President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor Prime minister: Ralph Gonsalves
Population
65,630,692
103,537
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
74.390 years
Capital City
Paris
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Kingstown (population: 24,518)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.766
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
99%
96%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
6.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
18.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
English, French patois
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
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
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 North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Area
643,801 km sq
389 km sq
Coastline
0 km
84 km
Climate
tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
