Aveyron (French: [avɛʁɔ̃] ; Occitan: Avairon [aβajˈɾu]) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as Aveyronnais (masculine) or Aveyronnaises (feminine) in French. The inhabitants of Aveyron's prefecture, Rodez, are called Ruthénois, based upon the first settlers in the area, the Ruteni. With an area of 8,735 square kilometres (3,373 sq mi) and a population of 279,595, Aveyron is a largely rural department with a population density of 32 people/km (83 people/sq mi).

Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were the Rutenii tribe, though the area was inhabited prior to their tenure. The department has many prehistoric monuments, including over a thousand dolmens, the most of any department in France.

During the medieval and early modern periods, and until the 1790s, the territory included within Aveyron was a province known as Rouergue. In 1797, Victor of Aveyron (a feral child) was found wandering the woods in the area. The story of Victor is told in the film The Wild Child.

In 1817, a local prosecutor, Antoine Bernardin Fualdès, was assassinated. The sordid circumstances of his death, following which his body was found floating in the river Aveyron, led to the matter becoming publicised as a cause célèbre. Recent studies have indicated that he met his end at the initiative of a right-wing royalist organisation known as the Chevaliers de la Foi (Knights of Faith).

The Arms of Aveyron are those of the province of Rouergue and are blazoned as follows: Blazon: Gules, a lion rampant gardant in Or.

Aveyron is the centre of a triangle formed by the cities of Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, and Montpellier. The department approximately follows the outline of the former province of Rouergue. It is the 5th largest department in metropolitan France in terms of area (8,735 km (3,373 sq mi)). Its prefecture is Rodez.

The department comes under the jurisdiction of the Academy of Toulouse and the Montpellier Court of Appeal. The INSEE and Post Code is 12. Aveyron is located in the south of the Massif Central. The highest point in the department is the summit of the Signal de Mailhebiau at 1469m on the Plateau of Aubrac. The Aveyron department is divided into several natural regions such as the Grand Causses and Rougiers.

Aveyron department consists of an ancient high rocky plateau of great geological diversity. The Truyère, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn rivers have carved a number of deep gorges. The department is surrounded by those of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère and Cantal. The Lac de Villefranche-de-Panat is used as a reservoir to provide drinking water supplies for the region.

Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France

Town	Sunshine (hours/yr)	Rain (mm/yr)	Snow (days/yr)	Storm (days/yr)	Fog (days/yr)
National average	1,973	770	14	22	40
Millau	2,146	732	25	25	59
Paris	1,661	637	12	18	10
Nice	2,724	767	1	29	1
Strasbourg	1,693	665	29	29	56
Brest	1,605	1,211	7	12	75

In 2017, the department had 279,206 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the department since 1793.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1791 371,835 —     1801 318,340 −1.54% 1806 331,921 +0.84% 1821 339,422 +0.15% 1831 359,056 +0.56% 1836 370,951 +0.65% 1841 375,083 +0.22% 1846 389,121 +0.74% 1851 394,183 +0.26% 1856 393,890 −0.01% 1861 396,025 +0.11% 1866 400,070 +0.20% 1872 402,474 +0.10% 1876 413,826 +0.70% 1881 415,075 +0.06% 1886 415,826 +0.04% 1891 400,467 −0.75% 1896 389,464 −0.56%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 382,074 −0.38% 1906 377,299 −0.25% 1911 369,448 −0.42% 1921 332,940 −1.04% 1926 328,886 −0.24% 1931 323,782 −0.31% 1936 314,682 −0.57% 1946 307,717 −0.22% 1954 292,727 −0.62% 1962 290,489 −0.10% 1968 281,568 −0.52% 1975 278,306 −0.17% 1982 278,654 +0.02% 1990 270,141 −0.39% 1999 263,808 −0.26% 2007 274,425 +0.49% 2012 276,229 +0.13% 2017 279,206 +0.21%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: SPLAF and INSEE

The most populous commune is Rodez, the prefecture. Of the department's population, 25% live in the four largest communes: Rodez, Millau, Onet-le-Château, and Villefranche-de-Rouergue. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Commune	Population (2019)
Rodez	24,475
Millau	21,979
Onet-le-Château	11,665
Villefranche-de-Rouergue	11,602
Saint-Affrique	8,023
Luc-la-Primaube	6,005
Decazeville	5,323

As of 2020, 17.3% of available housing in the department were second homes.

