 2014 to 1.2% between 2014 and 2020. Gard has experienced growth in its population, but at a slower pace than in the past, with an annual increase of 0.3% between 2014 and 2020. This decline is due to a decrease in the attractiveness of the department, with a surplus migration rate of 0.3% per year between 2014 and 2020, compared to 0.7% between 2009 and 2014. Births are slightly higher than deaths in the department, with a natural annual increase of 0.1%.

Tarn-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Orientales have also experienced a slowdown in population growth, with their population increasing by 0.6% per year between 2014 and 2020, compared to 1.1% and 0 respectively .9% between 2009 and 2014. In the Tarn -et-Garonne, births slightly exceed deaths, while in the Pyrénées-Orientales deaths now exceed births, but the migratory surplus remains high, at 0.7% per year.

Again according to the latest data published this Thursday December 29, the population of Aude, Lot and Aveyron it has recorded a slower growth than the other departments of the region. Indeed, between 2014 and 2020, the population of Aude increased by 0.4% per year, that of Lot by 0.3% per year and that of Aveyron by 0.2% per year.

All these departments recorded a negative or zero migration surplus, also offset by a negative or zero natural surplus.

According to population data from 2014 to 2020, the attraction areas of Toulouse and Montpellier turned out to be among the most attractive in France. The attraction area of ​​Montpellier has experienced the fastest growth among the eleven attraction areas of cities with more than 700,000 inhabitants, with an increase of 1.5% per year, or about 11,300 more inhabitants every year. The attraction area of ​​Toulouse has grown by 1.3% per year, or about 17,600 more people every year, ranking third after Bordeaux and on the same level as Nantes.

The demographic dynamism of these areas is mainly due to a surplus of births over deaths and more arrivals than departures. The Montpellier area turned out to be more attractive than that of Toulouse.

Regionally, the other large coastal areas (Béziers, Perpignan and Narbonne) and that of Montauban are also among the most attractive. Although these areas have more deaths than births, their population continues to increase thanks to a large migration surplus. The Montauban area also benefits from a slightly positive natural balance and a migratory surplus due to its proximity to the Toulouse-Montauban axis.