Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

The regional gap in GDP per capita increased in France over the last sixteen years. The faster economic growth of Île-de-France drove this trend. Since 2012, GDP per capita in Île-de-France has grown 0.55 percentage points per year faster than in Hauts-de-France, the region with the lowest GDP per capita. In 2016, France had the tenth highest regional disparities in GDP per capita among 30 OECD countries with comparable data.

Île-de-France is not only the French region with the highest productivity levels, but also the region with the highest productivity growth in the country – 1.2% per year over the period 2000-16. As a consequence, there has been no convergence between French regions in terms of labour productivity since 2000. Youth unemployment is above the OECD average of 15.1% in all regions, ranging from 15.7% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to 27.6% in Hauts-de-France.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-17

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); France is composed of 13 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

France

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

40 000

45 000

50 000

55 000

60 000

65 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionHauts-de-France

Highest regionÎle-de-France

29 083 USD

62 387 USD

37 171 USD

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

France

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

100 000

110 000

120 000

130 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Bourgogne-Franche-C.:

low est productiv ity

grow th (+0.2% annually )

Île-de-France: highest

productiv ity in 2016 and

highest av erage annual

grow th ov er 2000-16

(+1.2% annually )

OECD

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2007 2012 2017

rate (%)

Lowest rateAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Highest rateHauts-de-France

15.7%

27.6%

22.4%France

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – FRANCE http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

Eight French regions rank in the top 20% of OECD regions in terms of health, with residents in the capital region having the highest life expectancy in the country and one of the highest in the entire OECD. The largest regional disparities are observed for safety, with Corsica being in the bottom 25% of the OECD regions and Brittany in the top 20%. On the other hand, Corsica ranks first among the French regions in community and self-evaluation of life satisfaction.

The top performing regions in France fare better than the OECD median region for all the well-being indicators, except for employment rate. In the regions with the worst outcomes, the unemployment rate is 5 percentage points higher and the employment rate 8 percentage points lower than the OECD median region, respectively.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); France is composed of 13 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

Brittany

Corsica

Île-de-France

Île-de-France

BrittanyBrittany

Corsica

Brittany

Pays dela Loire

Île-de-France

Brittany

Corsica

Centre -Val de Loire

Corsica

Hauts-de-France

Île-de-France

Île-de-France

Centre -Val de Loire

Corsica

Corsica

Hauts-de-France Normandy

Safety Community Access toservices

Health Environment Housing LifeSatisfaction

CivicEngagement

Jobs Income Education

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to 4

02)

top 2

0%

bo

tto

m 2

0%

mid

dle

60%

Île-de-France Regions (France métropolitaine)

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 1.4 1.3 0.7 1.4

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 92.3 91.4 94.3 90.4

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 79.0 78.0 86.6 75.0

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 82.7 80.4 83.9 81.4

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 6.8 8.1 6.1 7.2

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 13.3 12.4 10.6 15.9

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.5

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.5

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 77.8 70.9 82.3 78.2

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 63.5 67.7 66.9 60.2

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 9.6 5.5 7.4 11.1

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 20 480 17 695 23 986 18 758

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 82.8 81.7 86.1 80.6

French regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 85 in France and 1 138 in the OECD.

In France, 64% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 39% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

Metropolitan areas in France accounted for 52% of national GDP and 45% of employment. Between 2000 and 2016, they generated 73% of national GDP growth, with the metropolitan area of Paris alone accounting for 45% of such growth.

In terms of GDP per capita, Paris ranks among the 20% richest among the 327 OECD Metropolitan areas. In OECD countries, Lille and Marseille are among the 25% of metropolitan areas with the highest air pollution, as measured in terms of people’s exposure to PM 2.5.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities with a population of over 500 000

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 15 in France compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

39%

14%11%

36%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

66.5 million people - 64% live in cities

United StatesFrance

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

52%45%

39%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

France OECD average%73% 68%

Pa

ris

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

France OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 4 607 per capita in France compared to an OECD average of USD-6 817. In France, this is equivalent to 19.8% of total public expenditure and to 11.1% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. The function ‘Other’ (housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety) and economic affairs are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in France: together they represent 46% of subnational expenditure compared to 29% in the OECD area.

In France, 55.2% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

Health 1% 18% Health

General public services 19% 14% General public services

Education 15% 25% Education

Economic affairs 19% 14% Economic affairs

Social protection 19% 14% Social protection

OtherOther 27% 15%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

France OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 4 607 USD 6 817

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

1 600

Total public investmentUSD 1 433 per capita3.5% of GDP

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 792 per capita55.2% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averageFrance

Subnational government finance