top of pageBackground: 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-8 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.
AreaTotal: 643,801 km²; 551,500 km²
Land: 640,427 km²; 549,970 km²
Water: 3,374 km²; 1530 km²
Note: the first numbers include the overseas regions of French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Mayotte and Reunion
Rank: 43
Comparative: slightly more than four times the size of Georgia; slightly less than the size of Texas
ClimateMetropolitan 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 mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season ; vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Mayotte: tropical; marine; hot humid rainy season during northeastern monsoon ; dry season is cooler (May to November)
Reunion: tropical but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry hot and rainy (November to April)
TerrainMetropolitan France: mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous especially Pyrenees in south Alps in east
French Guiana: low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains
Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
Martinique: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano
Mayotte: generally undulating with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks
Reunion: mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
ElevationMean elevation: 375 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m: highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 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
GeographyNote: 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
top of pagePopulationDistribution: 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: 66,836,154
Note: the above figure is for metropolitan France and five overseas regions; the metropolitan France population is 62,814,233
Rank: 22
Growth rate: 0.41% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 166
Below poverty line: 8.1% (2012 est.)
Languages: French (official) 100% rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal Breton Alsatian Corsican Catalan Basque Flemish)
Overseas departments: French Creole patois Mahorian
Religions: Christian (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic) 63-66% Muslim 7-9% Buddhist 0.5-0.75% Jewish 0.5-0.75% other 0.5-1.0% none 23-28%
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
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
Major urban areasPopulation: PARIS (capital) 10.843 million; Lyon 1.609 million; Marseille-Aix-en-Provence 1.605 million; Lille 1.027 million; Nice-Cannes 967,000; Toulouse 938,000 (2015)
EnvironmentCurrent 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-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Seals Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Drinking water source:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
urban: 98.6% of population
rural: 98.9% of population
total: 98.7% of population
urban: 1.4% of population
rural: 1.1% of population
total: 1.3% of population (2015 est.)
top of pageAdministrative 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 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)
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: many previous; latest effective 4 October 1958; amended many times last in 2008 (2016)
Legal system: civil law; review of administrative but not legislative acts
Executive branchChief of state: President Francois HOLLANDE
Head of government: Prime Minister Manuel VALLS
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president at the suggestion of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; election last held on 22 April and 6 May 2012 (next to be held in the spring of 2017); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Francois HOLLANDE elected president; percent of vote in first round - Francois HOLLANDE 28.6% Nicolas SARKOZY (UMP) 27.2% Marine LE PEN (FN) 17.9% Jean-Luc MELENCHON (PG) 11.1% Francois BAYROU (moDem) 9.1% other 6.1%; percent of vote in second round - HOLLANDE 51.6% SARKOZY 48.4%
Legislative branchDescription: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats - 556 for metropolitan France 10 for overseas departments and 11 for citizens abroad; members directly elected by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 28 September 2014 ; National Assembly - last held on 10 and 17 June 2012 (next to be held in June 2017)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 187 PS 152 other 9; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PS 48.5% UMP 33.6% miscellaneous left wing parties 3.8% Greens 3.0% miscellaneous right wing parties 2.6% NC 2.1% PRG 2.1% FDG 1.7% other 2.6%; seats by party - PS 280 UMP 194 miscellaneous left wing parties 22 Greens 17 miscellaneous right wing parties 15 NC 12 PRG 12 FDG 10 other 15
Judicial branchHighest court: Court of Cassation or Cour de Cassation ; 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 by the Court of Cassation and 15 appointed members; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Council members appointed - 3 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
Political parties and leaders: Worker's Struggle (Lutte Ouvriere) or LO [collective leadership; spokespersons Nathalie ARTHAUD and Arlette LAQUILLER]
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 MINUSMA 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 UNIDO UNIFIL Union Latina UNMIL UNOCI UNRWA UNSC (permanent) UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC
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: 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); national colors: blue white red
National anthemName: 'La Marseillaise'
Lyrics and music: Claude-Joseph ROUGET de Lisle
Note: adopted 1795 restored 1870; originally known as 'Chant de Guerre pour l'Armee du Rhin' the National Guard of Marseille made the song famous by singing it while marching into Paris in 1792 during the French Revolutionary Wars
top of pageEconomy overview:
The French economy is diversified across all sectors. The government has partially or fully privatized many large companies including Air France France Telecom Renault and Thales. However the government maintains a strong presence in some sectors particularly power public transport and defense industries. With more than 84 million foreign tourists per year France is the most visited country in the world and maintains the third largest income in the world from tourism. France's leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by means of laws tax policies and social spending that mitigate economic inequality.
