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

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Background: France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-7, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO's integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing DE GAULLE's 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and were made part of France proper.


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Location
Metropolitan France: Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain;

Geographic coordinates
Metropolitan France: 46 00 N, 2 00 E;

Map reference
Metropolitan France: Europe;

Area
Total: 643,801 km² ; 551,500 km² (metropolitan France)
Land: 640,427 km² ; 549,970 km² (metropolitan France)
Water: 3,374 km² ; 1,530 km² (metropolitan France)
Note: the first numbers include the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion
Comparative: slightly more than four times the size of Georgia; slightly less than the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 3,956 km
Border countries: (8) Andorra 55 km; Belgium 556 km; Germany 418 km; Italy 476 km; Luxembourg 69 km; Monaco 6 km; Spain 646 km; Switzerland 525 km
Metropolitan France-total: 2,751 km
French Guiana-total: 1205 km

Coastline: 4,853 km (metropolitan_France: 3,427 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (does not apply to the Mediterranean Sea)
Continental shelf: 200m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate
Metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as the mistral

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

Elevation
Highest point: Mont Blanc 4,810
Lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
Mean elevation: 375 m
Note: to assess the possible effects of climate change on the ice and snow cap of Mont Blanc, its surface and peak have been extensively measured in recent years; these new peak measurements have exceeded the traditional height of 4,807 m and have varied between 4,808 m and 4,811 m; the actual rock summit is 4,792 m and is 40 m away from the ice-covered summit

Natural resources: metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, arable land, fish; French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay

Land use
Agricultural land: 52.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 33.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 17.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 29.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 18.1% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 14,236 km² (2013)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Loire (115,282 km²), Seine (78,919 km²), Rhine-Maas (198,735 km²), (Adriatic Sea) Po (76,997 km²), (Mediterranean Sea) Rhone (100,543 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 5.31 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 17.78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 3.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 211 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards
Metropolitan France: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean;

Geography
Note: largest West European nation; most major French rivers - the Meuse, Seine, Loire, Charente, Dordogne, and Garonne - flow northward or westward into the Atlantic Ocean, only the Rhone flows southward into the Mediterranean Sea


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Population
Distribution: much of the population is concentrated in the north and southeast; although there are many urban agglomerations throughout the country, Paris is by far the largest city, with Lyon ranked a distant second: 68,521,974 (2023 est.)
Note: the above figure is for metropolitan France and five overseas regions; the metropolitan France population is 62,814,233
Growth rate: 0.21% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 13.6% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
Adjective: French

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities
Note: overseas departments: Black, White, Mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian

Languages: French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard); note - overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhist 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, none 33%, unspecified 9% (2021 est.)
Note: France maintains a tradition of secularism and has not officially collected data on religious affiliation since the 1872 national census, which complicates assessments of France's religious composition; an 1872 law prohibiting state authorities from collecting data on individuals' ethnicity or religious beliefs was reaffirmed by a 1978 law emphasizing the prohibition of the collection or exploitation of personal data revealing an individual's race, ethnicity, or political, philosophical, or religious opinions; a 1905 law codified France's separation of church and state

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.04% (male 6,322,021/female 6,040,773)
15-64 years: 60.53% (male 20,846,592/female 20,632,418)
65 years and over: 21.42% (2023 est.) (male 6,409,883/female 8,270,287)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 63.1
Youth dependency ratio: 28.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 34.8
Potential support ratio: 2.9 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 42.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 40.9 years
Female: 44 years

Population growth rate: 0.21% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 10.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 9.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: much of the population is concentrated in the north and southeast; although there are many urban agglomerations throughout the country, Paris is by far the largest city, with Lyon ranked a distant second

Urbanization
Urban population: 81.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.67% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 11.208 million PARIS (capital), 1.761 million Lyon, 1.628 million Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, 1.079 million Lille, 1.060 million Toulouse, 1.000 million Bordeaux (2023)

