France
 | France |  Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation | |
 Population | Top of page | |
| Inhabitants | Life expectancy | |
| total: 63,713,926
| total population: 80.59 years
male: 77.35 years female: 84 years (2007 est.) | |
| Ethnic groups | Religions | |
| Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
overseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian | Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan | |
| Languages | Literacy | |
| French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
overseas departments: French, Creole patois | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) | |
 Government | Top of page | |
| Government type | Capital | |
| republic | Paris | |
| Independance | National day | |
| 486 (unified by CLOVIS) | 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 | Legal system | |
| adopted by referendum 28 September 1958, effective 4 October 1958
| civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts | |
 Economy | Top of page | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | Growth rate | |
| $2.154 trillion (2006 est.) | 2% (2006 est.) | |
| GDP per inhabitant | Unemployment rate | |
| $30,100 (2006 est.) | 8.7% (December 2006 est.) | |
| Population below poverty line | Inflation rate | |
| 6.2% (2004) | 1.5% (2006 est.) | |
| Exports | Imports | |
| $490 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | $529.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | Currency | |
| $98.54 billion (2006 est.) | euro (EUR) | |
| Military expenditures | ||
| 2.6% (2005 est.) | ||
 Geography | Top of page | |
| Location | Area | |
| metropolitan France: 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
French Guiana: Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname Guadeloupe: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico Martinique: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago Reunion: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | 643,427 sq km; 547,030 sq km (metropolitan France) | |
| Climate | Natural resources | |
| 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) | metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish
French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay | |
 Communication | Top of page | |
| Cellulars | Internet code | |
| 49.37 million; 48.058 million (metropolitan France) (2005) | metropolitan France - .fr; French Guiana - .gf; Guadeloupe - .gp; Martinique - .mq; Reunion - .re | |
| Internet hosts | Internet users | |
| 3.149 million; 3.148 million (metropolitan France) (2006) | 29.945 million; 29.521 million (metropolitan France) (2006) | |
 Transportation | Top of page | |
| Airports | Railways (in km) | |
| 501 (2006) | 29,085 km | |
| Roadways (in km) | Pipelines (in km) | |
| 956,303 km (includes 5,083 km of roads in the overseas departments) | gas 14,588 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2006) | |
