Hauts-de-France

Hauts-de-France
Heuts-d'Franche (Picard)
Grand Place in Lille
Grand Place in Lille
Flag of Hauts-de-France
Coat of arms of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 49°55′14″N 2°42′11″E / 49.9206°N 2.7030°E / 49.9206; 2.7030
Country France
PrefectureLille
Departments
5
Government
 • President of the Regional CouncilXavier Bertrand (LR)
Area
 • Total31,813 km2 (12,283 sq mi)
 • Rank9th
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total5,995,292
 • Density190/km2 (490/sq mi)
GDP
 • Total€185.472 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€30,900 (2022)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-HDF
NUTS RegionFRE
Websitewww.hautsdefrance.fr Edit this at Wikidata

Hauts-de-France (French pronunciation: [o fʁɑ̃s] ; lit.'Heights of France', also Upper France,[3] Picard: Heuts d'Franche) is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The new region came into existence on 1 January 2016, after regional elections in December 2015.[4] The Conseil d'État approved Hauts-de-France as the name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective the following 30 September.[5][6]

With 6,009,976 inhabitants as of 1 January 2015 and a population density of 189 inhabitants per km2, it is the third most populous region in France and the second-most densely populated in metropolitan France after its southern neighbour Île-de-France. It is bordered by Belgium to the north. The region is a blend mixture of French and (southern-) Dutch cultures.

  1. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  2. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "The North: Upper France". francerevisited.com.
  4. ^ "La carte à 13 régions définitivement adoptée" [The 13-region map finally adopted]. Le Monde (in French). Agence France-Presse. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  5. ^ "La Région a voté et s'appelle désormais Hauts-de-France" [The region has voted and is now called Hauts-de-France]. La Voix du Nord (in French). Lille. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. ^ Décret n° 2016-1265 du 28 septembre 2016 portant fixation du nom et du chef-lieu de la région Hauts-de-France (in French)