President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Baldwin Spencer
Population
65,630,692
89,018
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
75.690 years
Capital City
Paris
Saint John's
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Saint John's (population: 24,226)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.83
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$18,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
85.8%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
16.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
11.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
1 November 1981 (from UK)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Anglican 25.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Roman Catholic 10.4%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census)
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
English (official), local dialects
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
petroleum products, bedding, handicrafts, electronic components, transport equipment, food and live animals
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$359,800,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) note: fixed rate since 1976
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
0.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
0
Location
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
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
Area
643,801 km sq
443 km sq
Coastline
0 km
153 km
Climate
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
