The Var: Popular with second-home owners and retirees

One in five of the population of the southern department is aged 60-74

Var is very popular among retirees and second-home owners in France
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The Var department in south-east France is proving increasingly popular as a home for retired people - including many from abroad, a new report has found.

The report, showing the most recent figures (2021), was compiled by the national statistics bureau Insee and published on December 13, found that:

  • 20.4% of the population is aged 60 to 74, up from 18.1% in 2010, and 19.4% in 2015

Similarly, 20% of the population is aged 45 to 59, a figure that has remained stable since 2010. 

In contrast: 

  • 15.3% of the population is aged 0 to 14

  • 14.3% are aged 15 to 29

  • 17% 30 to 44

  • At the other end, 13% are aged 75 or more.

The report said there are 1,077,333 people living in the Var

Solo living

The number of those living alone has increased in the department to 199,537 in 2021. 

This compares to 166,814 in 2015, and 150,398 in 2010. Of these, 115,706 households were women living alone and 83,831 men.

Families

A majority, 863,255, live as a couple / family. Of these 427,900* are families with children, 305,542 a couple without children, and 129,812* a single-parent household. *The children are included in the numbers.

Similarly, 44.2% of the population is married, 24.1% are single, 10.2% live together, 8.3% are divorced, 8% are widowed, and 5.2% are PACSed.

Retirement most common

Some 69% of the population work, from business leaders, white collar to performing a manual role etc. In a figure which aligns with the age statistics of the department 26% are retired, the highest individual number in the report’s socio-professional category.

Second homes

The department is popular among second-home owners, with the number of second homes having remained largely stable since 2015. 

Read also: Second homes in France: Where is most popular? 

In 2021, of the total numbers of homes in the Var (743,682), 183,499 / 25% were second homes, up slightly from 179,014 in 2015.