Charente (French:[ʃaʁɑ̃t]^ⓘ;Saintongese:Chérente;Occitan:Charanta[tʃaˈɾantɔ]) is adepartment in theadministrative region ofNouvelle-Aquitaine, south westernFrance. It is named after the riverCharente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the river beside which the department's two largest towns,Angoulême andCognac, are sited. In 2019, it had a population of 352,015.^[3]

Charente Chérente  (Saintongeais) Charanta (Occitan)
Department of France
Prefecture building of the Charente department, inAngoulême
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Charente in France
Coordinates:45°50′N0°20′E / 45.833°N 0.333°E /45.833; 0.333
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Prefecture	Angoulême
Subprefectures	Cognac Confolens
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Philippe Bouty[1] (DVG)
Area 1
• Total	5,956 km2 (2,300 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	351,603
• Rank	68th
• Density	59/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	16
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	19
Communes	363
^1 French Land Register data, which excludeestuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Charente is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from theformer province ofAngoumois, and western and southern portions ofSaintonge.

Prior to the creation of the department as a single unit, much of it was commercially prosperous thanks to traditional industries such as salt andcognac production. Although the river Charente became silted up and was unnavigable for much of the twentieth century, in the eighteenth century it provided important links with coastal shipping routes both for traditional businesses and for newly evolving ones such as paper goods and iron smelting.^{[citation needed]}

The accelerating pace of industrial and commercial development during the first half of the nineteenth century led to a period of prosperity, and the department's population peaked in 1851.^[4] During the second half of the nineteenth century Charente, like many of France's rural departments, experienced a decline in population as the economic prospects available in the cities and in France's overseas empire attracted working-aged people. Economic ruin came to many in the Charentais wine industry with the arrival in 1872 ofphylloxera.^{[citation needed]}

During the twentieth century, the department with its traditional industries was adversely impacted by two major world wars, and in the second half of the century, it experienced relatively low growth. The overall population remaining remarkably stable at around 340,000 throughout the second half of the twentieth century, although industrial and commercial developments in the conurbation surroundingAngoulême have added some 10,000 to the overall population during the first decade of the twenty-first century.^{[citation needed]}

The relatively relaxed pace of economic development in the twentieth century encouraged the immigration of retirees from overseas. Census data in 2006 revealed that the number of British citizens residing in the department had risen to 5,083,^[5] placing the department fourth in this respect behind Paris,Dordogne andAlpes-Maritimes.^[6]

It is largely part of theAquitaine Basin, with the north-eastern part in theMassif Central. TheCharente flows through it and gave its name to the department, along withCharente-Maritime. It is composed with the historical region ofAngoumois and contains part of the regions ofSaintonge,Limousin,Périgord andPoitou.

The department is part of the currentregion ofNouvelle-Aquitaine. It is surrounded by the departments ofCharente-Maritime,Dordogne,Haute-Vienne,Vienne andDeux-Sèvres. The southernmost “major” town (town with over 1,000 people) in the Charente isChalais.

The most populous commune isAngoulême, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 9 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:^[3]

The inhabitants of the department are calledCharentais or in feminine,Charentaise.

Population development since 1791:

The President of the Departmental Council is Philippe Bouty of theMiscellaneous left (DVG), elected in July 2021.

Cognac andpineau are two of the major agricultural products of the region, along with butter. The Charentaise slipper (a type of slipper made from felt and wool) is another well-known traditional product.

•  
  Angoulême Cathedral
•  
  Champagne-Vigny
•  
  Verteuil-sur-Charente
•  
  Abbey ofLa Couronne
•  
  Plassac-Rouffiac
•  
  Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
•  
  Château de la Faye

• Cantons of the Charente department
• Communes of the Charente department
• Arrondissements of the Charente department
• Kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin
• Megalithic sites of Charente

• "Charente" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911.
• (in French)Prefecture website
• (in French)Departmental Council website