The basin of the river Richelieu is a residential territory for 349 550 people. The basin is made up of 8 MRC, 62 towns, among them 15 have more than 10 000 inhabitants. The density is therefore very high compared to the rest of Quebec , with an average of 140 inhabitants/ km².
See the map of the MRC (city counties)
The MRC and their districts :
- Rouville : Marieville, Richelieu, Rougemont, Sainte-Angèle–de-Monnoir, Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu.
- Le Haut-Richelieu : Henryville, Lacolle, Mont Saint-Grégoire, Noyan, Saint-Alexandre, Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu, Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Paul-de-l’ile-aux-noix, Saint-Sébastien, Saint-Valentin, Venise-en-Québec.
- Vallée du Richelieu : Beloeil, Carignan, Chambly, McMasterville, Mont Saint-Hilaire, Otterburn Park, Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil.
- Le Bas Richelieu : Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel, Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel, Saint-Ours, Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu, Sorel-Tracy.
- Roussillon : LaPrairie, Saint-Philippe.
- Les Jardins-de-Napierville : Hemmingford, Hemmingford ct, Napierville, Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Saint-Édoucard, Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur, Saint-Patrice-de-Sherriington.
- Les Maskoutains : La Présentation, Saint-Bernard-de-Michaudville, Saint-Damasse, Sainte-Madeleine, Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Saint-Jude, Saint-Louis, Saint-Hyacinthe.
- Lajemmerais : Calixa-Lavallée, Contrecoeur, Saint-Amable, Sainte-Julie, Varennes, Verchères.
Important towns are usually located on the rivers sides, as these hydrographic networks helped the populating. For that reason, 50% of the population is concentrated on the banks of the river Richelieu and the Saint Lawrence, in the 11 more populated town districts:
Saint-Hubert, Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Chambly, Beloeil, Saint-Luc, inte-Julie, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Iberville et Brossard.
The territory is divided into 3 sub regions : the Bas Richelieu, the Mi-Richelieu et le Haut-Richelieu :
Bas Richelieu : this territory counts 52 288 inhabitants (1996). The town district that is less populated, Saint-Gérard-Majella, holds 500 habitants, while the town of Sorel-Tracy holds 36 021 habitants That is to say that the town of Sorel-Tracy holds 69 % of the population of this sub region.
Valley of the river Richelieu :
The valley of the river Richelieu has more than 100 000 inhabitants. It contains thirteen town districts and four big towns. Its population is rather young (8.2% are 65 years old or more) . the population in Quebec in general is rather young (12.1% are 65 years old or more).
Haut-Richelieu : The population in this subregion is 103 915 inhabitants (Census of the 3 rd of March 2004). Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is the 11th biggest town in Québec.
