Economy of Paris

Economy Of Paris

Paris is one of the engines of the global economy. In 2009 the GDP of the Paris Region as calculated by INSEE was US$769.7 billion at market exchange rates. If it were a country, in 2007, the Paris Region would be the 17th largest economy in the world, with an economy larger than that of the Netherlands. In 2009, an Internet survey also rated Paris as one of the world's most expensive cities in which to purchase goods and services.

Although in terms of population the urban area of Paris is only approximately the 20th largest urban area in the world, its GDP is the sixth-largest in the world, after the urban areas of Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, and statistically tied with Chicago and London. The GDP and Income per capita is one of the highest in the world, the Paris urban area concentrate more than 30% of the France wealth. In 2009, the GDP per capita was 69.980$ for 11.6 million people. Regarding the average income, it was 56.980$ in 2009, 41% higher than in the rest of the country. Paris is the one of the only economic area that didn't have any GDP decrease during the financial crisis in 2008, the GDP increased all over the period.

The Paris economy is extremely diverse and has not yet adopted a specialization inside the global economy (unlike Los Angeles with the entertainment industry, or London and New York with financial services). Today it is essentially a service economy, with business and financial services generating nearly half of the Paris Region's GDP. Its manufacturing base has declined since its pre-1970s heyday, generating now less than 10% of the region's GDP, even though the Paris Region still remains one of the manufacturing powerhouses of Europe due to the sheer size of its economy, with a shift from traditional to high-tech manufacturing.