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Allier
Department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Allier (UK: /ˈælieɪ/ AL-ee-ay,[3] US: /ælˈjeɪ, ɑːlˈjeɪ/ a(h)l-YAY,[4][5] French: [alje] ⓘ; Occitan: Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after the river Allier, it had a population of 334,872 in 2021.[6] Moulins is the prefecture; Montluçon and Vichy are the subprefectures. Its INSEE and post code is 03.
Allier
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![]() Prefecture building in Moulins | |
![]() Location of Allier in France | |
Coordinates: 46°20′N 3°10′E | |
Country | France |
Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Prefecture | Moulins |
Subprefectures | Montluçon Vichy |
Government | |
• President of the Departmental Council | Claude Riboulet[1] (UDI) |
Area | |
• Total | 7,340 km2 (2,830 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | |
• Total | 334,872 |
• Rank | 69th |
• Density | 46/km2 (120/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 03 |
Arrondissements | 3 |
Cantons | 19 |
Communes | 317 |
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
Before 2018, the inhabitants of the department did not have a demonym. The inhabitants of the department have officially been known in French as Bourbonnais since 2018, a reference to the historic province of Bourbonnais. Until then, the unofficial term Elavérins had been used.[7][8][9]