Backgrounder: France
( 2003-05-27 10:01 ) (8)

French Republic

National name: République Fran?aise

President: Jacques Chirac (1995)

Prime Minister: Jean-Pierre Raffarin (2002)

Area: 211,208 sq mi (547,030 sq km)

Population (2003 est.): 60,180,529 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 12.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.4/1000; density per sq mi: 285

Capital and largest city(2000 est.): Paris, 10,150,000 (metro. area)

Other large cities: Marseille, 801,000; Lyon, 415,000; Toulouse, 359,000; Nice, 342,000; Strasbourg, 252,000; Nantes, 245,000; Bordeaux, 201,000

Monetary units: Euro (formerly French franc)

Languages: French, declining regional dialects (Proven?al, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican)

Ethnicity/race: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Southeast Asian, and Basque minorities

Religions: Roman Catholic 81%, Protestant 1.7%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 1.3%

Literacy rate: 99% (1980)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2001 est.): $1.51 trillion; per capita $25,400. Real growth rate: 2.1%. Inflation: 1.7%. Unemployment: 8.9%. Arable land: 33.3%. Agriculture: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 26.6 million; services 71%, industry 25%, agriculture 4% (1997). Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, potash, timber, fish. Exports: $293.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001): machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages. Imports: $292.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001): machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals. Major trading partners: EU, U.S.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 34.86 million (yearend 1998); mobile cellular: 11.078 million (yearend 1998). Radio broadcast stations: AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998). Radios: 55.3 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 34.8 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 62 (2000). Internet users: 11.7 million (2001).

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-tracked) (2000 est.). Highways: total: 892,900 km; paved: 892,900 km (including 9,900 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (1999). Waterways: 14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled. 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).

International disputes: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia, claimed by France and Vanuatu.