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France

X

Background :

Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy. 

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| 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

46 00 N, 2 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -5.14
North 51.09
East 9.56
South 41.37

Area :

total 551 500 square km
land 549 970 square km
water 1 530 square km

Land boundaries :

France - total 2 889 km
Andorra (ad) 56 km
Belgium (be) 620 km
Germany (de) 451 km
Italy (it) 488 km
Luxembourg (lu) 73 km
Monaco (mc) 4 km
Spain (es) 623 km
Switzerland (ch) 573 km
French Guiana - total 1 183 km
Brazil (br) 673 km
Suriname (sr) 510 km

Coastline :

4668.00 km

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 mistral||French Guiana:|tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation||Guadeloupe and Martinique:|subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average||Reunion:|tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) 

Terrain :

|metropolitan 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||Reunion:|mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 2 metres
highest point 4 807 metres

Natural resources :

antimony arsenic
bauxite coal
feldspar fish
fluorspar gypsum
iron ore metropolitan france:
potash timber
uranium zinc

Land use :

arable land 33.46 %
permanent crops 2.03 %
other 64.51 %

Natural hazards :

avalanches flooding
windstorms

current issues :

some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff 

international agreements :

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 Seals Antarctic Treaty
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources
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

Population :

62 150 775 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.55 %
Birth rate 12.57 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.98 children born/woman
Death rate 8.56 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate 1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 18.60 %
15-64 years 65.00 %
65 years and over 16.40 %

Median age :

total 39.40 years
male 38.00 years
female 40.90 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.00 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.72 male(s)/female
total population 0.96 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 3.33 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 80.98 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 77.79 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 84.33 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.40 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 140 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 1 600

Religions :

Roman Catholic 83.00 %
Protestant 2.00 %
Jewish 1.00 %
Muslim 5.00 %
unaffiliated 4.00 %

Languages :

French 100.00 %

Literacy :

total population 99.00 %
male 99.00 %
female 99.00 %

Country name :

conventional long form French Republic
conventional short form France
local long form Republique francaise
local short form France

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 FR
ISO Numeric 250
ISO3 FRA
FIPS FR
ccTLD fr
English France

Administrative divisions :

26 regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy), Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bretagne (Brittany), Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse (Corsica), Franche-Comte, Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy), Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Martinique, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion, Rhone-Alpes| 

Capital :

name Paris
geographic coordinates 48 52 N, 2 20 E
time difference 1.00
daylight saving time 1

International organization participation :

ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member)
Arctic Council (observer) Australia Group
BDEAC BIS
BSEC (observer) CBSS (observer)
CE CERN
EAPC EBRD
EIB EMU
ESA EU
FAO FATF
FZ G-10
G-20 G-5
G-7 G-8
IADB IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICC ICCt
ICRM IDA
IEA IFAD
IFC IFRCS
IHO ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
InOC Interpol
MIGA MINURCAT
MINURSO MINUSTAH
MONUC NATO
NEA NSG
OAS (observer) OECD
OIF OPCW
OSCE PCA
PIF (partner) Paris Club
SECI (observer) SPC
Schengen Convention UN
UN Security Council UNCTAD
UNESCO UNHCR
UNIDO UNIFIL
UNITAR UNMIL
UNOCI UNRWA
UNTSO UNWTO
UPU Union Latina
WADB (nonregional) WCO
WEU WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO
ZC

National holiday :

Fete de la Federation

1790-07-14

Executive branch :

President Nicolas SARKOZY Prime Minister Francois FILLON

Legislative branch :

UMP 46.37 %
PS 42.25 %
PCF 2.28 %
NC 2.12 %
PRG 1.65 %
other 1.24 %

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 2 113 000 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 2 635 000 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -2.10 %
PPP - per capita 32 800 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 2.10 %
industry 19.00 %
services 78.90 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 3.80 %
industry 24.30 %
services 71.80 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 27 990 000 people
Unemployment rate 9.70 %
Population below poverty line 6.20 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 32.70
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 0.10 %
Investment (gross fixed) 20.80 % of GDP
Current account balance - 43 670 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 102 900 000 000 $
Debt external 5 021 000 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 1 759 000 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 1 202 000 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 2 771 000 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.60 % of GDP
Public debt 79.70 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 3.00 %
highest 10% 24.80 %

Budget :

revenues 1 229 000 000 000 $
expenditures 1 445 000 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

beef cereals
dairy fish
potatoes sugar beets
wheat wine grapes

Industries :

aircraft automobiles
chemicals electronics
food processing machinery
metallurgy textiles
tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 535 700 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 447 200 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 58 690 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 10 680 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 70 800 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 1 986 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 554 100 bbl/day
Oil Imports 2 346 000 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 103 300 000 bbl
Natural gas Production 920 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 49 270 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Exports 1 000 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Imports 49 350 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 6 937 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

456 800 000 000 $

Commodities :

aircraft beverages
chemicals iron and steel
machinery and transportation equipment pharmaceutical products
plastics

Value :

532 200 000 000 $

Commodities :

aircraft chemicals
machinery and equipment petroleum
plastics vehicles

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 35 909 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 59 259 000
Television broadcast stations 584
Internet Country code (ccTLD) fr
Internet Hosts 14 327 000
Internet Users 42 912 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 297
Heliports 1
Pipelines - gas 14 688 km
Pipelines - oil 2 943 km
Pipelines - refined products 5 080 km
Roadways - total 951 500 km
Roadways - expressways 10 950 km
Roadways - paved 951 500 km
Railways 29 213 km

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