Geographical situation and climate

Brittany is a large peninsular, bordered at the north by the English Channel and at the west by the Atlantic Ocean. This landscape forms the most western point of the European continent. The region has an area of 27 200 km2 (5 % of the totality area of France) and 3 000 km of coastline.

The sea gives Brittany a fairly stable climate despite a changeable sky. Winters are usually mild and damp with relatively temperate weather in summer.

Population

Brittany has a total population of 2 873 100 million people (5 % of France) divided in 4 departments:

Côtes d’Armor (22): 535 800 inhabitants
Finistère (29): 846 000 inhabitants
Ile et Vilaine (35): 853 100 inhabitants
Morbihan (56): 638 200 inhabitants

Brittany has 1 268 townships and 18 employment areas, 57% of the Brittany population live in urban centres.

Transportation

Brittany has 1 000 km of free express roads, 9 airports and 5 main harbours with 8,3 million tons loaded or unloaded and 1,6 million of passengers.

Paris is at only 2 hours of Rennes via the TGV high speed train.

Economy

Brittany has 1,1 million of gainfully employed people,
The rate of unemployment is one point under the national average (11,6%).
Brittany is the seventh region for added value (282,3 million FF in 1992)
Brittany contributes 2,4% of the French exports, with a total of 3,1 billion tons of goods exported, mainly towards: Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom.
The main exports are: motor cars, poultry meat and telephone equipment.

Fisheries and aquaculture

Brittany counts 5 000 fishermen, 2 000 fishing boat and an annual production of 198 000 tons (53% of total domestic catch). The local shellfish production represents 28 000 tons of mussels (75% of domestic production), 95 000 tons of seaweed are harvested every year along Brittany’s coastline (fertiliser, agri-food, cosmetics).
It is the first region for the added value of unload goods.

Agriculture

This region is the first for production and added value. Brittany counts 62 000 farms and 102 100 employed (10% of working population). She ranks first for animal production: 55% of pig production, 50% of poultry and 20% of milk production.

Concerning vegetable production, Brittany is specialised in some products:
Cauliflower (92% of domestic production) and artichokes (75%).
Brittany has a big agro-food industry , in fact this industry still employs 60 000 people
It is a large sector of employment (5 000 jobs since 10 years).

Services

Primary employer with 686 000 jobs : 65% of the total Breton labour force and 67% of the added value in this region mainly in bank and large distribution;

Industry

Building and civil engineering industry employs 69 000 people in 17.000 companies.
There are 82 000 employees in 42 000 small craft and cottage businesses.
Industry employs 191 000 employees. This sector represent 18% of the regional employment, and 20% of the regional added value.

Agribusiness industry

Employs 30% of industrial labour force (60 000 jobs). A total of 5 000 jobs have been created over the past decade. Major groups are present throughout the region.

Automobile Industry

Employs 22 000 people. Thanks to the presence of major groups (CITROEN), a large number of sub-contractors and equipment manufacturers have settled down in the region (SANDEN);

Electronics and communication

Employs 25 000 people (40% of France). Brittany has become the place in France for telecommunication since the relocation of major research centres and industrial groups in the 60’s.

Shipbuilding and armamentgive 10 000 direct jobs.

Tourism

Brittany combines green, seaside and cultural tourism with its 3 000 km of coastline, 3 700 km of hicking trails, 4 250 ha of preserved coastal land, 310 listed sites, 8 cities of art and history and over 1 000 historical monuments. The touristic industry employs 36 500 people. Brittany welcome 10 millions of visitors every years (30% foreigners)

Working in network

Here is the key word of Brittany development. Based on the traditional spirit of solidarity, a large number of experiments of skills-sharing and know-how transfer has been successfully initiated since 1983.

All is designed to contribute to SME’s development, in all kind direction. To give some examples : Exportation with MIRCEB, development of quality management and certification with Bretagne Qualité Plus and CITROËN Super Force, environmental issues Bretagne Environnement Plus, Technology transfer, new processes and products : Bretagne Innovation,…..

Research and Innovation

Public and private centres and laboratories employ 7 500 people in Brittany, including 40% full-time researchers. Two third of the research deals with communication and electronics.

The other important research subjects are : biotechnology and life science, marine science, medical engineering, process engineering,…

Bretagne Innovation combines 15 technology transfer centres : half of them are related to food industry.

Education and Training

35% of the Brittany population is under the age of 25.

Brittany ranks first in terms of academic success (80,1% passed A levels). Only 4% of any group of age leave the education system without any diploma.

43 apprenticeship centres, 4 universities, 8 university institute of technology and 25 schools of higher education provide the region with a high qualified workforce.