Editing Nantes (section)

=={{anchor|Demography|Demographic structure}}Population==
[[File:Unité urbaine et aire urbaine de Nantes.svg|thumb|left|alt=Map of Loire-Atlantique with Nantes and its urban area highlighted|Loire-Atlantique, with Nantes (in black) surrounded by its urban area (in red) and metropolitan area (in yellow). Nantes Métropole is outlined in black.]]

{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|24557|Nantes}}</ref> and INSEE (1968–2020)<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7633058?geo=COM-44109 Évolution et structure de la population en 2020], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = bottom
|1793 | 80000
|1800 | 77162
|1806 | 77226
|1821 | 68427
|1831 | 77992
|1841 | 83389
|1846 | 94310
|1851 | 96362
|1856 | 108530
|1861 | 113625
|1866 | 111956
|1872 | 118517
|1876 | 122247
|1881 | 124319
|1886 | 127482
|1891 | 122750
|1896 | 123902
|1901 | 132990
|1906 | 133247
|1911 | 170535
|1921 | 183704
|1926 | 184509
|1931 | 187343
|1936 | 195185
|1946 | 200265
|1954 | 222790
|1962 | 240028
|1968 | 260244
|1975 | 256693
|1982 | 240539
|1990 | 244995
|1999 | 270251
|2009 | 282047
|2014 | 298029
|2020 | 320732
}}
Nantes had 320,732 inhabitants in 2020, the largest population in its history.<ref name=pophist/> Although it was the largest city in Brittany during the [[Middle Ages]], it was smaller than three other north-western towns: [[Angers]], [[Tours]] and [[Caen]].{{sfn|Bairouch|Latou|Chèvre|1988|p=28}} Nantes has experienced consistent growth since the Middle Ages, except during the French Revolution and the reign of [[Napoleon I]] (when it experienced depopulation, primarily due to the [[Continental System]]).{{sfn|Dictionnaire de Nantes|2013|p=797}} In 1500, the city had a population of around 14,000.{{sfn|Bairouch|Latou|Chèvre|1988|p=28}} Nantes's population increased to 25,000 in 1600 and to 80,000 in 1793.{{sfn|Dictionnaire de Nantes|2013|p=797}} In 1800 it was the sixth-largest French city, behind [[Paris]] (550,000), [[Lyon]], [[Marseille]], [[Bordeaux]] and [[Rouen]] (all 80,000 to 109,000).{{sfn|Bairouch|Latou|Chèvre|1988|p=28}} Population growth continued through the 19th century; although other European cities experienced increased growth due to industrialisation, in Nantes growth remained at its 18th-century pace.{{sfn|Dictionnaire de Nantes|2013|p=797}} Nantes reached the 100,000 mark about 1850, and 130,000 around 1900. In 1908 it annexed the neighbouring ''[[communes of France|communes]]'' of Doulon and Chantenay, gaining almost 30,000 inhabitants. Population growth was slower during the 20th century, remaining under 260,000 from the 1960s to the 2000s primarily because urban growth spread to surrounding ''communes''. Since 2000 the population of Nantes began to rise due to redevelopment,{{sfn|Dictionnaire de Nantes|2013|p=798}} and its [[urban area]] has continued to experience population growth. The Nantes [[metropolitan area]] had a population of 907,995 in 2013, nearly doubling since the 1960s. Its population is projected to reach one million by 2030, based on the fertility rate.{{sfn|Lionel Kerdommarec|Patrick Pailloux|2011}}

The population of Nantes is younger than the national average, with 44.3 percent under age 29 (France 35.3 percent). People over age 60 account for 18.7 percent of the city's population (France 26.4 percent).<ref name=pophist/> Single-person households are 53.1 percent of the total, and 16.4 percent of households are families with children.<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7633961?sommaire=7634121&geo=COM-44109#ancre-FAM_T1 Couples - Familles - Ménages en 2020], INSEE</ref> Young couples with children tend to move outside the city because of high property prices, and most newcomers are students (37 percent) and adults moving for professional reasons (49 percent). Students generally come from within the region, and working people are often from [[Paris]].{{sfn|Plan local d'urbanisme|2007}} In 2020, the unemployment rate was 10.5 percent of the active population (France 9.5 percent, Loire-Atlantique 7.9 percent).<ref name=emploi>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7632005?geo=COM-44109 Population active, emploi et chômage au sens du recensement en 2020], INSEE</ref> The poorest [[public housing in France|council estate]]s had unemployment rates of 22 to 47 percent.{{sfn|Plan local d'urbanisme|2007}} Of those employed, 59.5 percent were in intermediate or management positions, 24.1 percent were employees and 11.4 percent were workers in 2020.<ref name=emploi/> In 2020, 39.7 percent of the population over 15 had a higher-education degree and 12.9 percent had no diploma.<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/7633108?geo=COM-44109 Diplômes - Formation en 2020], INSEE</ref>

===Ethnicity and languages===
Nantes has long had ethnic minorities. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian communities were mentioned during the 16th century, and an Irish [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] community appeared a century later. However, immigration has always been lower in Nantes than in other large French cities. The city's foreign population has been stable since 1990, half the average for other French cities of similar size.{{sfn|Plan local d'urbanisme|2007}} France does not have ethnic or religious categories in its census, but counts the number of people born in a foreign country. In 2013 this category had 24,949 people in Nantes, or 8.5 percent of the total population. The majority (60.8 percent) were 25 to 54 years old. Their primary countries of origin were Algeria (13.9 percent), Morocco (11.4 percent) and Tunisia (5.8 percent). Other African countries accounted for 24.9 percent, the European Union 15.6 percent, the rest of Europe 4.8 percent and Turkey 4.3 percent.{{sfn|Img1B}}

The city is part of the territory of the [[langues d'oïl]], a [[dialect continuum]] which stretches across northern France and includes standard French. The local dialect in Nantes is [[Gallo language|Gallo]], spoken by some in Upper Brittany. Nantes, as a large city, has been a stronghold of standard French. A local dialect (''parler nantais'') is sometimes mentioned by the press, but its existence is dubious and its vocabulary mainly the result of rural emigration.{{sfn|Dictionnaire de Nantes|2013|p=753}} As a result of 19th-century Lower Breton immigration, [[Breton language|Breton]] was once widely spoken in parts of Nantes.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=70}} Nantes signed the charter of the [[Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg|Public Office for the Breton Language]] in 2013. Since then, the city has supported its six bilingual schools and introduced bilingual signage.{{sfn|Nantes signe la|2013}}