Balma

For the Aboriginal Australian sacred site, see Yalangbara, Northern Territory.

Balma (French pronunciation: [balma]; Occitan: Balmar) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is east of Toulouse.

Balma
Commune
An aerial view of Balma
Coat of arms
Location of Balma
Balma Show map of France Balma Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°36′40″N 1°29′58″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Toulouse
Canton	Toulouse-10
Intercommunality	Toulouse Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Vincent Terrail-Novès[1]
Area 1	16.59 km2 (6.41 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	17,431
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	31044 /31130
Elevation	135–218 m (443–715 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The name of the town comes from the old Provençal word meaning "cave" or "grotto".

History

Balma was established in 1279 as a fief of the bishopric of Toulouse.^{[citation needed]}

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balmanais.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 546 —     1800 544 −0.05% 1806 603 +1.73% 1821 635 +0.35% 1831 790 +2.21% 1836 802 +0.30% 1841 785 −0.43% 1846 863 +1.91% 1851 883 +0.46% 1856 840 −0.99% 1861 835 −0.12% 1866 795 −0.98% 1872 797 +0.04% 1876 877 +2.42% 1881 893 +0.36% 1886 944 +1.12% 1891 916 −0.60% 1896 965 +1.05%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 913 −1.10% 1906 909 −0.09% 1911 886 −0.51% 1921 821 −0.76% 1926 868 +1.12% 1931 937 +1.54% 1936 966 +0.61% 1946 1,276 +2.82% 1954 1,724 +3.83% 1962 2,890 +6.67% 1968 4,276 +6.75% 1975 7,127 +7.57% 1982 8,117 +1.88% 1990 9,506 +1.99% 1999 11,944 +2.57% 2007 12,946 +1.01% 2012 14,245 +1.93% 2017 16,568 +3.07%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Sport

Balma is the home of Championnat de France Amateurs club, Balma SC.

Monument

• 
  Town hall
• 
  Saint-Joseph church
• 
  Saint-Martin-de-Boville church
• 
  Public Library
• 
  War monument

See also

• Toulouse - Lasbordes Airport
• Stade Municipal de Balma
• 11th Parachute Brigade
• Communes of the Haute-Garonne department