NOORD BRABANT
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GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY
The province of Noord-Brabant is situated in the southern part of the country; it is the second largest province 5.082 (in kmē) in the Netherlands, the region has a population of 2.399.400 inhabitants and a density of 472 inhabitants per square km. There are five large cities which constitute the 'row of cities', i.e. Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven, Helmond and 's-Hertogenbosch, the latter being the capital of the province. |
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INFRASTRUCTURE
The regional airport at Eindhoven has daily flights to major European cities. A regular service to the Schiphol international airport provides good connections with a large number of intercontinental flights. The region is well connected , by trains and highways, to the rest of the country and abroad. |
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ECONOMY
The region's economy is mainly industrial. Industrial activity is like the region's landscape, very varied. One in four employees in industry is to be found in the electrical engineering branch. The services sector too is well developed (financial and trade over all). The regional GDP is 59.200 (in Mill. EUR), with a per capita GDP reaching 19,67 (in K EUR). |
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LABOUR MARKET
The regional employment rate is 48,6%; the female employment rate is 57,0% of all females, whereas the male employment rate is 79,2% of all males. Current unemployment rate is 2%. The number of persons employed in the agricultural sector (in 1000) is about 52.420, those who work in the industrial sector (in 1000) are 224.826, and those who work in the service sector (in 1000) are 589.439. |
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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The total R&D spending in the region (in % of GDP) is 24,9%, divide into: public sector, university and private. |
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DATA RELATED TO REGIONAL STRUCTURAL FUNDS MECHANISMS
EU Objective 2, for a small part of Noord-Brabant, with a total aid of 6.000.000, for the period 2000-2006. |
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REGIONAL PROGRAMME OF INNOVATIVE ACTIONS (RPIA)
The Innovative Actions for North-Brabant was the start of a long-term approach, working towards a fast and supple transformation of the region towards a real knowledge economy. The total amount of ERDF funding for the current programme period (2000- 2006) (in Mill EUR) was 3.000.000, the total amount of public funding for the same period was 1.550.000 and the total ammount of private funding was 1.450.000.
The programme is based on the recent RITTS report, in which an innovation strategy had been developed. The Innovative Actions implemented the RITTS priorities and the SME-related issues of North-Brabant. The dissemination of the project results to and the synergy with other regional initiatives was a major goal of the programme.
Region RPIA - Regional Programme of Innovative Actions - sub-theme:
- Regional economies based on knowledge and technological innovation;
- e-EuropeRegio: the information society at the service of regional development.
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