Ajaccio Population and Area (Corse-du-Sud)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud)
Ajaccio: Population and Area
With 77,132 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Ajaccio is the 68th most populous town in France in 2026 and the most populous in the Corse-du-Sud department, out of 124 communes. It covers 82 km² (382nd largest area in France, 10th largest in the department), with a population density of 940 inhabitants per km², or 8.6 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 1,000th in France for density.
Ajaccio is located in the Corse-du-Sud department (2A), in the Corsica region, where it ranks 1st by population out of 360 communes. It is the most populous town in the Corse-du-Sud department, which is home to 170,548 people over 4,014 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the Corse-du-Sud department and the regional ranking: largest city in Corsica.
Towns of similar size in the Corse-du-Sud department: Porto-Vecchio (pop. 11,387), Bastelicaccia (pop. 4,489), Propriano (pop. 4,028).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 2A004. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Ajaccio, the largest city in Corsica
Prefecture of Corse-du-Sud and seat of the Collectivité de Corse, Ajaccio is the most populous town on the island, ahead of Bastia. Founded by the Genoese at the end of the 15th century, it lies at the head of the Gulf of Ajaccio, facing the Sanguinaires islands.
A growing administrative city
The birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose family home is now a national museum, Ajaccio owes its size to its role as capital: regional and departmental administrations, services, the port and the airport account for a large share of the island's jobs. Its population has been rising for several decades, driven by the appeal of the coast and by tourism. Its territory, large for a Corsican town, stretches from the port and the old town to the hills and the Pointe de la Parata, which explains a moderate density despite a heavily built-up center. Its population rises sharply again during the tourist season.