Merpins

Charente · CA du Grand Cognac · INSEE 16217

A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink.

No daily shops 18.1/100 · confidence: high· Better served than 3 % of the {n|commune|communes} of a similar size.

Identity

Merpins (INSEE 16217) is in Charente (16), part of CA du Grand Cognac. Population 1,085 (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/16217-merpins

Vitality score

Vitality score 18.1/100 — No daily shops (model fr-v0.2).

Confidence: high.

Better served than 3 % of the 13,843 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.

Component	Value (0–1)	Weight	Contribution
Daily food	0	25	0
Social	0	20	0
Education	0.39	10	3.93
Health	0	10	0
Public & culture	0.2	5	0.98
Population trend	0.56	10	5.59
Housing mix	0.97	5	4.86

Services

What is here, at a glance

Food 0 of 6

Eating out 0 of 1

Cafés and bars 0 of 1

Schools 1 of 3

Health 0 of 4

Public services 1 of 1

Culture 0 of 2

Sport 0 of 2

Everyday services 1 of 3

Lodging 0 of 2

One square per service type, shaded by how many: none, one, a few, five or more. A blank square means none was counted — the sources do not distinguish “none here” from “not counted”.

A school, but no food shop and nowhere to eat or drink. ^[3,4]

1 × Primary school (élémentaire) (ECOLE PRIMAIRE CHARLES BAUDELAIRE). ^[3]

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

2 × Hairdresser. ^[3,4]

Not found in the commune: Bakery (boulangerie), Butcher (boucherie), Grocery (épicerie / supérette), Supermarket, Restaurant, Café / bar, Nursery school (maternelle), GP (médecin généraliste), Pharmacy, Library. ^[3,4]

All 25 service types, with per-source counts

Type	Count	Names	Sources
Bakery (boulangerie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Butcher (boucherie)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Grocery (épicerie / supérette)	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Supermarket	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Cheese shop (fromagerie)	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Fishmonger	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Restaurant	0		INSEE SIRENE 1 / INSEE BPE 0 [4]
Café / bar	0		INSEE SIRENE 0 [4]
Nursery school (maternelle)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Primary school (élémentaire)	1	ECOLE PRIMAIRE CHARLES BAUDELAIRE	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Collège	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
GP (médecin généraliste)	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Pharmacy	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Nurse	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Dentist	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Post office / agence postale	1	MERPINS AP	INSEE BPE 1 [3]
Library	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Cinema	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Gym / sports hall	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Swimming pool	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Bank	0		INSEE BPE 0 [3]
Hairdresser	2		INSEE BPE 2 / INSEE SIRENE 2 [3,4]
Fuel station	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Hotel	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]
Campsite	0		INSEE BPE 0 / INSEE SIRENE 0 [3,4]

Market and village life

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

Trajectory

1968: 832 peak 2017: 1,104 2023: 1,085 axis from zero, so the slope compares with any other commune

Population 1,000 (2012) → 1,085 (2023): 8.5 % over 10 years. ^[5,1]

Population 1,025 (1990) → 1,085 (2023): 5.9 % over 30 years. ^[6,1]

Dwellings (2023): 561, of which 1.4 % second homes and 5 % vacant. ^[7]

Access and surroundings

Which way the everyday services lie

Primary school — 0.8 km WBakery — 1.8 km NFood shop — 1.8 km NGP — 1.8 km NPharmacy — 1.8 km N Straight-line, from the mairie, in the direction given. Services in the same town share a spoke. Distance is not travel time: a pass or an estuary can double it.

Bakery (Cognac): 1.8 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Food shop (Cognac): 1.8 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

GP (Cognac): 1.8 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Pharmacy (Cognac): 1.8 km to the north (straight line). ^[8]

Primary school (Merpins): 0.8 km to the west (straight line). ^[9]

Climate

Where this sits nationally

Days at or above 30 °C 30.2

Days at or below 0 °C 39.5

Muggy days a summer 7.1

Each track runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the 34,141 communes with that measurement; the tick is the median. A value beyond either end sits at the end and is marked ▸.

