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^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2
Orne (French pronunciation:[ɔʁn]ⓘ; Norman: Ôrne or Orne) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.[3]
The largest town by a considerable margin is the prefecture, Alençon, which is an administrative and commercial centre for what is still an overwhelmingly rural department. There are no large industrial centres, and agriculture remains the economic focus.
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1801
395,738
—
1806
424,669
+1.42%
1821
422,884
−0.03%
1831
441,881
+0.44%
1841
442,072
+0.00%
1851
439,884
−0.05%
1861
423,350
−0.38%
1872
398,250
−0.55%
1881
376,126
−0.63%
1891
354,387
−0.59%
1901
326,952
−0.80%
1911
307,433
−0.61%
1921
274,814
−1.12%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1931
273,717
−0.04%
1936
269,331
−0.32%
1946
273,181
+0.14%
1954
274,862
+0.08%
1962
280,549
+0.26%
1968
288,524
+0.47%
1975
293,523
+0.25%
1982
295,472
+0.09%
1990
293,204
−0.10%
1999
292,337
−0.03%
2006
292,874
+0.03%
2011
290,891
−0.14%
2016
285,308
−0.39%
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The inhabitants of the department are called Ornais.
The recorded population level peaked at 443,688 in 1836. Declining farm incomes and the lure of better prospects in the overseas empire led to a sustained reduction in population levels in many rural departments. By the time of the 1936 census, the recorded population stood at just 269,331. Once motor car ownership started to surge in the 1960s, employment opportunities became less restricted and by 1982, the population level had recovered a little to 295,000, after which it slowly decreased.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Alençon, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:[3]
