Regions of France (NUTS 2) by population

Name: Regions of France (NUTS 2) by population, 2016
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Ile-de-France had the highest population of 27 regions in 2016, at 12.12 million. Mayotte had the lowest, at 240,987. The median was 1.86 million and the figure for France was 66.64 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest12,117,132Ile-de-France

Lowest240,987Mayotte

Median1,858,58027 regions

France66,638,391History

All regions, 2016

CSV Chart (SVG)

persons. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

Rank	Regions	2016 persons	Change on 2015
1	Ile-de-France	12,117,132	+0.3%
2	Rhône-Alpes	6,553,497	+0.6%
3	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	5,021,928	+0.3%
4	Nord-Pas de Calais	4,074,448	-0.1%
5	Pays de la Loire	3,737,632	+0.5%
6	Aquitaine	3,393,297	+0.7%
7	Bretagne	3,306,529	+0.4%
8	Midi-Pyrénées	3,015,132	+0.5%
9	Languedoc-Roussillon	2,793,303	+0.7%
10	Centre - Val de Loire	2,577,866	-0%
11	Lorraine	2,337,788	-0.2%
12	Picardie	1,932,422	0%
13	Alsace	1,884,150	+0.3%
14	Haute-Normandie	1,858,580	-0.1%
15	Poitou-Charentes	1,806,291	+0.2%
16	Bourgogne	1,637,941	-0.2%
17	Basse-Normandie	1,477,349	-0.1%
18	Auvergne	1,363,392	+0.1%
19	Champagne-Ardenne	1,333,248	-0.4%
20	Franche-Comté	1,180,397	+0.1%
21	La Réunion	852,924	+0.3%
22	Limousin	736,015	-0.3%
23	Guadeloupe	429,856	-0.9%
24	Martinique	376,480	-1.2%
25	Corse	330,455	+1%
26	Guyane	269,352	+3.7%
27	Mayotte	240,987	+3.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the regions are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_pjanaggr3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which region has the highest population?

Ile-de-France, with 12.12 million in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest population?

Mayotte, with 240,987 in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). Retrieved 2026-10-08.