Environment
Current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 10.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Methane emissions: 55.99 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.9 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 79.7 years
Female: 85.5 years

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 12.2% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 3.27 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density: 5.9 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 21.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 11.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 2.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 6.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 2.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 33.4% (2020 est.)
Male: 34.9% (2020 est.)
Female: 31.9% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 5.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 16 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 20.1% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 19.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 20.3%


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Country name
Conventional long form: French Republic
Conventional short form: France
Local long form: Republique francaise
Local short form: France
Etymology: name derives from the Latin "Francia" meaning "Land of the Franks"; the Franks were a group of Germanic tribes located along the middle and lower Rhine River in the 3rd century A.D. who merged with Gallic-Roman populations in succeeding centuries and to whom they passed on their name

Government type: semi-presidential republic

Capital
Name: Paris
Geographic coordinates: 48 52 N, 2 20 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Time zone note: applies to metropolitan France only; for its overseas regions the time difference is UTC-4 for Guadeloupe and Martinique, UTC-3 for French Guiana, UTC+3 for Mayotte, and UTC+4 for Reunion
Etymology: name derives from the Parisii, a Celtic tribe that inhabited the area from the 3rd century B.C., but who were conquered by the Romans in the 1st century B.C.; the Celtic settlement became the Roman town of Lutetia Parisiorum (Lutetia of the Parisii); over subsequent centuries it became Parisium and then just Paris

Administrative divisions: 18 regions (regions, singular - region); Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Burgundy-Free County), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre-Val de Loire (Center-Loire Valley), Corse (Corsica), Grand Est (Grand East), Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Hauts-de-France (Upper France), Ile-de-France, Martinique, Mayotte, Normandie (Normandy), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (New Aquitaine), Occitanie (Occitania), Pays de la Loire (Lands of the Loire), Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion
Note: France is divided into 13 metropolitan regions (including the "collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and 5 overseas regions (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion) and is subdivided into 96 metropolitan departments and 5 overseas departments (which are the same as the overseas regions)

Dependent areas: (8) Clipperton Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, New Caledonia, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna (8)
Note: the US Government does not recognize claims to Antarctica; New Caledonia has been considered a "sui generis" collectivity of France since 1998, a unique status falling between that of an independent country and a French overseas department

Independence: no official date of independence: 486 (Frankish tribes unified under Merovingian kingship); 10 August 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 14 July 1789 (French monarchy overthrown); 22 September 1792 (First French Republic founded); 4 October 1958 (Fifth French Republic established)

National holiday: Fete de la Federation, 14 July (1790); note - although often incorrectly referred to as Bastille Day, the celebration actually commemorates the holiday held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (on 14 July 1789) and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy; other names for the holiday are Fete Nationale (National Holiday) and quatorze juillet (14th of July)

Constitution
History: many previous; latest effective 4 October 1958
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic (upon recommendation of the prime minister and Parliament) or by Parliament; proposals submitted by Parliament members require passage by both houses followed by approval in a referendum; passage of proposals submitted by the government can bypass a referendum if submitted by the president to Parliament and passed by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament’s National Assembly; amended many times, last in 2008

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

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of France
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017)
Head of government: Prime Minister Gabriel ATTAL (since 9 January 2024)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 April 2022 with a runoff held on 24 April 2022 (next to be held in April 2,027); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation (consists of the court president, 6 divisional presiding judges, 120 trial judges, and 70 deputy judges organized into 6 divisions - 3 civil, 1 commercial, 1 labor, and 1 criminal); Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the president of the republic from nominations from the High Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the Court of Cassation and 15 appointed members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members - 3 appointed by the president of the republic and 3 each by the National Assembly and Senate presidents; members serve 9-year, non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years
Subordinate courts: appellate courts or Cour d'Appel; regional courts or Tribunal de Grande Instance; first instance courts or Tribunal d'instance; administrative courts
Note: in April 2021, the French Government submitted a bill on judicial reform to Parliament

