France GDP Data & Country Report

France Country Report: GDP data and GDP forecasts; economic, financial and trade information; the best banks in France; country and population overview

DATA ON GDP AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Central bank

Bank of France
France is part of the Eurosystem and the European Central Bank

International Reserves

US$ 179.506 billion (Source: IMF; Data updated: November 2011)

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

US$ 2.751 trillion (2010 estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

2.205 trillion of International dollars (2010 estimate)

Real GDP growth

2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
4.1%	1.8%	1.1%	1.1%	2.3%	2%	2.4%	2.3%
2008	2009	2010	2011*
0.1%	-2.5%	1.5%	1.6%

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

US$ 43,491 (2009 estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

$34,858 International Dollars (2009 estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total

1980	1990	2000	2010	2015**
4.72%	4.4%	3.65%	2.9%	2.56%

**Forecast

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 19.3%
services: 78.9% (2009 estimate)

(Data released on November 2010)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP)

2.02% (2008)

(Data released on November 2010)

Inflation

2008	2009	2010	2011*
3.2%(2008)	0.1%	1.7%	2.1%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate

2008	2009	2010	2011*
7.8%	9.5%	9.7%(2009)	9.5%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

15.5% (Gross saving; 2011 forecast)

(Data released on November 2010)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)

2007	2008	2009	2010	2011*
63.8%	67.5%	78.1%	84.3%	87.6%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)

2007	2008	2009	2010*	2011**
-2.7%	-3.3%	-7.6%	-8%	-6%

*Estimate **Forecast

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: AAA/Stable/A-1+

Moody's rating: Aaa

Moody's outlook: STA

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2010)

Market value of publicly traded shares

2007	2008	2009
US$2.771 trillion	US$1.492 trillion	US$1.972 trillion

Largest companies in France

BNP Paribas (Major Banks), Total (Oil & Gas Operations), GDF Suez (Electric Utilities), Société Générale (Major Banks), AXA Group (Diversified Insurance), France Telecom (Telecommunications services), Sanofi-aventis (Pharmaceuticals), Crédit Agricole (Major Banks), EDF Group (Electric Utilities)
(2011)

DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS

Current account balance

US$ -76.5 billion (2010 estimate)(After 2008)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

-2.8% of GDP (2010 estimate)(2009)

Exports as percent of GDP

(Exports of goods and services)

26.5% (2008)

(Data released on December 2010)

Shares in world total merchandising export

3.42%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Shares in world total commercial services export

3.86%(2007)

(Data were released in Nov 2011 and refer to 2010)

Total exports

US$508.7 billion f.o.b. (2010 estimate)

Export commodities

machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages

Total imports

US$833 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)

Import commodities

machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals

Exports - major partners

Germany 14.9%, Spain 9.3%, Italy 8.9%, UK 8.1%, Belgium 7.3%, US 6.1%, Netherlands 4.1% (2007)

Imports - major partners

Germany 18.9%, Belgium 11.4%, Italy 8.4%, Spain 7.1%, Netherlands 7%, UK 5.6%, US 4.4%, China 4% (2007)

FDI inflows

2008	2009	2010
US$64,184 million	US$34,027 million(2009)	US$33,905 million(2009)

FDI outflows

2008	2009	2010
US$155,047 million	US$102,949 million	US$84,112 million

Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser

2008	2009	2010	2011
US$56,806 million	US$41,565 million(2009)	US$7,157 million(2009)	US$-7,468 million

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2008

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

Lafarge SA, OCI Cement Group, Egypt, $15.0 billion
Pernod Ricard SA, Vin & Sprit AB, Sweden, $8.9 billion
Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel, Citibank Privatkunden AG & Co KGaA, Germany, $6.6 billion
Investor Group, Steen & Strom ASA, Norway, $4.3 billion
Cie de Saint-Gobain SA, Maxit Holding GmbH, Germany, $3.3 billion
Banque Federale des Banques Populaires SA, Banque de Savoie, France, $3.2 billion
Xella International GmbH SPV, Xella International GmbH, Germany, $3.2 billion

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2010

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

Orange Participations SA, Egyptian Co for Mobile Services, Egypt, $4.5 billion
(2008 estimate)

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Best countries for doing business

World Bank/IFC Doing Business Project

(Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 183. A high ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.)

