population

With 3,103,000 residents in 2008, Brittany is home to 5% of the national population and is the 7th largest region in France.

71.5% of the population of Brittany lives in towns. Planning permission for new housing is now restricted to towns. Building in the countryside is only allowed if there is already a existing property.

Brittany’s demographic growth can be more clearly attributed to migration rather than a natural balance. Most of all, Brittany attracts working people and elderly people. The falling new population is accentuated in Brittany by a migratory deficit in young adults who leave Brittany to study or find their first job. The attraction of the region to people over 30 compensates for these departures in the migratory flow.

71.1% of housing stock in Brittany is made up of individual houses, compared with 55.9% for France as a whole.

The number of people who own their own home is also higher (67% compared with 54.7% for France).