Rouen Population and Area (Seine-Maritime)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Rouen (Seine-Maritime)
Rouen: Population and Area
With 119,165 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Rouen is the 35th most populous town in France in 2026 and the 2nd most populous in the Seine-Maritime department, out of 707 communes. It covers 21 km² (7,250th largest area in France, 26th largest in the department), with a population density of 5,574 inhabitants per km², or 51 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 117th in France for density.
Rouen is located in the Seine-Maritime department (76), in the Normandy region (formerly Upper Normandy), where it ranks 2nd by population out of 2,644 communes. The most populous town in the Seine-Maritime department is Le Havre (168,588 inhabitants); the department is home to 1,281,667 people over 6,278 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the Seine-Maritime department and the regional ranking: largest city in Normandy.
Towns of similar size in the Seine-Maritime department: Le Havre (pop. 168,588), Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray (pop. 29,760), Sotteville-lès-Rouen (pop. 29,464), Dieppe (pop. 28,970).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 76540. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Rouen, capital of Normandy
Capital of the Normandy region and prefecture of the Seine-Maritime department, Rouen is nevertheless only the second most populous town in Normandy, behind Le Havre. This apparent contradiction comes from the small size of its territory, whereas its urban area, spread along both banks of the Seine, is by far the largest in Normandy.
A great historic port city
Capital of the Duchy of Normandy, the city of Joan of Arc, the "city of a hundred bell towers" with its half-timbered houses, Rouen is also a major river-sea port and an industrial center (petrochemicals, paper, automobiles) whose activity long fueled its growth. Its population within city limits, which had declined as people moved out to the suburbs, has been rising again since the 2010s thanks to the redevelopment of the riverbanks and brownfield sites, the university, and the proximity of Paris, a little over an hour away by train.