The Structure and Evolution of Rural Populations at the SubParochial Level : Post-War Evidence from Normandy, France

Résumé En Fr

The Structure and Evolution of Rural Populations at the Sub-Parochial Level : Post-War Evidence from Normandy, France. The paper examines three types of settlement at sub-parochial level (village-centres, hamlets and farms) with respect to possible differences between these settlements in population structures, in migration and in fertility and mortality. Analysis is made of all demographic events in three parishes of Southern Normandy for the period 1946-1975 using a variety of unpublished documents. It is found that population structures and paths of evolution vary markedly between different types of settlement. The explanation of these variations lies largely in the social composition of the settlements. It is shown that aggregate measures of rural depopulation can mask profoundly different courses of population change at the sub-parochial level.

L'auteur aborde les différents mouvements de la démographie en Normandie du sud en se plaçant à trois niveaux différents : celui du village, celui du hameau et celui de l'écart. Il montre que les structures et l'évolution de la population varient considérablement d'un type d'habitat à un autre en raison des différences en termes de morphologie sociale. Il met en évidence le fait que des mesures globales de l'exode rural peuvent cacher des disparités importantes au niveau sub-communal.