Ain
Ain
En (Arpitan) | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Ain in France | |
| Coordinates: 46°5′N 5°20′E / 46.083°N 5.333°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Bourg-en-Bresse |
| Subprefectures | Belley Gex Nantua |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departemental Council | Jean Deguerry (LR) |
| • Prefect | Cécile Bigot-Dekeyzer |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,762 km2 (2,225 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 433 m (1,421 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 1,720 m (5,640 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 170 m (560 ft) |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 679,344 |
| • Rank | 39th |
| • Density | 117.9/km2 (305.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 01 |
| Arrondissements | 4 |
| Cantons | 23 |
| Communes | 391 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
Ain (/æ̃/; French: [ɛ̃] ⓘ; Arpitan: En) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it borders the cantons of Geneva and Vaud. In 2019 it had a population of 652,432.
Ain is composed of four geographically different areas - (Bresse, Dombes, Bugey and Pays de Gex) - each of which contributes to the diverse and dynamic economic development of the department. In Bresse agriculture and agro-industry are dominated by the cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk and cheese production as well as poultry farming. In Dombes pisciculture assumes greater importance, as does winemaking in Bugey.
Ain's prefecture is Bourg-en-Bresse. It is bordered by Jura to the north, Saône-et-Loire to the northwest, Rhône and the Lyon Metropolis to the southwest, Isère to the south and Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Switzerland to the east.
In the alphabetical ordering of French departments, used for postal and demographic purposes among others, Ain comes first and is thus assigned the number 01 as its department number.