Overall ranking: 26 out of 183 countries(2009) (2010)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 21 out of 183 countries(2009)

Registering property: 142 out of 183 countries

Paying Taxes: 55 out of 183 countries

Getting credit: 46 out of 183 countries

Protecting investors: 74 out of 183 countries

Trading across border: 26 out of 183 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 7 out of 183 countries

(2010)

Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 142, the first is the best)

(2011/2012)

Index of Economic Freedom

WSJ and Heritage Foundation

Ranking: 64 Score: 64.6 (Moderately Free) (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )

COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW

Time zone

UTC+1

Total area

551,500 km² (2006)

Capital

Paris (2009)

Currency

euros (EUR) (2009)

Government type

republic (2009)

Languages

French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)overseas departments: French, Creole patois

Religions

Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%, overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan

Total population

1980	1990	2000	2010*	2015**
53.73 million	56.71 million	59.06 million	62.96 million	64.41 million

*Estimate **Forecast

Urban population as % of total population

1960	1980	2000	2009
61.9%	73.3%	75.8%	77.6%

Population median age

39.0 years (2006)

Population growth rate

0.5% (2009)

Life expectancy

81 years (2007)

Adult literacy

N/A

% of population living on less than $2 a day

N/A

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

32.7 (1995)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Political Rights:1
Civil Liberties:1 (2010)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)

Total telephone subscribers as % of population

155.76% (2010)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

80.1% (Data were released in 2011 and refer to 2010)

Cost of living index

(ranking by city on a basis of 214; the 1st is the most expensive and the 214th is the least expensive)

Paris: 27th (2011)

CO2 emissions
(Metric tons of CO2 per capita)

6.0737 (2008)

GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDS

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS

2010:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2010)

2009:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS & PROVIDERS

2011:

REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Europe, 2011)
COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2011)

2010:

REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Europe, 2010)
COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2010)

2009:

REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Europe, 2009)
COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

2011:

BNP Paribas (National, 2011)

2010:

BNP Paribas (National, 2010)

2009:

BNP Paribas (Europe, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE PROVIDERS

2011:

GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Pre-Shipment Financing Solution BNP Paribas Utexam Logistics (Global, 2011)

WORLD'S BEST BANKS

2011:

REGIONAL BNP Paribas (Developed Europe, 2011)

WORLD'S BEST DERIVATIVES PROVIDERS

2009:

Best Equity Derivatives Provider Société Générale (Europe, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2010:

COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (National, 2010)

2009:

COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks HSBC (2009)
COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Citi (2009)

WORLD'S SAFEST BANKS

2011:

OVERALL SAFEST Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (Global, 2011)
OVERALL SAFEST BNP Paribas (Global, 2011)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Agricole (Global, 2011)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Lyonnais (Global, 2011)
OVERALL SAFEST Societe Generale (Global, 2011)
OVERALL SAFEST Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel (BFCM) (Global, 2011)
REGIONAL WINNERS Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (Western Europe, 2011)

2010:

OVERALL SAFEST Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (Global, 2010)
OVERALL SAFEST BNP Paribas (Global, 2010)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Agricole (Global, 2010)
OVERALL SAFEST Société Générale (Global, 2010)
OVERALL SAFEST Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel (Global, 2010)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Industriel et Commercial (CIC) (Global, 2010)
REGIONAL WINNERS Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (Western Europe, 2010)

2009:

OVERALL SAFEST Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) (Global, 2009)
OVERALL SAFEST BNP Paribas (Global, 2009)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Agricole S.A. (Global, 2009)
OVERALL SAFEST Societe Generale (SG) (Global, 2009)
OVERALL SAFEST Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel BFCM (Global, 2009)
OVERALL SAFEST Credit Industriel et Commercial CIC (Global, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2011:

REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Western Europe, 2011)
COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2011)

2010:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2010)
REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Western Europe, 2010)

2009:

REGIONAL WINNERS BNP Paribas (Western Europe, 2009)
COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2011:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2011)
DEALS OF THE YEAR / Lead Managers BNP Paribas (Global, 2011)

2010:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2010)

CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD

2010:

Grade: A (Jean-Claude Trichet, 2010)

WORLD'S BIGGEST BANKS

2011:

OVERALL BIGGEST BNP Paribas (Global, 2011)
OVERALL BIGGEST Crédit Agricole (Global, 2011)
OVERALL BIGGEST Société Générale (Global, 2011)
OVERALL BIGGEST Groupe BPCE (Global, 2011)
OVERALL BIGGEST Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) (Global, 2011)

2010:

OVERALL BIGGEST BNP Paribas (Global, 2010)
OVERALL BIGGEST Crédit Agricole (Global, 2010)
OVERALL BIGGEST Groupe BPCE (Global, 2010)
OVERALL BIGGEST Société Générale (Global, 2010)
OVERALL BIGGEST Banque Féderative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) (Global, 2010)

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS

2011:

COUNTRY WINNERS BNP Paribas (National, 2011)

ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE

France GDP Data & Country Report | Global Finance

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS & PROVIDERS

2011:

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

2011:

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S BEST SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE PROVIDERS

2011:

WORLD'S BEST BANKS

2011:

WORLD'S BEST DERIVATIVES PROVIDERS

2009:

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S SAFEST BANKS

2011:

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2011:

2010:

2009:

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2011:

2010:

CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD

2010:

WORLD'S BIGGEST BANKS

2011:

2010:

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS

2011: