Wikipedia
thumb|upright=1.7|Map of the new region with its twelve départements, colored according to the historical provinces as they existed until 1790.
New Aquitaine (French: "Nouvelle-Aquitaine" ; Occitan: "Navèra Aquitània"; Basque: "Akitania Berria"), officially still Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes, is a region of southwestern France, created by the territorial reform of French Regions in 2014 by the merger of Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou-Charentes. It covers – or of the country – and has approximately 5,800,000 inhabitants. (municipal population on 1 January 2012). The new region came into existence on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.
Larger than French Guiana, it is the largest region in France, with an area equal to that of Austria. Its largest city, Bordeaux, together with its suburbs and satellite cities, forms the 7th metropolitan area of France, with 850,000 inhabitants. The region has 25 major urban areas among which the most important are – apart from Bordeaux – Bayonne (288,000 inhabitants), Limoges (283,000), Poitiers (255,000), Pau (241,000) and La Rochelle (206,000), as well as 11 major clusters. The growth of its population, particularly marked on the coast, makes one of the most attractive areas of French territory: the new region outperforms the Île-de-France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in terms of demographic dynamism.
Apart from the Ile-de-France, Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes is the first French region in research and innovation, with its five universities ( Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Limoges, Poitiers and Pau) and several Grandes Ecoles. First agricultural region of Europe in terms of turnover, it is the first French region in terms of tourism jobs, accounting including the presence of three of the four historic resorts on the French Atlantic coast ( Arcachon, Biarritz and Royan), as well as several ski resorts ( Gourette), and the fifth French region in terms of business creation (all sectors).
Its economy is based on agriculture and viticulture ( vineyards of Bordeaux and Cognac, internationally known), on tourism, on a powerful aerospace industry, digital economy and design, parachemical and pharmaceutical industries, financial sector ( Niort is the fourth French financial place, specializing in mutual insurance companies) and industrial ceramics ( Limoges). Its coastline has seen locate many companies specializing in sliding sports, mainly surf.
From a cultural point of view, the new region is one of the main constituent parts of Southern France (“Midi de la France”), marked by Basque, Occitan and Oïl ( Poitevin and Saintongeais) cultures. Historically, it is the "indirect successor" to the medieval Aquitaine, and extends over a large part of the former Duchy of Eleanor of Aquitaine.