Form of government: republic with two legislative houses (Parliament; Senate [321], National Assembly [577]).
Chief of state: President.
Head of government: Prime Minister.
Capital: Paris.
Official language: French.
Official religion: none.
Monetary unit: 1 franc (F)=100 centimes; valuation (Oct.
6, 1995) 1 U.S.$=F 5.01; 1 
=F
7.93.
Population (1995): 58,172,000.
Density (1995): persons per sq mi 277.0, persons per sq km 106.9.
Urban-rural (1993): urban 72.8%; rural 27.2%.
Sex distribution (1994{1}): male 48.71%; female 51.29%.
Age breakdown (1994{1}): under 15, 19.8%; 15-29, 21.7%; 30-44, 22.4%; 45-59, 16.4%; 60-74, 13.6%; 75 and over, 6.1%.
Population projection: (2000) 59,628,000; (2010) 62,648,000.
Doubling time: not applicable; doubling time exceeds 100 years.
Ethnolinguistic composition (1990): French (mother tongue) 93.6%, of which fully or substantially bilingual in Occitan 2.7%, German (mostly Alsatian) 2.3%, Breton 1.0%, Catalan 0.4%; Arabic 2.5%; other 3.9%.
Religious affiliation (1980): Roman Catholic 76.4%; other Christian 3.7%; atheist 3.4%; Muslim 3.0%; other 13.5%.
Major cities (1990): Paris 2,152,423 (metropolitan area 9,060,257); Marseille 800,550 (1,231,082); Lyon 415,487 (1,262,223); Toulouse 358,688 (608,430); Nice 342,439 (475,507); Strasbourg 252,338 (338,483); Nantes 244,995 (492,255); Bordeaux 210,336 (685,456); Montpellier 207,996 (236,788).
National origin (1990): French 93.6%, of which Martiniquais 0.2%, Guadeloupian 0.2%, Réunionese 0.2%; Portuguese 1.1%; Algerian 1.1%; Moroccan 1.0%; Italian 0.4%; Spanish 0.4%; Turkish 0.3%; other 2.1%.
Mobility (1990). Population living in same residence as in 1982: 51.4%; same region 89.0%; different region 8.8%; different country 2.2%.
Households (1993). Average household size 2.6; 1 person 27.7%, 2 persons 32.0%, 3 persons 17.4%, 4 persons 14.7%, 5 persons or more 8.2%. Family households (1990): 14,118,940 (72.1%); nonfamily 5,471,460 (27.9%, of which 1-person 24.6%).
Immigration (1992): permanent immigrants admitted 110,669 (Morocco 14.6%, Algeria 10.3%, Turkey 8.4%, Tunisia 3.5%, Sri Lanka 2.7%, Lebanon 1.5%, Vietnam 1.2%).
Birth rate per 1,000 population (1994): 12.3 (world avg. 25.0); (1992) legitimate 66.8%; illegitimate 33.2%.
Death rate per 1,000 population (1994): 9.0 (world avg. 9.3).
Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1994): 3.3 (world avg. 15.7).
Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 1993): 1.6.
Marriage rate per 1,000 population (1994): 4.4.
Divorce rate per 1,000 population (1992): 1.9.
Life expectancy at birth (1991-93): male 73.1 years; female 81.3 years.
Major causes of death per 100,000 population (1993): heart disease and other circulatory diseases 301.5; malignant neoplasms (cancers) 253.3; accidents and violence 80.5; respiratory diseases 69.9; digestive-tract diseases 45.2.
Educational attainment (1990). Percentage of population age 25 and over having: primary 22.1%; lower secondary 7.8%; higher secondary and vocational 29.4%; postsecondary 11.6%; undeclared attainment 29.1%.
Quality of working life. Average workweek (1994): 38.9 hours. Annual rate per 100,000 workers (1992) for: injury or accident 3,386 (deaths 4.6); accidents in transit to work 847 (deaths 40.1); industrial illness 16.6{2}; death 4.8{2}. Proportion of labour force insured for damages or income loss resulting from: injury, permanent disability, or death, n.a. Average days lost to labour stoppages per 1,000 workers (1993): 23.0. Average length of journey to work (1990): 8.7 mi (14 km).
Access to services (1992). Proportion of dwellings having: central heating 86.0%; piped water 97.0%; indoor plumbing 95.8%.
Social deviance. Offense rate per 100,000 population (1992) for: murder 0.8; rape 9.6; other assault 96.5; theft (including burglary and housebreaking) 4,558.6. Incidence per 100,000 in general population of: alcoholism, n.a. (deaths related to alcoholism; 1991) 5.0; suicide (1993) 21.1.
Social participation. Eligible voters participating in last (May 1995) national election: 79.7%. Population over 15 years of age participating in voluntary associations: 28.0%.
Leisure (1987-88). Participation rate for favourite leisure activities: watching television 82%; reading magazines 79%; listening to radio 75%; entertaining relatives 64%; visiting relatives 61%; attending fairs/expositions 56%.
