Charleroi has 202,267 residents within 102.9 km². The average age is 39, and the population is 51.2% women. A majority of inhabitants, 54%, own their home; average net income is €13,444 per person per year. The recorded nationalities are 85% Belgian, 5.5% Italian, 1.5% Moroccan, 1.1% French, 1% Turkish, 0.9% Romanian, 0.8% Algerian and 4.1% other. Houses account for 77.2% of dwellings and apartment buildings for 22.8%. The average home has 5.3 rooms, and buildings were generally built around 1920. The local building breakdown includes 43% closed-type houses, 23.2% semi-closed-type houses, 21.5% buildings and flat blocks, 6.7% open-type houses, farms or castles, 4.1% commercial houses and 1.6% other types.
There are 10 houses for rent in Charleroi. The average monthly rent is €621, with current rents ranging from €450 to €1,500. Local activity includes 565 restaurants and mobile food-service companies, 497 hairdressing and beauty-treatment firms, and 320 companies building residential and non-residential properties. Grocery shops listed across the municipality include 18 Carrefour, 9 Aldi, 8 Lidl, 7 Louis Delhaize, 5 Colruyt, 5 Delhaize, 4 Trafic, 4 Intermarché, 2 Match / Smatch and 1 Bio-Planet. Other common business activities include beverage service, legal work and non-specialised food, drink or tobacco retail.
The A54 / E420 entrance, on the Nivelles–Charleroi route, is 0 minutes by car from the centre. The A15 / E42, linking La Louvière, Charleroi, Namur and Liège, has access 7 minutes away. The N5, N29, R51, R51b and R51e are the other main roads passing through Charleroi. Public transport includes TEC tram line M2 from Charleroi Sud to Anderlues Monument, M3 from Charleroi Sud to Gosselies Fbg de Bruxelles, and M4 from Charleroi Sud to Gilly Soleilmont. There are 63 bus lines; among them are line 1 between Montignies (Place), Charleroi Sud and GB Bomerée, line 18 between Jumet (Dépôt), Charleroi Sud and Châtelet (Chavepeyer), and line 28 between Châtelineau (SNCB) and Jumet (Madeleine).
Childcare and education provision includes 118 nurseries, 130 nursery schools, 135 primary schools and 37 secondary schools. Examples include Ecole Fondamentale Annexée Vauban - Charleroi, Ecole Fondamentale Du Gros-Fayt, Ecole Fondamentale Libre Saint-Joseph, Institut Saint-Andre and Institut Notre-Dame. For shared and lower-emission travel, Charleroi has 3 Cambio car-share stations and 6 electric-vehicle charging stations; there are currently no shared bicycles. Brussels South Charleroi Airport is 4 minutes away by car and 29 minutes by public transport. The railway stations listed for the municipality are Charleroi-West / Charleroi-Ouest, Charleroi-Zuid / Charleroi-Sud, Lodelinsart, Couillet and Marchienne-Au-Pont.