With a GDP of 552 billion euros representing 5% of the European Union's GDP, the economy of the Ile-de-France region plays a key part on a European level and is the most important one in France. It is the second leading global location (and 1st European one) for the 500 largest international companies. 720,000 industrial, commercial or services companies are based there.
With a GDP of 552 billion euros representing 5% of the European Union's GDP, the economy of the Ile-de-France region plays a key part on a European level and is the most important one in France. It is the second leading global location (and 1st European one) for the 500 largest international companies. 720,000 industrial, commercial or services companies are based there.
One of the greatest consumption basins of the Old Continent with a population of 11.8 million, the region plays host to around 10 million business visitors every year. In order to welcome them, it has the highest accommodation capacity in the world, with 150,000 hotel rooms. The region's real estate is also the largest in Europe, with 50 million square meters of offices, 30 million square meters of business premises and 29 million square meters of warehouses.
As Europe's second biggest airport hub, its two international airports carry 83.4 million passengers and 2.4 million tons of goods (according to figures for 2010). It also has 12 business aviation platforms. Still in the field of transportation, the Ile-de-France region ranks first in Europe with its 700 kilometers of highways that hold sway over the whole continent along with 12,000 kilometers of smaller roads. As for its railway network, it is the envy of other large international regions with six TGV stations, direct links to London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, 111 rail freight stations and 640 sites linked to it. Finally, its river system is the continent's second biggest with 70 ports and 10 multimodal platforms distributed on the 500 km of waterways.