Hauts-de-France (French: [o d(ə) fʁɑ̃s] ⓘ; Picard: Heuts d’Franche; lit. The brand new area came into existence on 1 January 2016, after regional elections in December 2015.[4] The Conseil d’État accredited Hauts-de-France as the identify of the region on 28 September 2016, efficient the following 30 September. [5][6] Its prefecture is Lille. ‘Heights of France’), also referred to in English as Upper France,[3] is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French areas in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy.

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

Toponymy
[edit]
The area’s interim title Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie was a hyphenated placename, created by hyphenating the merged areas’ names-Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie-in alphabetical order.[7]

On 14 March 2016, well ahead of the 1 July deadline, the regional council decided on Hauts-de-France as the region’s permanent identify.[5][7] The provisional title of the area was retired on 30 September 2016, when the new title of the area, Hauts-de-France, took effect.[6]

Geography
[edit]
The area covers an area of greater than 31,813 km2 (12,283 sq mi). It borders Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia) to the northeast, the North Sea to the north, the English Channel to the west, as nicely as the French areas of Grand Est to the east-southeast, Île-de-France to the south, and Normandy to the west-southwest. It is connected to the United Kingdom (England) through the Channel Tunnel.

Departments
[edit]
Hauts-de-France includes five departments: Aisne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, and Somme.

Major communities
[edit]

Lille (227,560; region prefecture; surrounding area is residence to over 1.5 million inhabitants)

Amiens (133,448)

Roubaix (94,713)

Tourcoing (91,923)

Dunkirk (90,995)

Calais (72,589)

Villeneuve-d’Ascq (62,308)

Saint-Quentin (55,978)

Beauvais (54,289)

Valenciennes (42,691)

Notre Dame de Laon, France

Lille

Amiens

View of the White Cliffs of Dover, England, from Cap Gris Nez, France

Economic system
[edit]
The gross home product (GDP) of the area was 161.7 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 6.9% of French economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for buying energy was 24,200 euros or 80% of the EU27 average in the same 12 months. [8] The GDP per employee was 101% of the EU average.

Transport
[edit]

Air
[edit]
There are solely 2 operating airports in the region that are Lille Airport and Paris-Beauvais Airport. Residents in the region usually use different main airports such as Brussels Airport and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport which each can easily be reached by prepare and automotive.

Rail
[edit]
The region is a crucial transport corridor between France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. There are additional connections to London through the Channel Tunnel. Lille-Europe station is served by TGV and continental Eurostar high-velocity rail companies linking the area with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Sea
[edit]
The ports of Calais and Dunkirk present passenger and freight ferry services throughout the English Channel, while LeShuttle offers a automobile-practice service between Coquelles and Folkstone by the Channel Tunnel.

Battle of Vimy Ridge

Canadian Nationwide Vimy Memorial

Regional Council of the Hauts-de-France

Achicourt station

^ “Populations de référence 2023” (in French). Nationwide Institute of Statistics. Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.

^ “EU areas by GDP, Eurostat”. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

^ “The North: Higher France“. francerevisited.com.

^ “La carte à thirteen régions définitivement adoptée” [The 13-region map finally adopted]. Le Monde (in French). Agence France-Presse. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

^ a b “La Région a voté et s’appelle désormais Hauts-de-France” [The region has voted and is now referred to as Hauts-de-France]. La Voix du Nord (in French). Lille. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.

^ a b Décret n° 2016-1265 du 28 septembre 2016 portant fixation du nom et du chef-lieu de la région Hauts-de-France (in French)

^ a b Loi n° 2015-29 du sixteen janvier 2015 relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral (in French)

^ “Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU common in 2018”. Eurostat.

Wikivoyage has a travel information for Hauts-de-France.

Official website (in French)

Merger of the regions – France three Archived 2015-06-16 on the Wayback Machine

Administrative regions of France

Present (since 2016)

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Brittany

Centre-Val de Loire (Centre Region until 2015)

Corsica

Grand Est

Île-de-France

Normandy

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Occitania

Pays de la Loire

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Former (1982-2015)

Alsace

Aquitaine

Auvergne

Burgundy

Champagne-Ardenne

Franche-Comté

Languedoc-Roussillon

Limousin

Lorraine

Decrease Normandy

Midi-Pyrénées

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Picardy

Poitou-Charentes

Rhône-Alpes

Higher Normandy

French Guiana

Associated articles

Flags

Ranked by space/population

by GDP

by HDI

Regional councils

WorldCat

Geographic

MusicBrainz area

Yale LUX

Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hauts-de-France&oldid=1357390689”

2016 establishments in France

States and territories established in 2016

Articles containing Picard-language text

Articles with French-language sources (fr)

France geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia

This web page was final edited on 2 June 2026, at 10:32 (UTC).

Hauts-de-France

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