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Île-de-France (region)

Ile-de-France (region)
NameL'Île-de-France
Reg LogoIDF logo.png
FlagÎle-de-France flag.svg
CapitalParis
Area12012
Population11694000
Pop Date2008-01-01
Pop Rank1st
GDP511
GDP Year2007
GDP Per Capita44,300
GDP Cap Year2007
GDP Cap Ref
Websitewww.iledefrance.fr
LeaderJean-Paul Huchon
Leader PartyPS
Departments8
Dept1Paris
Dept2Essonne
Dept3Hauts-de-Seine
Dept4Seine-Saint-Denis
Dept5Seine-et-Marne
Dept6Val-de-Marne
Dept7Val-d'Oise
Dept8Yvelines
NUTSFR1

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'Île-de-France' (-fril də fʁɑ̃s) (literally Isle-of-France; see etymology hereafter) is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area.

With 11.7 million inhabitants, Île-de-France is not only the most populated region of France but also has more residents than Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal or Sweden, and has a population comparable to that of either the U.S. state of Ohio or the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the fourth most populous country subdivision in the European Union, after England, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

Economically, Île-de-France is the world's 4th and Europe's 1st wealthiest and largest regional economy: in 2009, its total GDP as calculated by Eurostat was -552 billion (US$768.9 billion) at market exchange rates; it is the wealthiest metropolitan area in the European Union - and if it were a country, it would rank as the 15th wealthiest in the world. Île-de-France also is, second to the Kantō region, the world's second most important location for Fortune Global 500 companies' headquarters.

Created as the "District of the Paris Region" in 1961; it was renamed after the historic province of "Isle de France" in 1976, when its administrative status was aligned with the other French administrative regions created in 1972. Its name literally means "Island-of-France", possibly from ancient Frankish Liddle Franke, "little France". Despite the name change, Île-de-France is still popularly referred to by French people as the région Parisienne (the Paris Region) or RP. However its inhabitants are more and more referred to as "Franciliens", an adjective created in the 80s and successfully used today. Ninety percent of its territory is covered by the Paris aire urbaine (or "metropolitan area") which extends beyond its borders in places.


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