Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The region covers an area of 69,711 sq km (26,916 sq mi), making it the third largest in metropolitan France. It had a population of 7,994,459 in 2018