Region (France)

Region Région  (French)
Hauts-de- France Normandy Île-de- France Grand Est Bourgogne- Franche- Comté Centre- Val de Loire Pays de la Loire Brittany Nouvelle- Aquitaine Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes Occitanie Provence- Alpes- Côte d'Azur Corsica French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Mayotte Réunion Belgium Luxembourg Germany Switzerland Italy United Kingdom Andorra Brazil Suriname Spain Channel Bay of Biscay Ligurian Sea Mediterranean Sea
Category	Unitary State
Location	French Republic
Number	18
Possible status	Overseas region (5) Région d'outre-mer
Additional status	Territorial collectivity Collectivité Territoriale
Populations	212,645 (Mayotte) – 12,005,077 (Île-de-France)
Areas	376 km2 (145 sq mi) (Mayotte) – 84,061 km2 (32,456 sq mi) (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
Government	Region Government, National Government
Subdivisions	Department

(incl. overseas regions)

(incl. overseas departments)

Métropole
Communauté urbaine
Communauté d'agglomération
Communauté de communes

Associated communes
Municipal arrondissements

Overseas collectivities
Sui generis collectivity
Overseas country
Overseas territory
Clipperton Island

France is divided into 18 administrative regions (French: région, [ʁeʒjɔ̃]), including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The 13 metropolitan regions (including 12 mainland regions and Corsica) are each further subdivided into 2 to 13 departments, while the overseas regions consist of only one department each and hence are also referred to as "overseas departments". The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, and in 2016 what had been 27 regions was reduced to 18.

The term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation (2 March 1982), which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for regional representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through merger.