Là où le célibat blesse. L’estimation du célibat en milieu agricole

[paper in French]This paper aims to understand the disparity of the estimations of farmer’s celibacy through many French scientific publications. This inquiry has been focused on the statistical and sociological construction of celibacy and agriculture. The differences in the definition of farmer’s population, statistical unit, reference person, or celibacy’s indicators are studied in various statistical surveys. Finally this paper suggests an estimation of farmer’s celibacy and a comparison with other professions.