President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Head of state, prime minister: King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud
Population
65,630,692
26,534,504
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
74.350 years
Capital City
Paris
Riyadh
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Riyadh (population: 4,205,960)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.835
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$24,500 US
Literacy Rate
99%
78.8%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
3.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud ($13.3bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
10.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
monarchy
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
23 September 1932 (unification of the kingdom)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Muslim 100%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Arabic
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
petroleum and petroleum products 90%
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$105,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Saudi riyals (SAR) per US dollar - 3.75 (2008 est.), 3.745 (2007), 3.745 (2006), 3.747 (2005), 3.75 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
10.000%
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
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, north of Yemen
