National name: République Française

President: Jacques Chirac (1995)

Prime Minister: Dominique de Villepin (2005)

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

Population (2005 est.): 60,656,178 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 12.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.3/1000; life expectancy: 79.6; density per sq mi: 287

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Paris, 11,330,700 (metro. area), 2,110,400 (city proper)

Other large cities: Marseille, 820,700; Lyon, 443,900; Toulouse, 411,800; Nice, 332,000; Nantes, 282,300; Strasbourg, 272,600; Bordeaux, 217,000

Monetary unit: Euro (formerly French franc)

Languages: French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

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

Religions: Roman Catholic 83%–88%, Protestant 2%, Islam 5%–10%, Jewish 1%

Literacy rate: 99% (1980 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $1.737 trillion; per capita $28,700. Real growth rate: 2.1%. Inflation: 2.3%. Unemployment: 10.1%. Arable land: 34%. Agriculture: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 27.7 million; services 71.5%, industry 24.4%, agriculture 4.1% (1999). Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish. Exports: $419 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages. Imports: $419.7 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals. Major trading partners: Germany, Spain, UK, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, U.S. (2003).

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: 16.97 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 32,682 km (2002). Highways: total: 894,000 km; paved: 894,000 km (including 11,500 km of expressways); unpaved: 0 km (2000). 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 (2002).