Region

Bretagne (FR)	Navarra (ES)	Puglia (IT)
Flanders (BE)	Nyugat-Dunantul (HU)	Schleswig-Holstein (DE)
Lower Austria (AT, lead partner)	Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur (FR)	Wielkopolska (PL)

 

Nyugat-Dunantul (HU)

The area of the region is 11,183 km2, which makes up for 12 % of the territory of Hungary. County Győr-Moson-Sopron occupies 36 % of this terrain, while County Vas 30 % and County Zala 34 %.

The geography of the region is extremely varied. There are numerous natural areas under national protection in the region (Fertő-Hanság National Park, Őrség National Park). The region boasts two sites counted among the UNESCO World Heritage: the Cultural Landscape Fertő-Neusiedler See and the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma. Considering natural resources, all parts of the region are equally rich in thermal and mineral water.

West Transdanubia is a convergence region, as the average GDP per capita in the region is around 9400 EUR, 97.4% of the national and 61.4% of the EU27 average – West Transdanubia has always been the second most developed region after Central Hungary (which includes Budapest). Due to the steady influx of FDI in the early years after the regime change – and a strengthening trend of domestic companies operating as suppliers, the industrial sector is relatively strong and steady, while the service sector is still growing rapidly. Due to this same early strengthening of the industrial economy, and a long lack of significant universities the region also suffers from the so-called "innovation paradox" – meaning that despite being one of the most advanced regions in the country, it falls short of almost all other regions in innovation capacity. In recent years conscious efforts have been made to remedy the situation, and now the West Transdanubian Region is steadily catching up, and even overtaking other regions with traditional university centres.