France is the largest country located in North-Western Europe. With an area of 551,500 km², the Political Map of France is more than twice the size of the United Kingdom. The Country has a population of 67 million people (est. 2020); 64.8 million people in Metropolitan France and 2.2 million in its overseas regions. The largest city and the capital of France are Paris. It is a major administrative, cultural and commercial center of the country.
The Political Map of France is divided into regions and subdivided into departments and then arrondissements, cantons, and communes. France is divided into 18 regions, out of which 13 are on continental France.
Administrative Regions of France
The region constitutes the first level of division of France. Before the French Revolution of 1789, France was divided into provinces from the historical feudal history. During the revolution, these provinces were abolished and the French territory was divided into 83 departments. On 5 April 1919, the first ministerial decree establishes the first regional grouping called “regions Clémentel”.
The 13 Regions
| Region | Capital | Area (km2) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes(Auvergne-Rhône-Alps) | Lyon | 69,711 | 7,916,889 |
| Bourgogne-Franche-Comté(Burgundy-Free County) | Dijon | 47,784 | 2,818,338 |
| Bretagne(Brittany) | Rennes | 27,208 | 3,306,529 |
| Centre-Val de Loire[4](Centre-Loire Valley) | Orléans | 39,151 | 2,577,866 |
| Corse(Corsica) | Ajaccio | 8,680 | 330,455 |
| Grand Est(Great East) | Strasbourg | 57,441 | 5,555,186 |
| Hauts-de-France(Upper France) | Lille | 31,806 | 6,006,870 |
| Île-de-France(Island of France) | Paris | 12,011 | 12,117,132 |
| Normandie(Normandy) | Rouen | 29,907 | 3,335,929 |
| Nouvelle-Aquitaine(New Aquitaine) | Bordeaux | 84,036 | 5,935,603 |
| Occitanie(Occitania) | Toulouse | 72,724 | 5,808,435 |
| Pays de la Loire(Loire Countries) | Nantes | 32,082 | 3,737,632 |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur(Provence-Alps-Azure Coast) | Marseille | 31,400 | 5,021,928 |
Overseas Regions of France
| Region | Capital | Area (km2) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guadeloupe | Basse-Terre | 1,628 | 394,110 |
| Guyane(French Guiana) | Cayenne | 83,534 | 269,352 |
| La Réunion(Réunion) | Saint-Denis | 2,504 | 852,924 |
| Martinique | Fort-de-France | 1,128 | 376,480 |
| Mayotte | Mamoudzou | 374 | 256,518 |
The 18 administrative regions are subdivided into 101 departments. Out of these 101 departments, 96 departments are located in Metropolitan France and five departments are located overseas and are referred to as overseas departments. The departments are further subdivided into 335 arrondissements. These arrondissements are further divided into a total of 2,504 cantons. The cantons are also divided into a total of 36,658 communes.
Border Map of France
The borders of France are the international borders that the French Republic shares with neighboring sovereign states. France has land borders with eleven countries. On its eastern border, its neighbors include Belgium (652-659 km), Luxembourg (73 km), Germany (448 km), Switzerland (573 km), Italy (515 km), and the principality of Monaco (4kms). On its southern border, it lies next to Spain (623kms) and the Pyrenean mini-state of Andorra (57kms).
France borders Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in the east, the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco, Spain, and Andorra in the south. France also shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom.