AQUITAINE - Economy
In 2000 the GDP of Aquitaine with a value of EUR 61 624 million accounted for 4.4% of national GDP. The GDP per inhabitant (20 893 euro/inh) was under the national average. However, if the Paris region is excluded, this difference disappears.
Aquitaine represents 5% of the French population, of total employment and of household income. However, the contribution of the region in terms of gross value added differs according to the economic sector.
In the agricultural sector Aquitaine is the first region of France with a contribution of 10% to the country?s gross value-added of the agricultural sector. It is also one of the regions in which the agricultural sector has an important weight in the regional GDP. In 2000 the agricultural sector represented 6.3% of Aquitaine?s GDP while the French average was of 2.8%. Wine, maize and fruits are the three main crops of this sector. This region produces 10% of the European wine production and nearly 25% of the French wine and grain maize productions. The average size of farms is however on the small side at around 26 ha.
Aquitaine only accounts for 3.7% in France?s industrial gross value-added. At the national scale this ranks the region eleventh. Industry, which for a long time was on a modest scale, has gradually expanded, particularly since the end of the Second World War. The traditional activities of woodworking or shoemaking have been joined by modern industries such as aeronautics, parachemicals and drugs, etc. The dynamism of the aeronautics sector will depend on the involvement of Aquitaine in large-scale projects such as the building of the A380 and A400M (Airbus military transport aircraft).
The capital equipment sector has benefited from the dramatic rise of mobile telephony.
The industrial fabric comprises a large number of SMEs with between 10 and 500 employees, together with large establishments that often belong to national and international companies. The activities are highly diversified, ranging from wood and footwear to aeronautics.
The importance of craft industries, clearly linked to the rural activity, should be noted (163 craftsmen per 10 000 inhabitants, compared with 137 in the country as a whole).
As in all the regions of Southern France, the services sector is well developed in Aquitaine and accounts for more than 70% of the region?s GDP. The market services sector accounts for nearly 50% of Aquitaine?s GDP.
Tourism activities are well developed, especially for camping. Aquitaine has the second biggest camping sites capacity (103 629 pitches in 2000), after Languedoc-Roussillon.
About 1 925 1000 vehicles were registered in Aquitaine in 2001, of which 84% were private cars. Between 1990 and 2001 the number of vehicles increased by 20%. In 2000, the road network comprised 1 467 kilometres of main routes and 488 kilometres of motorways.
In 2001, the port of Bordeaux ranked as the 7th French port in terms of total freight transport. In terms of national passenger transport by air, Bordeaux airport comes also at 7th position.
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