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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
French Republic |
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| Capital |
Paris |
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| Area |
543,965 sq km |
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210,026 sq mi |
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| France: Flag and Anthem |
 Expand |
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| People |
| Population |
61,083,916 (2007 estimate) |
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| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
0.33 percent (2007 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2025 |
63,085,101 (2007 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2050 |
61,017,122 (2007 estimate) |
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| Population density |
112 persons per sq km (2007 estimate) |
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290 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate) |
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| Urban/rural distribution |
| Share urban |
77 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Share rural |
23 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Largest cities, with population |
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| Paris |
2,153,600 (2005 estimate) |
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| Marseille |
820,900 (2005 estimate) |
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| Lyon |
466,400 (2005 estimate) |
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| Toulouse |
435,000 (2005 estimate) |
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| Nice |
347,900 (2005 estimate) |
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| Ethnic groups |
| Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, and Nordic; North and West African, Caribbean, Indochinese, and Basque minorities |
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| Languages |
| French, regional dialects and languages (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish), English, Arabic |
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| Religious affiliations |
| Roman Catholic |
81 percent |
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| Protestant |
2 percent |
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| Jewish |
1 percent |
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| Muslim |
5 percent |
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| Nonreligious |
11 percent |
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| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
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| Total |
79.9 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Female |
83.7 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Male |
76.2 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
4 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate) |
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| Population per physician |
304 people (2004) |
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| Population per hospital bed |
130 people (2003) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
99 percent (1995) |
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| Female |
Not available |
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| Male |
Not available |
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| Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) |
5.6 percent (2002-2003) |
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| Number of years of compulsory schooling |
11 years (2002-2003) |
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| Number of students per teacher, primary school |
19 students per teacher (2002-2003) |
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| Government |
| Form of government |
Presidential republic |
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| Head of state |
President |
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| Head of government |
Prime minister (premier) |
| Legislature |
Bicameral legislature |
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National Assembly: 577 deputies |
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Senate: 321 senators |
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| Voting qualifications |
Universal at age 18 |
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| Constitution |
| 28 September 1958; amended in 1962 to provide for direct election of the president, in 1992 to comply with the provisions of the European Union (EU) Maastricht Treaty, in 1993 to tighten immigration laws, and in 2000 to shorten the president's term to five years |
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| Highest court |
Court of Cassation |
| Armed forces |
Army, Navy, Air Force, Strategic Nuclear Forces |
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| Total number of military personnel |
254,895 (2004) |
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| Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
2.6 percent (2003) |
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| First-level political divisions |
22 regions containing 96 departments |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$2.1 trillion (2005) |
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| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$34,935.50 (2005) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
2.2 percent (2005) |
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| Industry |
20.9 percent (2005) |
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| Services |
76.9 percent (2005) |
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| Employment |
| Number of workers |
27,098,341 (2005) |
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| Workforce share of economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
2 percent (2001) |
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| Industry |
24 percent (2001) |
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| Services |
74 percent (2001) |
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| Unemployment rate |
9.9 percent (2004) |
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| National budget (U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
$980,780 million (2005) |
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| Total expenditure |
$917,041 million (2005) |
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| Monetary unit* |
| 1 euro (€), consisting of 100 cents |
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| *The French franc (F) became linked to the EU single currency, the euro (€), on 1 January 1999 at a fixed rate of 6.55957 to 1 euro (€). Euro coins and bills replaced the French franc as the national currency on January 1, 2002. |
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| Agriculture |
| Wheat, grapes, sugar beets, maize, barley, potatoes, apples, livestock, dairy products |
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| Mining |
| Coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, potash salts, salt, lead, uranium, zinc |
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| Manufacturing |
| Food products, transportation equipment, nonelectrical machinery, electrical machinery, metals, metal products |
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| Major exports |
| Electrical and specialized machinery, passenger vehicles, aircraft, power-generating equipment, iron and steel, cereals, office machines and data processing equipment, alcoholic beverages, organic chemicals, textiles |
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| Major imports |
| Transportation equipment, food and food products, industrial machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, electrical machinery, raw materials, textiles, iron and steel |
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| Major trade partners for exports |
| Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, United States, and Italy |
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| Major trade partners for imports |
| Germany, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom, and United States |
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| Energy, Communications, and Transportation |
| Electricity production |
| Electricity from thermal sources |
10.27 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from hydroelectric sources |
10.91 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from nuclear sources |
78.04 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources |
0.78 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
946 (1997) |
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| Number of telephones per 1,000 people |
587 (2005) |
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| Number of televisions per 1,000 people |
626 (2000 estimate) |
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| Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people |
401 (2003) |
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| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
218 (1996) |
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| Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
596 (2003) |
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| Paved road as a share of total roads |
100 percent (2003) |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
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