Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (French pronunciation: [o də fʁɑ̃s] ⓘ; lit. 'Heights of France', also Upper France, 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. The Conseil d'État approved Hauts-de-France as the name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective the following 30 September.
Hauts-de-France
Heuts-d'Franche (Picard) | |
|---|---|
Region | |
Grand Place in Lille | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 49.9206°N 2.7030°E | |
| Country | France |
| Prefecture | Lille |
| Departments | 5
|
| Government | |
| • President of the Regional Council | Xavier Bertrand (LR) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 31,813 km2 (12,283 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 9th |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 5,995,292 |
| • Density | 190/km2 (490/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €185.472 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | €30,900 (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-HDF |
| NUTS Region | FRE |
| Website | www |
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.