Arrondissements of the Ain department

There are 4 arrondissements in the Ain department. The French departments, and in other countries, are divided into arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts (in some cases, as boroughs). The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture.

If the prefecture (capital) of the department is in an arrondissement, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture.

Arrondissements are further divided into communes.

The 4 arrondissements of Ain are:

Arrondissements of the Ain

INSEE code	Arrondissement	Capital	Population (2014)	Area (km²)	Density (Inh./km²)	Communes
011	Belley	Belley	98,110	1,307.2	70.4	115
012	Bourg-en-Bresse	Bourg-en-Bresse	354,177	3,104.8	114.1	201
013	Gex	Gex	89,200	426.2	209.3	27
014	Nantua	Nantua	84,640	837.0	101.1	65

History

Since its creation, the Ain department has had some changes:

• 1790 : creation of the Ain department with nine districts: Pont-de-Vaux, Bourg, Nantua, Gex, Belley, Saint-Rambert, Montluel, Trévoux and Châtillon-les-Dombes.
• 1800 : creation of the arrondissements: Bourg, Belley, Nantua and Trévoux.
• 1815 : creation of the arrondissement Gex.
• 1926 : the arrondissements of Gex and Trévoux were eliminated.
• 1965 : Gex is again an arrondissement of the department.