President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
73,599,190
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
55.740 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Paris
Largest city
Kinshasa (population: 7,785,960)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.361
0.955
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
67.2%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
1.7
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
7.7%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
Death Penalty
NA
Abolished
Political System
republic
republic
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
40
Location
Central Africa, northeast of Angola
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
Area
2,344,858 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
37 km
0 km
Climate
tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