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, FZ, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Laurent BILI (since 19 April 2023)
In the us chancery: 4,101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 944-6,000
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 944-6,166
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Denise Campbell BAUER (since 5 February 2022); note - also accredited to Monaco
From the us embassy: 2 avenue Gabriel, 75,008 Paris
From the us mailing address: 9,200 Paris Place, Washington DC 20,521-9,200
From the us telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22, [33] (1) 42-66-97-83
From the us FAX: [33] (1) 42-66-97-83
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the "Le drapeau tricolore" (French Tricolor), the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution when the "ancient French color" of white was combined with the blue and red colors of the Parisian militia; the official flag for all French dependent areas
Note: for the first four years, 1790-94, the order of colors was reversed, red-white-blue, instead of the current blue-white-red; the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands

National symbols: Gallic rooster, fleur-de-lis, Marianne (female personification of the country); national colors: blue, white, red

National anthem
Name: "La Marseillaise" (The Song of Marseille)
Lyrics/music: Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle
Note: adopted 1795, restored 1870; originally known as "Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin" (War Song for the Army of the Rhine), the National Guard of Marseille made the song famous by singing it while marching into Paris in 1792 during the French Revolutionary Wars

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 51 (44 cultural, 6 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in New Caledonia and one site in French Polynesia
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: high-income, advanced and diversified EU economy and euro user; strong tourism, aircraft manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and industrial sectors; strong US partner; ongoing pension reform protests and civil unrest; transitioning to a green economy via "France 2,030" strategy

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 54.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 23.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 22.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.9% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 30.9% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -32% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 19.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 78.8% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, sugar beets, milk, barley, maize, potatoes, grapes, rapeseed, pork, apples

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6.98% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 31.132 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Note: includes overseas territories

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 20.1% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 19.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 20.3%

Population below poverty line: 13.6% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 32.4 (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3.6%
Highest 10%: 25.4% (2013)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.427 trillion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $1.509 trillion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 24.69% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

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:
Partners: Germany 13%, Italy 8%, Belgium 8%, United States 7%, Spain 7% (2021)
Commodities: aircraft, packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, wine, beauty products, gas turbines (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 18%, Belgium 9%, Italy 9%, Spain 7%, China 7%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)
Commodities: cars, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, aircraft machinery (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 138.611 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 472.699 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 64.425 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 19.613 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 36.203 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 68.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 2.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 7.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 11.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 2.312 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 10.712 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 35,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 7.891 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 81,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 1,688,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 1,064,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 61.7 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.311 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 440,600 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 886,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 16.226 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 38.192 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 9.104 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 46.11 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 7.787 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 338.425 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 26.971 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 225.865 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 85.589 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 151.053 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 37.74 million (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 59 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 73 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: a mix of both publicly operated and privately owned TV stations; state-owned France television stations operate 4 networks, one of which is a network of regional stations, and has part-interest in several thematic cable/satellite channels and international channels; a large number of privately owned regional and local TV stations; multi-channel satellite and cable services provide a large number of channels; public broadcaster Radio France operates 7 national networks, a series of regional networks, and operates services for overseas territories and foreign audiences; Radio France Internationale, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a leading international broadcaster; a large number of commercial FM stations, with many of them consolidating into commercial networks

Internet
Country code: metropolitan France - .fr; French Guiana - .gf; Guadeloupe - .gp; Martinique - .mq; Mayotte - .yt; Reunion - .re
Users total: 55.9 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 86% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 30.627 million (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 47 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: French Armed Forces (Forces Armées Françaises): Army (l'Armee de Terre; includes Foreign Legion), Navy (Marine Nationale), Air and Space Force (l'Armee de l’Air et de l’Espace); includes Air Defense), National Guard (Reserves), National Gendarmerie (2023)
Note: under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior, the civilian National Police and the National Gendarmerie maintain internal security; the National Gendarmerie is a paramilitary police force that is a branch of the Armed Forces and therefore part of the Ministry of Defense but under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior; it also has additional duties to the Ministry of Justice; the Gendarmerie includes the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale or GIGN), an elite national-level tactical police unit set up in 1973 in response to the 1972 Munich massacre

