Britons are the largest foreign community of second-home owners in Nouvelle Aquitaine
See which other departments in the region are popular with British nationals
15% of second-homes in Charente (Nouvelle Aquitaine) are owned by Brits, with owners particularly keen to live in rural areas
Milan Vachal | Shutterstock
Britons represent some 40% of all foreign second-home owners in Nouvelle Aquitaine, recently published data by the official state statistics body Insee shows.
The study published on April 3 (based on 2022 data) reveals that there are 400,000 second-homes in the region (both French and non-French owned), with Britons making up 4% of this total.
Insee states: “One in ten [10.5%] owners of second-homes in Nouvelle Aquitaine lives abroad… unlike the French, these owners are particularly keen to live in rural areas where the economy is less dependent on tourism.”
This region is the largest administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of the country, home to cities such as Bordeaux, Bayonne, Limoges, Poitiers, Pau and La Rochelle.
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Figures show that British second-home owners are particularly over-represented in certain departements, such as Charente (15%), Deux-Sèvres (11.9%) and Dordogne (10.1%).
These three departments border each other in a vertical strip through west France.
Charente’s two largest towns are Angoulême and Cognac.
The most populated town in Deux-Sèvres is Niort.
Périgueux and Bergerac are the most populated towns in Dordogne. This department in particular has been consistently popular with Britons living in France.
Insee also details the percentages of second-homes owned by Britons in other departments of the region:
Read also: Which French departments are most popular with retirees?
How many British residents in the region?
A recent Connexion article highlighted Nouvelle Aquitaine as being the French region with the highest number of British residents.
The most recent Insee figures (released in June 2024) using administrative data from 2021 indicated that 38,814 British residents live in Nouvelle Aquitaine - representing more than a quarter (28.2%) of all UK nationals living in France.
Insee has not published specific data regarding the number of British residents in most Nouvelle Aquitaine departments.
The region’s major city is Bordeaux, located in the department of Gironde. In 2021, the total number of Britons in this department was 2,412, with 41.3% (995) living in the metropole of Bordeaux.
Slightly more UK nationals (2,630) were recorded in Charente-Maritime, home to the coastal city of La Rochelle.
A total of 1,660 Britons live in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
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Methodology notes and definitions
Insee defines second-homes from a fiscal point of view: “They are furnished premises used for residential purposes, not permanently occupied and subject to council tax. They may belong to people whose main residence is in France or abroad.”
A foreign resident is defined as any person residing in France who does not have French nationality. Only those who reside permanently in France, and those who work or study there (permanent workers, trainees, students and their families where applicable) are counted in the census, with the exception of seasonal workers and cross-border commuters.
Foreign staff working in embassies who permanently reside in France are counted.
Foreign civil servants and military personnel stationed in France are non-residents regardless of the duration of their assignment. Tourists and those staying in France for a short period are not counted.
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