Agence économique de Bretagne > Welcome > Bretagne at a glance
Bretagne at a glance
A region at the heart of Western Europe, - straddling Europe’s leading economic poles, Paris and London
Strong and distinct identity – linking Brittany to the Celtic spirit, both culturally, and though its unique model of social cohesion, individual and collective spirit of enterprise
Dynamic demographic and regional economic profile
High level of general and scientific educational achievement
Available pool of scientific/technological competences, in particular in ICT/Electronics and Life Sciences
Enviable quality of life
Highly competitive environment – labour, energy, land/real estate costs – lower than the Western European average
28,000 km² and 3 million inhabitants
A regional economy with GDP of 66,8 billion Euros (4,2% of French GDP – 2004)
A labour force of 1.212.000 employees (2004)
Bretagne, a leading region in many sectors, in both manufacturing and research & development :
- Food processing, agricultural industry, biotechnology
- Transport : automotive, shipbuilding and boat-building
- Telecommunications, software, electronics
Accessible region : excellent connectivity and modern transport infrastructure under constant improvement/investment : Frequent rail links with major cities of France due to High Speed Trains (TGV), Dense road and motorways system : : 1,000 km of toll-free highways, Air links : 8 regional airports, Wide range of ports.
Young and qualified population
- 25% under age 20
- Highest general education level of young people in France, with a proportion of more than 70% of graduates (A-level), compared to the French average of 62.7%
- 110 000 students in higher education, 5 Universities and 14 "Grandes Ecoles" specialised in engineering and management
Benefit from the cutting-edge expertise
- Bretagne/Brittany, one of the premier regions in France for R&D
- 14 000 people dedicated to R&D
- 4,500 public-sector researchers, Brittany is currently home to almost 4.5% of the French civilian research workforce (5th nationally)
- 50% of the R&D force in marine sector
- One of the 2 main French regions in the fields of ICT and Biology
- The highest R&D projects proportion in France from 2001 to 2005 : (France Telecom, Thales, Motorola, Canon, Texas Instruments, Philips Semiconductors, Renesas Design, …
4 renowned inovative clusters :
- Media & networks (I.C.T.) - web site
- Sea Innovation and Business cluster (Marine technologies) - web site
- “Pôle iD4Car” - Premium Automotive industry competitiveness cluster (automotive, electronics, materials) - web site
- Valorial, tomorrow’s food competitiveness cluster (food, nutrition) - web site (only in french)
a strong network of support facilities for disseminating technology : science parks, innovation and technology centers, Canceropole Grand Ouest, Ouest Genopol, European University of Brittany (a research and higher education cluster), …
Nice place where to live : an outstanding quality of life, recognized nationwide, an ideal place for attracting and retaining key skills :
- 12 million visitors each year (Mont St Michel…) thanks to its wealthy historical, cultural, artistic and architectural heritage and a great diversity of landscapes, a safeguarded environment, a temperate climate, an attractive cost of living (housing), Access to a high quality (free) healthcare system, safe and secure living, with the lowest crime rate…
An attractive land
- Foreign investors : more than 300 plants, 30 000 jobs
- A world-class business location chosen by blue chip companies : over the last five years : Motorola (USA) – R&D centre (telecommunications), Texas-Instruments (USA) – R&D centre (telecommunications), Pfizer (USA) – manufacturing facility (pharmaceuticals), Visteon (USA) – manufacturing facility (automotive), Renesas (Japan) – R&D centre (telecommunications), Dai-Nippon (Japan) – manufacturing facility (consumables), Sanden (Japan) – manufacturing facility, test centre and R&D centre (automotive – components), NISSUI Japan) – manufacturing facility (seafood)…