Source
Central bank

Bank of France

International Reserves

USD 166.7 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 2,775.3 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 2,962.8 billion (2018, estimate)

Real GDP growth
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2.4% 2.4% 0.2% -2.9% 2% 2.1% 0.2%
2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017*    
0.6% 0.6% 1.3% 1.3% 1.4%    

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 39,621.2 (2017, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 43,677.8 (2017, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2017*
4.52% 4.19% 3.46% 2.68% 2.3%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 1.7% 
  • industry: 19.4% 
  • services: 78.8%

(2016 estimate)

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

2.3% (2014)

OECD, data retrieved January 2017

Inflation
2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017*
1.0% 0.6% 0.1% 0.3% 1.0%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017*
10.3% 10.3% 10.4% 9.8% 9.6%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

8.9% (Total, 2015)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017*
92.4% 95.3% 96.1% 97.2% 97.8%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2013 2014 2015 2016* 2017*
-4% -4% -3.5% -3.3% -3%

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: AA

Moody's: Aa2

Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)

Market value of publicly traded shares
2013 2014 2015
USD 2301.1 billion USD 2085.9 billion USD 2088.3 billion
Largest companies

BNP Paribas, AXA Group, Total, Sanofi, EADS, Credit Agricole, Société Générale, Orange, Renault, VINCI, L'Oréal Group, Christian Dior, Schneider Electric, EDF, Saint-Gobain, Carrefour, CNP Assurances, Danone, Natixis, Air Liquide, Peugeot, Michelin Group, Vivendi, GDF SUEZ, Pernod Ricard, CIC Group, Thales, Veolia Environnement, Kering, Publicis Groupe, Bouygues, Capgemini, Sodexo, Unibail-Rodamco, Scor, Safran, Essilor International, Valeo, Eiffage, Hermès International, Finatis, ATOS, Gecina, Financiere de l'Odet, Air France-KLM, Legrand, Alstom, Technip, Dassault Systemes, Aeroports de Paris, Foncière des Régions, Klepierre, Iliad, Wendel, Rexel, Accor, Eurazeo, Dassault Aviation, Arkema, Areva, Eutelsat Communications.

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD -9.7 billion (2017 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

-0.4% (2017 estimate)

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)

30.0% (2015)

Shares in world total merchandising export

3.1% (2015)

 

Shares in world total commercial services export

5.0% (2015)

Total exports

USD 505.4 billion (2016 estimate)

Export commodities

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

Total imports

USD 525.4 billion (2016 estimate)

 
 
Source
Import commodities

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

Exports - major partners

Germany 15.9%, Spain 7.3%, US 7.2%, Italy 7.1%, UK 7.1%, Belgium 6.8% (2015)

Imports - major partners

Germany 19.5%, Belgium 10.7%, Italy 7.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Spain 6.8%, US 5.5%, China 5.4%, UK 4.3% (2015)

FDI inflows
2013 2014 2015
USD 42,892 million USD 15,191 million USD 42,883 million
FDI outflows
2013 2014 2015
USD 24,997 million USD 42,869 million USD 35,069 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2012 2013 2014 2015
USD -3051.0 million USD 2809.9 million USD 13809.3 million USD 23506.1 million
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

Numericable Group SA, Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone SA, France, USD 23.1 billion / Schneider Electric SA, Invensys PLC, United Kingdom, USD 5.2 billion

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

Klepierre SA, Corio NV, Netherlands, USD 5.5 billion / Orange SA, Jazztel PLC, Spain, USD 4.3 billion / Cap Gemini SA, iGATE Corp, United States, USD 3.9 billion / Publicis Groupe SA, Sapient Corp, United States, USD 3.7 billion

Best countries for doing business

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking: 29 out of 190 countries (2016)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 27 out of 190 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 18 out of 190 countries

Registering Property: 100 out of 190 countries

Getting credit: 82 out of 190 countries

Protecting investors: 32 out of 190 countries

Trading across border: 1 out of 190 countries

Paying Taxes: 63 out of 190 countries

Dealing with Construction Permits: 20 out of 190 countries

Getting Electricity: 25 out of 190 countries

Resolving Insolvency: 24 out of 190 countries

Global competitiveness ranking

21 out of 138 countries

(2016-2017)

Index of Economic Freedom

Ranking: 75 / Score: 62.32 (Moderately free) (2017)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+1

Total area

643,801 sq km

Capital

Paris

Currency

Euros (EUR)

Government type

Semi-presidential republic

Languages

French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)

Religions

Christian (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic) 63-66%, Muslim 7-9%, Buddhist 0.5-0.75%, Jewish 0.5-0.75%, other 0.5-1.0%, none 23-28%

Note: France maintains a tradition of secularism and has not officially collected data on religious affiliation since the 1872 national census, which complicates assessments of France's religious composition; an 1872 law prohibiting state authorities from collecting data on individuals' ethnicity or religious beliefs was reaffirmed by a 1978 law emphasizing the prohibition of the collection or exploitation of personal data revealing an individual's race, ethnicity, or political, philosophical, or religious opinions; a 1905 law codified France's separation of church and state (2015 est.)

Total population
1990 2000 2010 2016* 2021*
56.577 million 58.858 million 62.765 million 64.569 million 66.061 million

*Estimate

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2015
62% 73% 76% 80%
Population median age

41.2 years (2016 estimate)

Population growth rate

0.41% (2016 estimate)

Life expectancy

81.8 years (2016 estimate)

Literacy

N/A

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

N/A

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

33.1 (2012)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 2 (2017)                         

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

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed 59.91%   Mobile 102.61% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

84.69% (2015)

Mercer Cost of living index

Paris: 44th 
Lyon:132nd

(2016)

CO2 emissions

5.1 (2013)

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