CORSE - Economy
Low GDP ? Corsica persistently lags behind the mainland
The Corsican economy is not very highly productive and is strongly dependent on outside economies. In 2000 Corsica only accounted for 0.3% of the GDP of metropolitan France. The GDP per inhabitant (18 550 Euro/inh) was more than 20% below the national average.
In the agricultural sector, the contribution of the region represented only 0.3% of France?s gross value added of the agricultural sector. The region?s contribution to other branches was also very low: 0.5% of France?s construction industry gross value added and only 0.4% to market services.
For the most part, the economy of the island rests mainly on satisfying the needs of its population.
The productive fabric is mainly made up of small businesses, and Corsica is the region with the highest density of craft businesses. Industrial businesses employing 20 to 49 employees accounted for 67% of all industrial businesses in 2001. With 227 craftsmen per 10 000 inhabitants Corsica had the highest number of craftsmen of all the regions of the metropolitan in 2000. 38.7% of the region?s craftsmen worked in the construction industry, this is slightly above the national average.
With the exodus from the countryside, the gap between traditional agriculture in the interior and intensive agriculture along the coast is increasing. The agricultural sector is mainly specialised in Mediterranean products: olives, wine growing and fruit. Its share in the value added of the region?s economy is however low: 2.4% in 2000.
Industry is not very present in Corsica, other than for the processing of agricultural products and energy. The industrial sector (excluding construction) only contributed 7.4% of the value added of the region?s economy, compared to the national average of 20.9% in 2000. The shortage of raw materials, a restricted local market, a lack of qualified managerial staff and a population mentally geared to the services sector are all obstacles to industrialisation.
After having passed through a crisis during the nineties, the construction sector starts to benefit from the needs of tourism. In 2000 the construction sector represented 6.2% of the value added of the region?s economy, which is the highest percentage for any region in France.
Of all the regions of France, Corsica?s economy is the most dependent on the services sector, which accounted for 84% of the region?s GDP in 2000. But it is running out of steam: saturation point has been reached, development of non-market services has been put on hold, and there are virtually no business services. In 2000 non-market services accounted for 28% of the island?s GDP, the highest percentage for any region in France.
Broken down by sector, wholesale and retail accounted for 13.2% of gross value added of services, below the national average. Excluding the region of the capital, Ile-de-France, which has roughly the same level, the share of value added of personal services is very high (10.6%) compared to the other regions of France. For Corsica this is due to the tourism sector.
The beauty and diversity of the Corsican landscape attract and fascinate the visitor. Magnificent scenery and vast, untamed open spaces easily accessible to the population of industrial Europe offer an exceptional variety of possibilities. Tourism is a real asset to Corsica. In 2000 nights spent in hotels accounted for 1.5% of total nights in hotels in France and nights in camping sites accounting for 3.4% of total nights in French camping sites.
In terms of air passenger traffic, Corsica handled nearly 2.5 million passengers (departing and arriving) in 2001. In 2000 the region ranked second in terms of sea passenger transport, with over 3.5 million passengers. In terms of sea freight, Corsica?s ports handled 3.6 million tons in 2000. Approximately 216 700 vehicles were registered in Corsica in 2001, of which 84.3% were private cars. In 2001 there were 2.1% less private cars than in 1990. In 2000 the road network comprised 576 km of main roads and no motorways.
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