France

[Country map of France]

Map ©1996 NGS Cartographic Division. Developed in association with GeoSystems Global Corp. World Map

Geography

Location: 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

Map references: Europe

Area:
total area: 547,030 sq km
land area: 545,630 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado
note: includes Corsica and the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

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

Coastline: 3,427 km (mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km)

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

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

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

Irrigated land: 11,600 sq km (1989 est.)


People

Population: 58,109,160 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (female 5,438,447; male 5,700,143)
15-64 years: 65% (female 18,889,771; male 19,001,536)
65 years and over: 16% (female 5,433,276; male 3,645,987) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 9.29 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.37 years
male: 74.5 years
female: 82.44 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

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

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

Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
total population: 99%

Labor force: 24.17 million
by occupation: services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.2% (1987)


Government

Names:
conventional long form: French Republic
conventional short form: France
local long form: Republique Francaise
local short form: France

Digraph: FR

Type: republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: 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, Saint Pierre andMiquelon)

Dependent areas: 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
note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence: 486 (unified by Clovis)

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

Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992; amended to tighten immigration laws 1993

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal


Economy

Overview: One of the world's most highly developed economies, France has substantial agricultural resources and a diversified modern industrial sector. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to makeit the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe. Largely self-sufficient in agricultural products, France is a major exporter of wheat and dairy products. The industrial sector generates about one-quarter of GDP, and the growing services sector has become crucial to the economy. Following stagnation and recession in 1991-93, French GDP in 1994 expanded 2.4%. Growth in 1995 is expected to be in the 3.0% to 3.5% range. Persistently high unemployment will still pose a major problem for the government. Paris remains committed to maintaining the franc-deutsche mark parity, which has kept French interest rates high despite France's low inflation. Although the pace of economic and financial integration within the European Union has slowed down, integration presumably will remain a major force shaping the fortunes of the various economic sectors over the next few years.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.0801 trillion (1994 est.)

National product real growthrate: 2.4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $18,670 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 12.6% (yearend 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $220.5 billion
expenditures: $249.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $47 billion (1993 budget)

Exports: $249.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, agricultural products, iron and steel products, textiles and clothing
partners: Germany 18.6%, Italy 11.0%, Spain 11.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 9.1%, UK 8.8%, Netherlands 7.9%, US 6.4%, Japan 2.0%, FSU 0.7% (1991 est.)

Imports: $238.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities: crude oil, machinery and equipment, agricultural products, chemicals, iron and steel products
partners: Germany 17.8%, Italy 10.9%, US 9.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, Spain 8.8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 8.5%, UK 7.5%, Japan 4.1%, FSU 1.3% (1991 est.)

External debt: $300 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.6% (1994 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 105,250,000 kW
production: 447 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,149 kWh (1993)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 4% ofGDP (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

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Fiscal year: calendar year


Transportation

Railroads:
total: 34,074 km
standard gauge: 33,975 km 1.435-m gauge (5,850 km electrified; 12,132 km double or multiple track)
other: 99 km various gauges including1.000-m (privately owned and operated) (1994)

Highways:
total: 1,511,200 km
paved: 811,200 km (including 7,700 km of controlled access divided highway)
unpaved: 700,000 km (1992)

Inland waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled

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

Ports: Bordeaux, Boulogne, Cherbourg, Dijon, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Mullhouse, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Strasbourg

Merchant marine:
total: 78 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,186,183 GRT/3,323,068 DWT
ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 7, chemical tanker 6, container 15, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 21, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2
note: France also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in the Kerguelen Islands (French Southern andAntarctic Lands) and French Polynesia

Airports:
total: 476
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 12
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 96
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 74
with paved runways under 914 m: 188
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 3
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 74


Flag by Dream Maker Software, Inc.
Information obtained from CIA, The World Factbook 1995