Communes with population over 2,000 and more than 10% of second homes in 2019

Town	Municipal population	Percentage of second homes
Saint-Geniez-d'Olt-et-d'Aubrac	2,211	30.3%
Espalion	4,601	19.9%
Salles-la-Source	2,265	18.5%
Sévérac-d'Aveyron	4,069	18.4%
Saint-Affrique	8,023	15.4%
Bozouls	2,923	10.1%
Naucelle	2,007	10.0%

The Department Council of Aveyron has 46 seats. The President of the Departmental Council has been Jean-François Galliard of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2017 to 2021. The President has been Arnaud Viala since 2021.

Party		Seats
•	The Republicans Union of Democrats and Independents	30
	Socialist Party	10
	Radical Party of the Left	5
	Independent	1

Following the 2017 legislative election, Aveyron elected the following representatives to the National Assembly:

Constituency		Member	Party
	Aveyron's 1st constituency	Stéphane Mazars	La République En Marche!
	Aveyron's 2nd constituency	Anne Blanc	La République En Marche!
	Aveyron's 3rd constituency	Arnaud Viala	The Republicans

The regional sub-dialect spoken in Aveyron is a form of Languedoc Occitan called Rouergat. Faced with the risk of disappearance of the language several associations asked the State and political communities for an ambitious language policy. In Rouergat, Aveyron is written:

• Avairon (traditional Occitan spelling) – e.g. "Roergue forma lo despartament de l'Avairon"
• Oboyróu (spelling of Father Vayssier) – e.g. "Rouergue fouórmo lou desportomén de l'Oboyróu"

Aveyron contains part of the Cévennes National Park. Tourist attractions include the castle of Najac, a medieval ruin perched high on a hill, and other castles and monasteries such as Conques Abbey, Sylvanès Abbey, Bonneval Abbey and Loc-Dieu Abbey, located near Martiel in a region with many dolmens. The small city of Millau is the site of the world's tallest bridge, the Millau viaduct, opened by President Chirac in December 2004.

Activities include horseriding, fishing, swimming in the Lacs du Lévézou and hiking/camping. The inhabitants are also very good craftsmen, and Aveyron is full of various craft objects, handmade, that can be found locally. Examples include the couteau de Laguiole, the world famous Roquefort cheese, from the village of the same name and other local produce. Markets take place every Saturday on market places around the region.

Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance is the commune where the feral child Victor of Aveyron was found in the late 18th century.

• 
  Rodez Cathedral
• 
  Estaing
• 
  Sévérac-le-Château
• 
  Château de Peyrelade
• 
  Château de Najac
• 
  Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux

Ten towns in Aveyron fall within the classification of a 1901 association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France:

• Belcastel
• Brousse-le-Château
• La Couvertoirade
• Conques
• Estaing
• Najac
• Peyre
• Saint-Côme-d'Olt
• Sainte-Eulalie-d'Olt
• Sauveterre-de-Rouergue.

• Roquecézière
• Saint-Geniez-d'Olt
• Loc-Dieu Abbey
• Bonneval Abbey
• Coupiac
• Aubrac Mountains
• Causse du Larzac
• Château de Sévérac
• Bournazel
• Baraqueville
• Château de Calmont d'Olt
• Rodez
• Millau
• Pons
• Medieval villages in the Muse Valley:
  • Castelnau-Pégayrols
  • Saint-Beauzély
  • Montjaux
• Villefranche-de-Rouergue
• Villeneuve
• The Trou de Bozouls
• The Tindoul de la Vayssière
• Vale of Marcillac, Vineyards and towns:
  • Marcillac-Vallon
  • Salles-la-Source
  • Clairvaux-d'Aveyron
  • Muret-le-Château
• The Lakes of Lévézou
• Laguiole
• The Gorges du Tarn
• Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon
• Salles-Curan and the Lac de Pareloup
• Salvagnac-Cajarc
• Roquefort-sur-Soulzon
• Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, classed as a historic area with the "Feral child": Victor of Aveyron
• Peyrusse-le-Roc
• Grotto of Foissac
• The Basin of Decazeville (Decazeville, Aubin, Cransac, Firmi and Viviez) with old coal mines.

