Map of France | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France lost many men, much wealth, its extensive empire, and its rank as a dominant nation-state. France has struggled since 1958_arguably with success_to construct a presidential democracy resistant to the severe instabilities inherent in the parliamentary democracy of early 20th century France.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 2,892.4 km total; Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km, FRG 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km

Coastline: 3,427 km (includes Corsica, 644 km)

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 12-24 nm
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean

Terrain: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east

Elevation

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash

Land use: 32% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures; 27% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes 2% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: largest West European nation


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Population: 56,358,331 (July 1990), growth rate 0.4% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women; adjective--French

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities

Languages: French (100% of population; rapidly declining regional dialects (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Religions: 90% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim (North African workers), 6% unaffiliated

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 14 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: most of large urban areas and industrial centers in Rhone, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 99%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: French Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: metropolitan France--22 regions (regions, singular--region; Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes; note--the 22 regions are subdivided into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial collectivities (Mayotte, St. Pierre and Miquelon)

Dependent areas: (10) Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna

Independence: unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792

National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962

Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Executive branch: Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND (since 21 May 1981; Head of Government--Prime Minister Michel ROCARD (since 10 March 1988)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EIB, EMS, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, NATO (signatory), OAS (observer), OECD, SPC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Jacques ANDREANI; Chancery at 4,101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20,007; telephone (202) 944-6,000; there are French Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico; US--Ambassador Walter J. P. CURLEY; Embassy at 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75,382 Paris Cedex 08 (mailing address is APO New York 9,777; telephone p33o (1) 42-96-12-02 or 42-61-80-75; there are US Consulates General in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and Strasbourg

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the French Tricouleur (Tricolor; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Ivory Coast, and Luxembourg; the official flag for all French dependent areas

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: One of the world's most developed economies, France has substantial agricultural resources and a highly diversified modern industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make it the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe. France is largely self-sufficient in agricultural products and is a major exporter of wheat and dairy products. The industrial sector generates about one-third of GDP and employs about one-third of the work force. During the period 1982-86 economic growth was sluggish, averaging only 1.4% annually. This trend was reversed by late 1987, however, with a strong expansion of consumer demand, followed by a surge in investment. The economy has had difficulty generating enough jobs for new entrants into the labor force, resulting in a high unemployment rate, but the upward trend in growth recently pushed the jobless rate below 10%. The steadily advancing economic integration within the European Community is a major force affecting the fortunes of the various economic sectors.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 4% of GNP (including fishing and forestry; one of the world's top five wheat producers; other principal products--beef, dairy products, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; self-sufficient for most temperate-zone foods; shortages include fats and oils and tropical produce, but overall net exporter of farm products; fish catch of 850,000 metric tons ranks among world's top 20 countries and is all used domestically

Industries: steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, and tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 4.4% (1989 est.)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 9.7% (1989 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $197.0 billion; expenditures $213.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $183.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing
Partners: FRG 15.8%, Italy 12.2%, UK 9.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.9%, Netherlands 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.6%, Japan 1.8%, USSR 1.3% (1989 est.)

Imports: $194.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
Commodities: crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, iron and steel products
Partners: FRG 19.4%, Italy 11.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.2%, US 7.7%, UK 7.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Spain 4.4%, Japan 4.1%, USSR 2.1% (1989 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $59.3 billion (December 1987)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.7598 (January 1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261 (1986), 8.9852 (1985)


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Electricity
Capacity: 109,972,000 kW capacity; 403,570 million kWh produced, 7,210 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 3.8% of GDP, or $31.1 billion (1989 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 470 total, 460 usable; 204 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m; 34 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 133 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil, 3,059 km; refined products, 4,487 km; natural gas, 24,746 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled

Merchant marine: 153 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,671,645 GRT/5,950,785 DWT; includes 10 short-sea passenger, 19 cargo, 19 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 30 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 37 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 4 specialized tanker, 17 bulk, 1 combination bulk; note--France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) and French Polynesia

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: maritime boundary dispute with Canada (St. Pierre and Miquelon; Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin Island; Suriname claims part of French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs