Isle-of-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area.
With 11.7 million inhabitants, Île-de-France is not only the most populated region of France but also has more residents than Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal or Sweden, and has a population comparable to that of either the U.S. state of Ohio or the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the fourth most populous country subdivision in the European Union, after England, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.
Economically, Île-de-France is the worlds 4th and Europes wealthiest and largest regional economy: in 2009, its total GDP as calculated by Eurostat was €552 billion (US$768.9 billion) at market exchange rates; it is the wealthiest metropolitan area in the European Union - and if it were a country, it would rank as the 15th wealthiest in the world. Île-de-France also is, second to the Kanto region, the worlds second most important location for Fortune Global 500 companies headquarters.