• Central Agricultural Society of Aveyron, founded in 1798
• Society of letters, sciences and arts of Aveyron, founded in 1836

• Déodat Alaus, master mason of the 15th century, builder of the city ramparts of the Templars and Hospitallers city of Larzac
• Ambrose Crozot, painter, born in Rodez at the end of the 17th century
• Denis Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1793–1848)
• Georges d'Armagnac, Bishop of Avignon, cardinal and Bishop of Rodez (died in 1585)
• Marie–Auguste de Balsac, high functionary
• Louis Balsan, archaeologist, caver, one of the last great disciples of Martel (1903–1988)
• Adolphe de Barrau, naturalist (1803–1884)
• Hippolyte de Barrau, founder of the Society of Letters, scholar (1794–1863)
• Justin Bessou, Occitan poet (1845–1918)
• Adolphe Boisse, engineer and politician (1810–1896)
• Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald, philosopher (1754–1840)
• Louis-Jacques Maurice de Bonald, bishop (1787–1870)
• Émile Borel, mathematician (1871–1956)
• José Bové, anti-globalizationist, MEP since 2009, farmer, activist and former spokesman of French farmers union Confédération paysanne, peasant in the cause of Larzac (1953 -)
• Michel Bras (1946 -), chef.
• Jean Carrier, clergyman of the 15th century, the last supporter and successor of the Antipope Benedict XIII under the name of Benedict XIV
• Edouard de Castelnau, General (1851–1944)
• Marc Cenci, former president of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées, former mayor of Rodez (1936 -)
• Hippolyte Coste, botanist (1858–1924)
• Jean-Louis Cromières, artisan farmer who "revived" the Laguiole knife
• François d'Estaing, Bishop of Rodez (1501–1529)
• François Fabié, poet (1846–1926)
• Jean-Henri Fabre, French entomologist and writer (1823–1915)
• Robert Fabre, founder of the Movement of Radicals of the left, Ombudsman (1915–2006)
• Maurice Fenaille, patron (1855–1937)
• Denis-Luc Frayssinous, bishop and tutor of the Dauphin
• Antoine Bernardin Fualdes, prosecutor, assassinated (1761–1817)
• Gustave Garrigou, winner of the Tour de France in 1911, born in Vabre-Tizac
• Alexandre Geniez, racing cyclist
• Charles Girou de Buzareingues, agronomist and philosopher
• Jacques d'Izarn Valady, officer, deputy, shot (1766–1793)
• Guy Lacombe, football coach (1955–)
• Amédée-Jean-Baptiste Latieule, Bishop of Vannes (1838–1903)
• Jean-Claude Luche, Chairman of the General Council of Aveyron
• Cardinal Marty, Archbishop of Paris (1904–1994)
• Amans-Alexis Monteil, historian (1769–1850)
• Antoine de Morlhon, bishop (1753–1828)
• Auguste de Morlhon, bishop (1799–1862)
• Alain Peyrefitte, writer, minister, member of the Académie française (1925–1999)
• Pierre Poujade, politician, was born and lived in Labastide l'Evêque
• Denys Puech, sculptor, director of the Villa Medicis (1854–1942)
• Jean Puech, former President of the General Council of Aveyron, Senator, and former minister (1942 -)
• Jacques Puel, Ruthénois physician specializing in cardiothoracic surgery (1949–2008)
• Guillaume-Thomas Raynal, historian, philosopher (1713–1796)
• Emilie de Rodat, founder of the congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Villefranche (1787–1852)
• Richard Sainct, motorcycle rider (1970–2004)
• Pierre Frédéric Sarrus, mathematician (1798–1861)
• Pierre Soulages, painter (1919–2022)
• Jean Verdier, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris (1864–1940)
• Eugène Viala, painter, poet (1859–1913)
• Auguste Denayrouze, Scientist, Inventor, writer (1837–1883)
• Gaëtan Roussel, songwriter (1972–)
• Father Aimé Vayssier, ecclesiastical bachelor of letters, author of the French patois dictionary of the department of Aveyron (1821–1875)
• Dom Pierre Guérin, ecclesiastic from Nantes, Rouergat poet (1608–1698)
• Jules Merviel, cyclist active in the 1930s, born in Saint-Beauzély (1906–1976)
• Bertrand Delanoe, French politician and Mayor of Paris (1950–)
• Cyril Lignac, French chef and TV host
• Jean Boudou, Occitan writer born in Crespin (home of Joan Bodon)
• Bernard Laporte, rugby coach (1964–)
• Francis Poulenc, Composer (1899–1963)

