France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-7, the G-20, the EU, and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO’s integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing DE GAULLE’s 1966 decision to withdraw French forces from NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and were made part of France proper.
land: 640,427 sq km ; 549,970 sq km (metropolitan France)
water: 3,374 sq km ; 1,530 sq km (metropolitan France)
note: the first numbers include the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion
border countries (8): Andorra 55 km; Belgium 556 km; Germany 418 km; Italy 476 km; Luxembourg 69 km; Monaco 6 km; Spain 646 km; Switzerland 525 km
metropolitan France - total: 2751 km
French Guiana - total: 1205 km
metropolitan France: 3,427 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (does not apply to the Mediterranean Sea)
continental shelf: 200m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
mean elevation: 375 m
note: to assess the possible effects of climate change on the ice and snow cap of Mont Blanc, its surface and peak have been extensively measured in recent years; these new peak measurements have exceeded the traditional height of 4,807 m and have varied between 4,808 m and 4,811 m; the actual rock summit is 4,792 m and is 40 m away from the ice-covered summit
arable land: 33.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 17.5% (2018 est.)
forest: 29.2% (2018 est.)
other: 18.1% (2018 est.)
68,521,974 (2023 est.)
note: the above figure is for metropolitan France and five overseas regions; the metropolitan France population is 62,814,233
noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities
note: overseas departments: Black, White, Mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian
French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard); note - overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)
major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d’informations de base. (French)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhist 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, none 33%, unspecified 9% (2021 est.)
note: France maintains a tradition of secularism and has not officially collected data on religious affiliation since the 1872 national census, which complicates assessments of France’s religious composition; an 1872 law prohibiting state authorities from collecting data on individuals’ ethnicity or religious beliefs was reaffirmed by a 1978 law emphasizing the prohibition of the collection or exploitation of personal data revealing an individual’s race, ethnicity, or political, philosophical, or religious opinions; a 1905 law codified France’s separation of church and state
0-14 years: 18.04% (male 6,322,021/female 6,040,773)
15-64 years: 60.53% (male 20,846,592/female 20,632,418)
65 years and over: 21.42% (2023 est.) (male 6,409,883/female 8,270,287)
total dependency ratio: 63.1
youth dependency ratio: 28.3
elderly dependency ratio: 34.8
potential support ratio: 2.9 (2021 est.)
total: 42.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 40.9 years
female: 44 years
0.21% (2023 est.)
10.9 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
9.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
much of the population is concentrated in the north and southeast; although there are many urban agglomerations throughout the country, Paris is by far the largest city, with Lyon ranked a distant second
urban population: 81.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.67% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
11.208 million PARIS (capital), 1.761 million Lyon, 1.628 million Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, 1.079 million Lille, 1.060 million Toulouse, 1.000 million Bordeaux (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
28.9 years (2020 est.)
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 82.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 79.7 years
female: 85.5 years
1.9 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.93 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
12.2% of GDP (2020)
3.27 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
5.9 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
21.6% (2016)
total: 11.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 6.44 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 33.4% (2020 est.)
male: 34.9% (2020 est.)
female: 31.9% (2020 est.)
NA
54.8% (2023 est.)
5.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 16 years (2020)
some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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 the mistralFrench Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variationGuadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on averageMayotte: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
agricultural land: 52.7% (2018 est.)
arable land: 33.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.8% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 17.5% (2018 est.)
forest: 29.2% (2018 est.)
other: 18.1% (2018 est.)
urban population: 81.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.67% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 10.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
methane emissions: 55.99 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 33.399 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 7,434,617 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 22.3% (2015 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Lake Geneva (shared with Switzerland) - 580 sq km
Rhin (Rhine) (shared with Switzerland [s], Germany, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km; Loire - 1,012 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Loire (115,282 sq km), Seine (78,919 sq km), Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), (Adriatic Sea) Po (76,997 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Rhone (100,543 sq km)
Paris Basin
municipal: 5.31 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 17.78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 3.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
211 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
high-income, advanced and diversified EU economy and euro user; strong tourism, aircraft manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and industrial sectors; strong US partner; ongoing pension reform protests and civil unrest; transitioning to a green economy via “France 2030” strategy
$3.048 trillion (2021 est.)
$2.854 trillion (2020 est.)
