Country Name: France (French Republic)

Capital: Paris

Government Type: semi-presidential republic

Background: 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.

Continent: Europe

Population: 68,521,974 (2023 est.)

Ethnic Groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities

Languages: 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)

Religions: 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

Economic Overview: 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

Currency: European Euro (EUR)

Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $242.416 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $3.12 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Real GDP Growth Rate: 2.45% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real GDP per Capita: $45,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars

Exports: 

• $1.013 trillion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 5

Export Commodities: aircraft, packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, wine, beauty products, gas turbines (2021)

Export Partners: Germany 13%, Italy 8%, Belgium 8%, United States 7%, Spain 7% (2021)

Imports: 

• $1.103 trillion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 5

Import Commodities: cars, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, aircraft machinery (2019)

Import Partners: Germany 18%, Belgium 9%, Italy 9%, Spain 7%, China 7%, Netherlands 6%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)

Natural Resources: metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, arable land, fish; French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay

Agricultural Products: wheat, sugar beets, milk, barley, maize, potatoes, grapes, rapeseed, pork, apples

Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, textiles, food processing, tourism

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• -1.15% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

• Comparison Ranking: 184

Labor Force: 31.617 million (2022 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 7.31% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Natural Hazards: 

• Metropolitan France: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean;

• Overseas departments: hurricanes (cyclones); flooding;

• Volcanism: Montagne Pelee (1,394 m) on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean is the most active volcano of the Lesser Antilles arc, it last erupted in 1932; a catastrophic eruption in May 1902 destroyed the city of St. Pierre, killing an estimated 30,000 people; La Soufriere (1,467 m) on the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean last erupted from July 1976 to March 1977; these volcanoes are part of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south

Geography:

• Total: 643,801 sq km; 551,500 sq km (metropolitan France)

• 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.

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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