Material well-being (1991). Households possessing: automobile 76.8%; television receiver 94.7%, of which colour 89.1%; videocassette recorder 37.1%; refrigerator 97.9%; washing machine 88.4%.
Gross national product (1994): U.S.$1,317,950,000,000 (U.S.$22,760 per capita).
Budget (1995). Revenue: F 1,448,500,000,000 (value-added taxes 46.5%; direct taxes 39.1%; customs taxes 11.0%). Expenditure (1995): F 1,470,400,000,000 (current expenditures 88.0%, of which education 17.8%, defense 16.5%, health 4.2%; capital expenditure 12.0%).
Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1994): wheat 30,652,000, sugar beets 28,997,000, corn (maize) 13,040,000, barley 7,637,000, grapes 6,933,000, potatoes 5,456,000, apples 2,157,000, sunflower seeds 2,056,000, rapeseed 1,771,000, tomatoes 788,000, oats 685,000, cauliflower 553,000, peaches 531,000, pears 459,000, sorghum 266,000, soybeans 262,000, rye 176,000; livestock (number of live animals) 20,112,000 cattle, 13,383,000 pigs, 10,452,000 sheep, 1,055,000 goats; roundwood (1993) 44,069,000 cu m; fish catch (1993) 830,000. Mining and quarrying (1994): iron ore 710,000{3}; potash salts 950,000; uranium 1,275{3}; gold 122,200 troy oz{3}; silver 19,300 troy oz{3}. Manufacturing (1993): cement 19,320,000; crude steel 17,112,000; pig iron 13,056,000{4}; sulfuric acid 3,627,000{5}; aluminum 628,800{4}; rubber products 486,360, of which tires 62,520,000 units; automobiles 3,103,200 units. Construction (dwelling units completed; 1993) 299,000.
Energy production (consumption){6}: electricity (kW-hr; 1992) 462,263,000,000 (408,467,000,000); coal (metric tons; 1992) 11,056,000 (28,565,000); crude petroleum (barrels; 1992) 21,014,000 (543,301,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 1992) 69,773,000 (77,165,000); natural gas (cu m; 1992) 2,385,630,000 (33,750,289,000).
Household income and expenditure. Average household size (1994) 2.6; average annual income per household (1994) F 300,960 (U.S.$53,140). Sources of income (1992): wages and salaries 51.1%, social security 27.5%, self-employment 21.4%; expenditure (1994): housing 21.3%, food 18.3%, transportation 16.4%, health 10.2%, recreation 7.4%, clothing 5.7%.
Tourism (1993): receipts from visitors U.S.$23,410,000,000; expenditures by nationals abroad U.S.$12,800,000,000.
Population economically active (1994): total 25,485,500; activity rate of total population 44.1% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 67.6%{7}; female 44.5%; unemployed 12.4%).
Public debt (1994): F 2,246,000,000,000 (U.S.$420,100,000,000).
Land use (1993): forested 27.1%; meadows and pastures 19.6%; agricultural and under permanent cultivation 35.3%; other 18.0%.
Imports (1994): F 1,279,663,000,000 (machinery and transport equipment 41.2%, of which transport equipment 14.3%, electrical equipment 11.4%; agricultural products 12.3%; chemical products 8.1%; fuels 7.7%). Major import sources: Germany 17.8%; U.S. 10.1%; Italy 10.1%; Belgium-Luxembourg 9.2%; U.K. 8.0%; Spain 6.1%; The Netherlands 5.0%; Japan 4.4%.
Exports (1994): F 1,311,798,000,000 (machinery and transport equipment 45.4%, of which transport equipment 18.3%, electrical equipment 10.6%; agricultural products 15.5%; chemical products 8.1%; pharmaceuticals 6.2%). Major export destinations: Germany 17.1%; U.K. 9.9%; Italy 9.4%; Belgium-Luxembourg 8.8%; U.S. 8.4%; Spain 7.1%; The Netherlands 4.6%.
Transport. Railroads (1993): route length 34,074 km; passenger-km 58,380,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 45,864,000,000. Roads (1993): total length 829,400 km (paved [1985] 92%). Vehicles (1993): passenger cars 24,385,000; trucks and buses 4,890,000. Merchant marine (1992): vessels (100 gross tons and over) 729; total deadweight tonnage 4,981,027. Air transport (1993): passenger-km 59,200,000,000; metric ton-km cargo 3,700,000,000; airports (1995) with scheduled flights 66.
Communications. Daily newspapers (1993): number 116; circulation 10,096,000{8}; circulation per 1,000 population 175{8}. Radio (1993): 49,000,000 receivers (1 per 1.2 persons). Television (1993): 29,300,000 receivers (1 per 2.0 persons). Telephones (1994): 31,600,000 (1 per 1.8 persons).
Literacy (1980): total population literate 41,112,000 (98.8%); males literate 19,933,000 (98.9%); females literate 21,179,000 (98.7%).