$3.095 trillion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
6.82% (2021 est.)
-7.78% (2020 est.)
1.84% (2019 est.)
$45,000 (2021 est.)
$42,200 (2020 est.)
$45,900 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$2.716 trillion (2019 est.)
1.64% (2021 est.)
0.48% (2020 est.)
1.11% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: AA (2014)
Moody’s rating: Aa2 (2015)
Standard & Poors rating: AA (2013)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 1.7% (2017 est.)
industry: 19.5% (2017 est.)
services: 78.8% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 54.1% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 23.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 22.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.9% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 30.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -32% (2017 est.)
wheat, sugar beets, milk, barley, maize, potatoes, grapes, rapeseed, pork, apples
machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, textiles, food processing, tourism
6.98% (2021 est.)
31.132 million (2021 est.)
8.06% (2021 est.)
8.01% (2020 est.)
8.41% (2019 est.)
note: includes overseas territories
total: 20.1% (2021 est.)
male: 19.9%
female: 20.3%
13.6% (2018 est.)
32.4 (2018 est.)
on food: 13.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 3.7% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.4% (2013)
revenues: $1.427 trillion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $1.509 trillion (2019 est.)
-2.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
123.01% of GDP (2020 est.)
104.99% of GDP (2019 est.)
101.62% of GDP (2018 est.)
note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
24.69% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$9.947 billion (2021 est.)
-$46.341 billion (2020 est.)
$13.699 billion (2019 est.)
$920.864 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$751.384 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$892.016 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 13%, Italy 8%, Belgium 8%, United States 7%, Spain 7% (2021)
aircraft, packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, wine, beauty products, gas turbines (2021)
$957.717 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$796.353 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$916.214 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 18%, Belgium 9%, Italy 9%, Spain 7%, China 7%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)
cars, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, aircraft machinery (2019)
$244.28 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$224.236 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$189.006 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$6.356 trillion (2019 est.)
$6.058 trillion (2018 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 138.611 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 472.699 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 64.425 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 19.613 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 36.203 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 68.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 2.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 7.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 11.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 56 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 1
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 61.37GW (2021)
Percent of total electricity production: 70% (2021)
Percent of total energy produced: 77% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 6
production: 2.312 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 10.712 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 35,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 7.891 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 81,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 1,688,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 1,064,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 61.7 million barrels (2021 est.)
1.311 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
440,600 bbl/day (2017 est.)
886,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 16.226 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 38.192 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 9.104 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 46.11 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 7.787 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
338.425 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 26.971 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 225.865 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 85.589 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
151.053 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 19 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 553
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 70,188,028 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4,443,790,000 (2018) mt-km
F
464 (2021)
294
civil airports: 64
military airports: 22
joint use (civil-military) airports: 5
other airports: 204
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
170
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1 (2021)
15,322 km gas, 2,939 km oil, 5,084 km refined products (2013)
total: 27,860 km (2020) 16,660 km electrified
narrow gauge: -5 km
total: 1,053,215 km (2011)
paved: (2011)
urban: 654,201 km (2011)
non-urban: 399,014 km (2011)
metropolitan France: 8,501 km (1,621 km navigable by craft up to 3,000 metric tons) (2010)
total: 549 (2022)
by type: container ship 32, general cargo 49, oil tanker 26, other 442
note: includes Monaco
major seaport(s):
Atlantic Ocean: Brest, Calais, Dunkerque, Le Havre, Nantes
Mediterranean Sea: Marseille
container port(s) (TEUs): Le Havre (3,018,550) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Dunkerque, Fos Cavaou, Fos Tonkin, Montoir de Bretagne
river port(s): Bordeaux (Garronne); Nantes - Saint Nazaire (Loire); Paris, Rouen (Seine); Strasbourg (Rhine)
cruise/ferry port(s): Calais, Cherbourg, Le Havre
note 1: begun in 1988 and completed in 1994, the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the Chunnel) is a 50.5-km (31.4-mi) rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover that runs from Folkestone, Kent, England to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais in northern France; it is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and mainland Europe
note 2: France operates two icebreakers, one PC 3 or 4 class icebreaker based in French Polynesia for operations in Antarctica and one PC 5 or 6 class icebreaker based in the North Atlantic
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm); PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)
manyapis