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Departments Charente 16 · Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Dept 16 Rank #35 / 96
66

Charente

Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Nearest city: Angoulême TGV
🚄 TGV

Charente river valley, cognac vineyards, Périgord borderlands

Why this score

Charente combines affordable property, decent sunshine and good rail links, with limited tourism and damp weather as its weaker points. La Charente combine un immobilier abordable, un ensoleillement correct et de bonnes liaisons ferroviaires, avec un tourisme limité et un temps humide comme points faibles.

Communes

Loading commune-level data…

Climate

Sunshine
2,128h/yr
Trend 2015-2025: roughly flat.
p70 of 96
Sunny days
169/yr
days >50% sunlit
p66 of 96
Rain days
125/yr
Trend 2015-2025: roughly flat.
p67 of 96
Annual rainfall
805mm/yr
total volume
p71 of 96
Heavy rain
5/yr
≥ 20 mm/day
p58 of 96
Torrential
0/yr
≥ 50 mm/day
p13 of 96
Hot days >30°
31/yr
Trend 2015-2025: roughly flat.
p77 of 96
Winter mildness
8/10
3.5 °C avg Jan low
Trend 2015-2025: January warming 0.3 °C per year.
p80 of 96
Wind
2.8m/s
annual mean
Trend 2015-2025: roughly flat.
p36 of 96
Muggy days
5/yr
TG≥22°C & HU≥70%
Trend 2015-2025: about 0.5 more muggy days each year.
p69 of 96
Avg max temperature · °C
6
J
8
F
12
M
15
A
19
M
23
J
26
J
26
A
21
S
16
O
10
N
7
D
2050 outlook TRACC +2.7°C · vs 1976-2005
Hot days ≥35°C ~+4 days · +4 so far
Tropical nights ~+13 nights · +3 so far
Frost days ~-15 days · -13 so far
Dry-soil days ~+18 days

Landscape

Landscape score
4/10
p38 of 96
Max elevation
368m
p35 of 96
Forest cover
20.6%
p33 of 96
Characteristics
🌾 Rural

Charente river valley, cognac vineyards, Périgord borderlands

Identity

Charente is the birthplace of Charles-Augustin Coulomb (physicien).

Notable figures born here

Terroir & appellations

Charente lies within protected appellation areas, including Cognac, Mothais sur feuille, Chabichou du Poitou.

Distinctions

Plus Beaux Détours de France (1)

Risks

Safety score
8/10
Flood risk
Moderate
% communes flood-exposed (GASPAR union)
p50 of 96
Fire risk
Moderate
Copernicus FWI · fire-weather index
p59 of 96
Seismic exposure
Very high
% in a seismic zone (most of France is)
p80 of 96
Major risks present

Share of the department's communes listing each risk category

Earthquake Very high 100% p80 of 96
Hazardous-materials transport Moderate 50.3% p50 of 96
Ground movement Very low 16% p20 of 96
Wildfire Very low 13.8% p59 of 96
Dam failure Very low 11% p49 of 96
Subsidence & cavities Very low 9.9% p31 of 96
Flooding Very low 6.4% p10 of 96
Industrial hazard Very low 1.7% p32 of 96

Transport

Transport
9/10
2.0 h to Paris · TGV + closeness
TGV access
Yes
Direct TGV station
Highways
0
—
Work locally
29%
work in own commune
Nearest hubs
🏙 Nearest city
Angoulême TGV
✈ Airport
Limoges Airport (LIG) · ~78 km
🚄 To Paris via TGV
2.0h direct
🛣 Highways
—

Services

Healthcare
5/10
APL 3.2
p33 of 96
Schools
6/10
Brevet 88%
p63 of 96
Fiber coverage
98%
p83 of 96
Intl schools
0schools
None in department
p11 of 96

People

Population
348,591
p34 of 96
Density
58/km²
Mixed
-27% vs median 81
32 387
Pop trend
-0.1%/yr
-0.3 pts vs median · p19
Median income
$25,000
standard of living · $/yr
p38 of 96
Poverty rate
15.1%
below 60% of median living standard
p55 of 96
Unemployment
11.4%
active population out of work
p57 of 96
Tourism
1 bed per 85 residents
p14 of 96 · 4,119 beds
1/92 1/9
Age distribution · % of population
0-14
14%
15-24
11%
25-39
12%
40-54
14%
55-69
20%
70+
29%
Office professionals
12.4%
cadres · engineers, managers, professionals
p39 of 96
Remote work
5.4%
télétravail · works without commuting
p81 of 96
Socio-professional mix · % of occupied workers
Office
Managers & professionals
12.4%
At-home trades
Farmers
2.9%
Artisans & shopkeepers
7.4%
On-site · services, health, teaching, manual
Intermediate professions incl. nurses, teachers
24%
Clerical & service staff
27%
Manual workers
26.3%

Real estate

Median
$1,420/m²
$600 $2,470
House $1,410 Apt $1,780
-2.2%/yr 2023–25
Median surface
—m²
Taxe foncière
50.04%
typical commune rate · TFPB
p78 of 96
Price distribution across communes · $/m²
Loading commune price distribution…
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