Editing Languedoc (section)

==Population and cities==
[[Image:Cevennes Florac Mimente depuis Causse Mejean.jpg|thumb|Typical view of the mountainous [[Cévennes]] area in the thinly-populated interior of Languedoc: plateaus (the ''[[Causses]]'') with deep river canyons]]

On the traditional territory of the province of Languedoc there live approximately 3,650,000 people (as of 1999 census), 52% of these in the [[Languedoc-Roussillon]] ''région'', 35% in the [[Midi-Pyrénées]] ''région'', 8% in the [[Rhône-Alpes]] ''région'', and 5% in the [[Auvergne (région)|Auvergne]] ''région''.

The territory of the former province shows a stark contrast between some densely populated areas (coastal plains as well as metropolitan area of Toulouse in the interior) where density is between {{convert|150|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}} (coastal plains) and {{convert|300|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}} (plain of Toulouse), and the hilly and mountainous interior where density is extremely low, the [[Cévennes]] area in the south of [[Lozère]] having one of the lowest densities of Europe with only {{convert|7.4|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}}.

The five largest metropolitan areas on the territory of the former province of Languedoc are (as of 1999 census): [[Toulouse]] (964,797), [[Montpellier]] (459,916), [[Nîmes]] (221,455), [[Béziers]] (124,967), and [[Alès]] (89,390).

The population of the former province of Languedoc is currently the fastest-growing in France, and also among the fastest-growing in Europe, as an increasing flow of people from northern France and the north of Europe relocating to the sunbelt of Europe, in which Languedoc is located. Growth is particularly strong in the metropolitan areas of [[Toulouse]] and [[Montpellier]], which are the two fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe at the moment. However, the interior of Languedoc is still losing inhabitants, which increases the difference of density that was mentioned.

Population of the coast of Languedoc as well as the region of Toulouse is rather young, educated, and affluent, whereas in the interior the population tends to be much older, with significantly lower incomes, and with a lower percentage of high school and especially college graduates.