Espezel

Identity

Espezel (INSEE 11130) is in Aude (11), part of CC Pyrénées audoises. Population 238 (2023). ^[1]

INSEE density class: Rural à habitat dispersé (level 6). ^[2]

Data vintages: INSEE BPE 2025 · INSEE SIRENE 2026-09 · INSEE census (RP) 2023 · INSEE COG 2026 · INSEE density grid 2026.

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/11130-espezel

Vitality score

Vitality score 46.2/100 — Partly served (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 98 % of the 16,971 communes of a similar size.

Compare this with communes of a similar size. The score measures how well a place is served relative to its own size band, and larger communes score higher as a rule — so it reads meaningfully against another village, and misleadingly against a town.

Measured but not scored in this model: Market. See the methodology for why.

Services

A food shop, a school and somewhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Bakery (boulangerie) (FOURNIL DU PAYS DE SAULT). ^[3,4]

1 × Grocery (épicerie / supérette) (SNDL). ^[3,4]

2 × Restaurant (LE RELAIS DU PAYS DE SAULT · LA BONNE PIZZA). ^[3,4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE ELEMENTAIRE PUBLIQUE). ^[3]

1 × Pharmacy (PHARMACIE DU PAYS DE SAULT). ^[3,4]

1 × Post office / agence postale (ESPEZEL AP). ^[3]

1 × Library (MÉDIATHÈQUE INTERCOMMUNALE DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ DE COMMUNE DES P). ^[3]

1 × Campsite (CAMPING MUNICIPAL LE CALCAT). ^[3,4]

Not counted, because the business register records them as closed: 1 × Bakery (boulangerie).

Not found in the commune: Butcher (boucherie), Supermarket, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste). ^[3,4]

Market and village life

Market day: unknown — nothing found in the datasets or on the commune website.

Trajectory

Population 209 (2012) → 238 (2023): 13.9 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 201 (1990) → 238 (2023): 18.4 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 279, of which 43.7 % second homes and 12.2 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Bakery (Espezel): 0.1 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Espezel): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Belcaire): 5 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Pharmacy (Espezel): 0.3 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Espezel): 0 km to the south-east (straight line). ^[8]

Climate

An average of 7 days a year at or above 30 °C and 64 days at or below 0 °C, over 30 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the BELCAIRE weather station, 4.3 km away at 980 m; the village itself is at 897 m. ^[10]

The village sits 83 m below the station, so each day's reading was shifted by 5.7 °C per km of altitude before the days were counted. Expect the result to be within about 0.68 °C. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 0 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at BELCAIRE, 4.3 km away at 980 m, over 30 summers. ^[10]

That station sits 83 m above the village, so each day's humidity was shifted by 3.26 °C per km before the muggy days were counted. ^[10]

An average of 1,002 mm of rain a year, spread over 119 days — about 8.4 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at BELCAIRE, 4.3 km away at 980 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

1. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11130/2023
2. INSEE density grid 2026
3. INSEE BPE 2025
4. INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
5. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11130/2012
6. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11130/1990
7. INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 11130/logement/2023
8. INSEE BPE 2025 — 11130
9. INSEE BPE 2025 — 11028
10. Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024