An average of 30 days a year at or above 30 °C and 40 days at or below 0 °C, over 11 complete years in 1995–2024. ^[10]

Measured at the GIMEUX weather station, 2.1 km away at 22 m; the village itself is at 18 m. ^[10]

Muggy days — a dew point at or above 18 °C — average 7 days a summer. ^[10]

Humidity measured at GIMEUX, 2.1 km away at 22 m, over 11 summers. ^[10]

An average of 716 mm of rain a year, spread over 114 days — about 6.3 mm on a day it rains. ^[10]

Rainfall measured at GIMEUX, 2.1 km away at 22 m. Rainfall is not adjusted for altitude: unlike temperature it has no simple gradient to correct by. ^[10]

Uncertainties

No specific uncertainties flagged.

References

INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16217/2023
INSEE density grid 2026
INSEE BPE 2025
INSEE SIRENE 2026-09
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16217/2012
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16217/1990
INSEE census (RP) 2023 — 16217/logement/2023
INSEE BPE 2025 — 16102
INSEE BPE 2025 — 16217
Météo-France daily climatology 1995-2024

Villages like this one

Matched on size, density, second homes and which everyday shops and services are present — not on the score, so a village of the same kind that is doing better or worse shows up rather than being hidden.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Aubiac	47	185 km SE	1,174	22	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 80 % · humidity 100 %
Fossé	41	251 km NE	1,254	22.8	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 69 % · winter 95 % · humidity 57 %
Hartzviller	57	653 km NE	934	22.2	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 64 % · winter 47 % · humidity 57 %
Blou	49	189 km N	929	23.4	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 85 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 %
Marcellus	47	137 km S	892	24.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Girons-d'Aiguevives	33	61 km S	971	25.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %

Order by distance instead

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Saint-Girons-d'Aiguevives	33	61 km S	971	25.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Marcellus	47	137 km S	892	24.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Aubiac	47	185 km SE	1,174	22	Few services	Warmer summers and milder winters.Summers feel about as humid.summer 74 % · winter 80 % · humidity 100 %
Blou	49	189 km N	929	23.4	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 85 % · winter 91 % · humidity 64 %
Fossé	41	251 km NE	1,254	22.8	Few services	Cooler summers, similar winters.Summers feel drier.summer 69 % · winter 95 % · humidity 57 %
Hartzviller	57	653 km NE	934	22.2	Few services	Cooler summers and colder winters.Summers feel drier.summer 64 % · winter 47 % · humidity 57 %

Sort and compare these on the full list →

…and in much the same climate

The same match on size and services, narrowed to communes whose summers, winters and summer humidity are all close to Merpins's. All three are required, so this section is absent for the 11.8 % of communes with no humidity station near enough to measure: two temperature axes alone cannot tell a muggy coast from a dry one.

Commune	Dept	Distance	Population	Score	Band	Climate vs here
Marcellus	47	137 km S	892	24.2	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Saint-Girons-d'Aiguevives	33	61 km S	971	25.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 92 % · winter 85 % · humidity 93 %
Montpouillan	47	139 km S	807	24.6	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 99 % · humidity 93 %
Chérac	17	7.1 km NW	1,130	19.9	No daily shops	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 90 % · winter 99 % · humidity 100 %
Duran	32	235 km S	862	22.8	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 95 % · winter 86 % · humidity 86 %
Lugos	33	139 km S	1,208	27.1	Few services	Much the same temperatures.Summers feel about as humid.summer 100 % · winter 96 % · humidity 93 %

Elsewhere

Commune website · Wikipedia (en) ·Wikipedia (fr) · INSEE dossier complet · OpenStreetMap · Web search · Map

Permanent link: https://vivantrural.com/en/fr/16217-merpins