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GEOGRAPHIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

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

Area

:

total: 547,030 sq km
land: 545,630 sq km
note: includes only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas administrative divisions
water: 1,400 sq km

Border countries

:

Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km

Climate

:

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

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, zinc, potash, timber, fish

PEOPLE

Population

:

59,765,983 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure

:

0-14 years: 18.5% (male 5,675,269; female 5,401,661)

15-64 years: 65.2% (male 19,503,556; female 19,479,646)

65 years and over: 16.3% (male 3,948,433; female 5,757,418) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

:

0.35% (2002 est.)

Birth rate

:

11.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate

:

9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate

:

0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio

:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate

:

4.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

:

total population: 79.05 years

female: 83.14 years (2002 est.)

male: 75.17 years

Ethnic groups

:

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

Religions

:

Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%

Languages

:

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

Literacy

:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

male: 99%

female: 99%

total population: 99%

GOVERNMENT

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

Constitution

:

28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992, Amsterdam Treaty in 1996, Treaty of Nice in 2000; amended to tighten immigration laws 1993

Legal system

:

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

Chief of State

:

President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)

Head of State

:

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre RAFFARIN (since 7 May 2002)

Cabinet

:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the suggestion of the prime minister

Legislative branch

:

bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (321 seats - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve nine-year terms; elected by thirds every three years) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a single-member majoritarian system to serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch

:

Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (judges are appointed by the president from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (three members appointed by the president, three appointed by the president of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the president of the Senate); Council of State or Conseil d'Etat

ECONOMY

:

France is in the midst of a gradual transition, from a well-to-do modern economy that has featured extensive government ownership and intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The government has partially or fully privatized many large companies, banks, and insurers, but still retains large stakes in several leading firms, including Air France, France Telecom, and Renault, and remains dominant in some sectors, particularly the power, public transport, and defense industries. The telecommunications sector is gradually being opened to competition. France's leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by means of laws, tax policies, and social spending that reduce income disparity and the impact of free markets on public health and welfare. The government has lowered income taxes and introduced measures to boost employment but has done little to reform an overly expensive pension system, rigid labor market, and restrictive bureaucracy which discourage hiring and make the tax burden one of the highest in Europe. In addition to the tax burden, the reduction of the workweek to 35 hours has drawn criticism for lowering the competitiveness of French businesses. The current economic slowdown has thrown the government's goal of balancing the budget by 2004 off track.

GDP

:

purchasing power parity - $1.54 trillion (2002 est.)

GDP
real growth rate

:

1% (2002 est.)

GDP- per capita:

:

purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

:

agriculture: 3%
industry: 26%
services: 71% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line

:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

:

lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

:

2% (2002 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

:

services 71%, industry 25%, agriculture 4%

Unemployment rate

:

9% (2002 est.)

Budget

:

revenues: $210 billion
expenditures: $240 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries

:

machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

Agriculture - products

:

wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish

FOREIGN TRADE

Exports

:

$307.8 billion (f.o.b., 2002)

Exports - commodities

:

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

Exports - partners

:

EU 61.3% (Germany 14.7%, UK 9.8%, Spain 9.6%, Italy 8.8%), US 8.7% (2001)

Imports

:

$303.7 billion (f.o.b.)

Imports - commodities

:

machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals

Imports - partners

:

EU 58.6% (Germany 16.7%, Benelux 7.0%, Italy 9.1%, UK 7.5%), US 8.9% (2001)

Debt - external

:

$106 billion

Currency

:

euro (EUR); French franc (FRF)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Exchange rates

:

euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997)

Fiscal year

:

calendar year

COMMUNICATION

Telephones

:

34.86 million

Telephone system

:

general assessment: highly developed

domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system

international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region); HF radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries

TRANSPORTATION

Railways

:

total: 31,939 km (operated by French National Railways (SNCF); 14,176 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-track)
standard gauge: 31,840 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 99 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.)

Highways

:

total: 892,900 km
paved: 892,900 km (including 9,900 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km

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 and harbors

:

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

Airports

:

477 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways

:

total: 270
over 3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
914 to 1,523 m: 75
under 914 m: 56 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 96

Airports - with unpaved runways

:

total: 207
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 73
under 914 m: 131 (2001)

Heliports

:

3 (2001)