Military service age and obligation: generally 17-30 years of age for both men and women with some variations by service, position, and enlisted versus officer; basic service contract is for 12 months; no conscription (abolished 2001) (2023)
Note 1: in 2023, women comprised more than 16% of the uniformed armed forces
Note 2: French citizens can also volunteer for the Voluntary Military Service (VMS), which allows unemployed youth aged 18-25 to learn a trade or gain work experience while receiving basic military training and sports activities; French citizens may also joint the military operational reserve up to age 72
Note 3: men between the ages of 17.5 and 39.5 years of age, of any nationality, may join the French Foreign Legion; those volunteers selected for service sign five-year contracts

Space program
Overview: has one of Europe’s largest space programs and is a key member of the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as one of its largest contributors; has independent capabilities in all areas of space categories except for autonomous manned space flight; can build, launch, and operate a range of space/satellite launch vehicles (SLVs) and spacecraft, including exploratory probes and a full spectrum of satellites; trained astronauts until training mission shifted to ESA in 2001; develops a wide range of space-related technologies; hosts the ESA headquarters; participates in international space programs such as the Square Kilometer Array Project (world’s largest radio telescope) and International Space Station (ISS); cooperates with a broad range of space agencies and commercial space companies, including those of China, Egypt, individual ESA member countries, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the UAE, the US, and several African countries; has a large commercial space sector involved in such areas as satellite construction and payloads, launch capabilities, and a range of other space-related capabilities and technologies (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa'ida
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 19 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 553
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 70,188,028 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4,443,790,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: F

Airports: 464 (2021)
With paved runways: 294
With paved runways civil airports: 64
With paved runways military airports: 22
With paved runways joint use (civil-military) airports: 5
With paved runways other airports: 204
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 170
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 1 (2021)

Pipelines: 15,322 km gas, 2,939 km oil, 5,084 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 27,860 km (2020) 16,660 km electrified
Narrow gauge: -5 km

Roadways
Total: 1,053,215 km (2011)
Paved: (2011)
Urban: 654,201 km (2011)
Non-urban: 399,014 km (2011)

Waterways
Metropolitan France: 8,501 km (1,621 km navigable by craft up to 3,000 metric tons) (2010)

Merchant marine
Total: 549 (2022)
By type: container ship 32, general cargo 49, oil tanker 26, other 442
Note: includes Monaco

Ports and terminals
Major seaports:
Container ports teus: Le Havre (3,018,550) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Dunkerque, Fos Cavaou, Fos Tonkin, Montoir de Bretagne
River ports: Bordeaux (Garronne); Nantes - Saint Nazaire (Loire); Paris, Rouen (Seine); Strasbourg (Rhine)
Cruise/ferry ports: Calais, Cherbourg, Le Havre


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Disputes international: Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 55,681 (Afghanistan), 39,091 (Syria), 33,834 (Sri Lanka), 33,148 (Russia), 31,935 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 24,223 (Sudan), 21,225 (Guinea), 18,008 (Serbia and Kosovo), 17,032 (Turkey), 13,974 (Iraq), 12,286 (Cote d'Ivoire), 11,489 (Eritrea), 11,012 (Cambodia), 10,543 (China), 10,236 (Albania), 10,210 (Somalia), 8,858 (Bangladesh), 8,124 (Mauritania), 8,101 (Mali), 7,991 (Vietnam), 6,913 (Bosnia and Herzegovina), 6,910 (Haiti), 6,808 (Angola), 6,498 (Laos), 6,417 (Armenia), 6,111 (Nigeria), 5,896 (Georgia) (mid-year 2022); 118,994 (Ukraine) (as of 31 October 2022)
Stateless persons: 3,633 (2022)

Illicit drugs
Metropolitan France: transshipment point for South American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics;