According to the latest statistics published by INSEE, Villeneuve-de-la-Rivière has 1,306 inhabitants in 2021. The official legal population of the municipality is 1,316 inhabitants (the last official figure dates from December 31, 2016). Due to the health crisis, INSEE has postponed the population census to 2022. The number of inhabitants for 2021 was calculated from the average annual population growth rate over the period from 2011 to 2016, i.e. – 0.2%. The population is therefore decreasing, however, it is a population that is getting younger with an aging index of one person aged 65 or over for 71.6 inhabitants under 20 years of age.
In the long term, the population has increased from 632 inhabitants in 1968 to 1,308 inhabitants in 2020, an increase of 107% over a period of 52 years. The activity rate of people over the age of 15 residing in the municipality is 73.1%: 5 are farmers. 30 are craftsmen, merchants or business leaders, 50 are executives or higher intellectual professions, 160 are intermediate professions, 150 are employees, 105 are workers, 315 are retired, 210 are unemployed.
The number of households is 527, the average size is 2.4 people per household (2016 data), 48.7% of households have no children, 17.1% of households have a child under 25 years old, 30.3% have two children under 25 years old and finally 3.9% of households have three or more children under 25 years old. 130 pupils attend the Odile Salvat-Soubielle public school (kindergarten and primary).
The associative fabric is rich with six sports associations (football, petanque, judo, taekwondo, rugby, dance), six leisure associations (hiking, festivities, handmade, sewing, cross stitch, games), four cultural and artistic associations ( photos, Catalan, theatre, circus), four various associations (Veterans, hunting, parents of pupils, twinning committee). The town has been twinned for 18 years, with that of El Valle de Lécrin in Andalusia.
