President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
7,590,758
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
81.070 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Jerusalem
Paris
Largest city
Jerusalem (population: 714,000)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.93
0.955
GDP per capita
$31,400 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
97.1%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
6
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.2%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Sammy Ofer & family ($4.0bn US)
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.600%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished except for special circumstances
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$102,300,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 3.56 (2008 est.), 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004)
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
7.300%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
40
Location
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
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
20,770 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
273 km
0 km
Climate
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