France's real GDP increased by 1.1% in 2015. The unemployment rate (including overseas territories) increased from 7.8% in 2008 to 9.9% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Youth unemployment in metropolitan France decreased from a high of 25.4% in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 24.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Lower-than-expected growth and high spending have strained France's public finances. The budget deficit rose sharply from 3.3% of GDP in 2008 to 7.5% of GDP in 2009 before improving to 4% of GDP in 2014 and 2015 while France's public debt rose from 68% of GDP to more than 98% in 2015 and may hit 100% in 2016.
Elected on a conventionally leftist platform President Francois HOLLANDE surprised and angered many supporters with a January 2014 speech announcing a sharp change in his economic policy recasting himself as a liberalizing reformer. The government's budget for 2014 shifted the balance of fiscal consolidation from taxes to a total of $24 billion in spending cuts. In December 2014 HOLLANDE announced additional reforms including a plan to extend commercial business hours liberalize professional services and sell off $6.2-12.4 billion in state owned assets. France’s tax burden remains well above the EU average and income tax cuts over the past decade are being partly reversed particularly for higher earners. The top rate of income tax is 41%. The government is allowing a 75% payroll tax on salaries over $1.24 million to lapse.
Industries: machinery chemicals automobiles metallurgy aircraft electronics; textiles food processing; tourism
Public debt:
96.2% of GDP (2015 est.)
95.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
Note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued 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 intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental 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
Rank: 18
Central bank discount rate:
0.05% (31 December 2014)
0.25% (31 December 2013)
Note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Rank: 148
Stock of narrow money:
$1.079 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
$1.08 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
Note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Rank: 6
Exports:
$510.5 billion (2015 est.)
$584.5 billion (2014 est.)
Rank: 7
Commodities: machinery and transportation equipment aircraft plastics chemicals pharmaceutical products iron and steel beverages
Partners: Germany 15.9% Spain 7.3% US 7.2% Italy 7.1% UK 7.1% Belgium 6.8% (2015)
Imports:
$537.5 billion (2015 est.)
$631.1 billion (2014 est.)
Rank: 7
Commodities: machinery and equipment vehicles crude oil aircraft plastics chemicals
Partners: Germany 19.5% Belgium 10.7% Italy 7.7% Netherlands 7.5% Spain 6.8% US 5.5% China 5.4% UK 4.3% (2015)
Debt external:
$5.496 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
$5.549 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
Rank: 5
Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
0.885 (2015 est.)
0.7525 (2014 est.)
0.7634 (2013 est.)
0.7752 (2012 est.)
0.7185 (2011 est.)
top of pagetop of pageTelephone systemGeneral assessment: highly developed
Domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive use of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system
International: country code - 33; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe Asia Australia the Middle East and US; satellite earth stations - more than 3 NA Eutelsat 1 Inmarsat - Atlantic Ocean region); HF radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries
Overseas departments: country codes: French Guiana - 594; Guadeloupe - 590; Martinique - 596; Mayotte - 262; Reunion - 262
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 (2008)
top of pageMilitary service age and obligation: 18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat posts (2013)
top of pagePipelines: gas 15,322 km; oil 2,939 km; refined products 5,084 km (2013)
France - Transnational issues 2016
top of pageDisputes 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 personsRefugees: 24,220 (Sri Lanka); 14,195 (Russia); 14,182 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 12,500 (Serbia and Kosovo); 11,824 (Cambodia); 10,652 (Turkey); 8,132 (Vietnam); 6,944 (Laos); 6,005 (Guinea); 5,179 (Syria); 5,006 (Mauritania) (2015)
Stateless persons: 1326
Illicit drugsMetropolitan France: transshipment point for South American cocaine Southwest Asian heroin and European synthetics
French Guiana: small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe
Martinique: transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe
🅶🅷🅴🅾🆂.🅲🅾🅼