Loire (department)

Loire
Lêre (Arpitan)
Léger (Occitan)
red roofed buildings, surrounded by trees, on a cloudy day
Montbrison in 2007
yellow fish on a red field
yellow fish on a red field
Location of Loire in France
Location of Loire in France
Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E / 45.083; 4.083
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
PrefectureSaint-Étienne
SubprefecturesMontbrison
Roanne
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilGeorges Ziegler[1] (LR)
Area
 • Total4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total769,029
 • Rank30th
 • Density160/km2 (420/sq mi)
DemonymLigerian (Ligérien)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number42
Arrondissements3
Cantons21
Communes323
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Loire (/lwɑːr/; French pronunciation: [lwaʁ]; Arpitan: Lêre; Occitan: Léger or Leir) is a landlocked département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France occupying the river Loire's upper reaches. Its prefecture is Saint-Étienne. It had a population of 765,634 in 2019.[3]

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Populations légales 2019: 42 Loire, INSEE