Loire (department)
Loire
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Montbrison in 2007 | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Loire in France | |
| Coordinates: 45°05′N 04°05′E / 45.083°N 4.083°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Saint-Étienne |
| Subprefectures | Montbrison Roanne |
| Government | |
| • President of the Departmental Council | Georges Ziegler (LR) |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi) |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 774,133 |
| • Rank | 30th |
| • Density | 161.9/km2 (419.4/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Ligerian (Ligérien) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 42 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 21 |
| Communes | 323 |
| ^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 department 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.