• Encyclopedia Bonneton, Aveyron, Christine Bonneton, 2005 (in French)
• Jean-Michel Cosson, Dictionary of Aveyron, Loubatières, ISBN 2-86266-471-5 (in French)
• Daniel Crozes, The Guide to Aveyron, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-541-6 (in French)
• Aue/Miche, Aveyron (Discovered), MSM, ISBN 2-911515-44-7 (in French)
• Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, The small clever Aveyron, Collectif, Nouvelles Éditions Université, ISBN 2-7469-1664-9 (in French)
• Paul Astruc, Major Criminal cases of Aveyron, Éditions De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-180-X (in French)
• Christian Bernard, Aveyron in flowers: Illustrated inventory of vascular plants of Aveyron department, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-658-7 (in French)
• Francine Claustres, Aveyron Cuisine, Sud Ouest, ISBN 2-87901-257-0 (in French)
• Aveyron: Farming Yields, Du Curieux, ISBN 2-914225-07-5 (in French)
• French Hiking Federation, Aveyron on foot, Guide FFRP, ISBN 2-85699-893-3 (in French)
• French Hiking Federation, The most beautiful villages in Aveyron… on foot: 20 walks and hikes, FFRP, ISBN 2-7514-0113-9 (in French)
• Hubert Calmette, The paths of Émilie in Aveyron, French Hiking Federation, ISBN 2-84182-156-0 (in French)
• Richard André, Romain Pages Éditions, Le Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses, ISBN 2-84350-194-6 (in French)
• Rémi Soulié, The old Rouergue: Land of Aveyron, Paris, ISBN 2-84621-069-1 (in French)
• Alain Marc, Aveyron, Logbooks, Éditions du Rouergue, ISBN 2-84156-610-2 (in French)
• Laurent Millet, Family names of Aveyron, Archives Cult, ISBN 2-35077-013-3 (in French)
• Laurent Barthe, Of Rouergue in Aveyron, Empreinte, ISBN 2-913319-34-3 (in French)
• Aveyron 1900–1920 Édition De Boree, ISBN 2-84494-322-5 (in French)
• Jean-Michel Cosson, Stéphane Monnet, Aveyron in the 1939–1945 war, Éditions De Boré, ISBN 2-84494-464-7 (in French)
• Jill Dawson, Béatrice Dunner, The wild child of Aveyron, Du Rocher, ISBN 2-268-05377-6 (in French)
• Jean Itard, Victor de l'Aveyron, Allia, ISBN 2-904235-78-7 (in French)
• Dagonet/Christian, Regards to Aveyron, De Borée, ISBN 2-84494-536-8 (in French)
• Nicole de Bertier, Meeting in Aveyron, Equinoxe, ISBN 2-84135-471-7 (in French)

• Arrondissements of the Aveyron department
• County of Rodez
• Cantons of the Aveyron department
• Communes of the Aveyron department
• Maison de Jeanne

• (in French) Prefecture website
• (in French) Departmental council of Aveyron's website
• (in French) Aveyron's bulletin board
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aveyron" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.