Quimper Population and Area (Finistère)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Quimper (Finistère)
Quimper: Population and Area
With 66,579 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Quimper is the 81st most populous town in France in 2026 and the 2nd most populous in the Finistère department, out of 277 communes. It covers 84 km² (357th largest area in France, 3rd largest in the department), with a population density of 788 inhabitants per km², or 7.2 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 1,206th in France for density.
Quimper is located in the Finistère department (29), in the Brittany region, where it ranks 3rd by population out of 1,202 communes. The most populous town in the Finistère department is Brest (144,890 inhabitants); the department is home to 957,671 people over 6,733 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the Finistère department and the regional ranking: largest city in Brittany.
Towns of similar size in the Finistère department: Brest (pop. 144,890), Concarneau (pop. 21,635), Landerneau (pop. 16,975), Guipavas (pop. 15,882).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 29232. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Quimper, capital of the Finistère department, second to Brest
Although it is the capital of the Finistère department, Quimper is only its second most populous town, far behind Brest. The historic capital of Cornouaille, it grew up at the confluence of the Odet and the Steir rivers, which gave it its Breton name, Kemper, meaning "confluence."
A cultural capital with a vast territory
Around Saint-Corentin Cathedral and its half-timbered houses, Quimper grew as a bishop's seat, an administrative center and a market town, serving all of southwestern Brittany. It is famous for its faience, made there since the late 17th century, and for the Festival de Cornouaille, one of the great events of Breton culture. The town covers a very large area: since 1960 it has taken in several former neighboring communes and wide rural stretches along the Odet, which gives it a low density for a prefecture of this size. Its population is growing slowly, supported by services, the food industry and the appeal of the nearby coast.