President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
5,353,494
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
83.750 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Singapore
Paris
Largest city
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.918
0.955
GDP per capita
$60,500 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
92.5%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
9.2
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
24.5%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
2.000%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary republic
republic
Independence date
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$23,580,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar - 1.415 (2008 est.), 1.507 (2007), 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (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
4.900%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
40
Location
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
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
697 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
193 km
0 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
