Insee Première · May 2026 · n° 2103

Nearly 60% of built-up areas dedicated to individual housing

In 2021, 9% of land in France (excluding French Guiana) was artificialised, representing a slightly larger area than that of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. The situation varied significantly depending on the degree of urbanisation of municipalities. In cities, the majority of land was artificialised (56%). Suburban areas, which were more affected by urban sprawl, were more artificialised than semi-dense towns, which were farther from dense municipalities (21% versus 16%). In rural areas, only 6% of land was artificialised.

Built land accounted for 18% of artificialised land in rural areas, 15 points less than in cities (33%). Built-up areas dedicated to individual housing were predominant (59% of total built land), even in densely populated areas. The proportion of built-up areas dedicated to collective housing was higher in denser municipalities, as was the proportion of built land dedicated to service activities (11% in rural areas, compared to 27% of buildings in cities).

The number of households per hectare of collective housing was significantly higher in cities and dense towns (195 and 124, respectively) than in other areas (only 29 in the least dense rural municipalities). The differences were smaller for individual housing (between 17 and 37).