Nouvelle-Aquitaine (French pronunciation: [nuvɛl akitɛn] ) is the largest administrative region in France by area, located in the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. It was created in 2014 from the merger of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes in a territorial reform. The region covers 84,035.7 km (32,446.4 sq mi), representing more than 1⁄7 of Metropolitan France, and had a population of 6,033,952 in 2020. The new region was formally established on 1 January 2016, following the regional elections in December 2015.
The region is larger in area than any other French region, including overseas regions such as French Guiana, and has a landmass that is slightly greater than Austria. Bordeaux is the prefecture and largest city; its metropolitan area has about 850,000 inhabitants. The region has 25 major urban areas, among which the most important after Bordeaux are Bayonne (288,000 inhabitants), Limoges (283,000), Poitiers (255,000), Pau (241,000) and La Rochelle (206,000), as well as eleven major clusters.