The 2001 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%

      highest 10%: 25.1% (1995)

      Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2000 est.)

      Labor force: 25 million (2000)

      Labor force - by occupation: services 71%, industry 25%, agriculture 4% (1997)

      Unemployment rate: 9.7% (2000 est.)

      Budget: revenues: $210 billion

      expenditures: $240 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

      Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism

      Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2000 est.)

      Electricity - production: 497.26 billion kWh (1999)

      Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 9.69%

      hydro: 14.39%

      nuclear: 75.43%

      other: 0.49% (1999)

      Electricity - consumption: 398.752 billion kWh (1999)

      Electricity - exports: 68.7 billion kWh (1999)

      Electricity - imports: 5 billion kWh (1999)

      Agriculture - products: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish

      Exports: $325 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

      Exports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages

      Exports - partners: EU 63% (Germany 16%, UK 10%, Spain 9%, Italy 9%,

       Belgium-Luxembourg 8%), US 8% (1999)

      Imports: $320 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

      Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals

      Imports - partners: EU 62% (Germany 16%, Belgium-Luxembourg 11%,

       Italy 9%, UK 8%), US 7% (2000 est.)

      Debt - external: $106 billion (1998)

      Economic aid - donor: ODA, $6.3 billion (1997)

      Currency: French franc (FRF); euro (EUR)

      note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in France at a fixed rate of 6.55957 French francs per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002

      Currency code: FRF; EUR

      Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996)

      Fiscal year: calendar year

      France Communications

      Telephones - main lines in use: 34.86 million (yearend 1998)

      Telephones - mobile cellular: 11.078 million (yearend 1998)

      Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed

      domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system

      international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region); HF radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries

      Radio broadcast stations: AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998)

      Radios: 55.3 million (1997)

      Television broadcast stations: 584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995)

      Televisions: 34.8 million (1997)

      Internet country code: .fr

      Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 62 (2000)

      Internet users: 9 million (2000)

      France Transportation

      Railways: total: 31,939 km (31,939 km are operated by French National Railways (SNCF); 14,176 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked)

      standard gauge: 31,840 km 1.435-m gauge

      narrow gauge: 99 km 1.000-m gauge (1998)

      Highways: total: 892,900 km

      paved: 892,900 km (including 9,900 km of expressways)

      unpaved: 0 km (1999)

      Waterways: 14,932 km (6,969 km heavily traveled)

      Pipelines: crude oil 3,059 km; petroleum products 4,487 km; natural gas 24,746 km

      Ports and harbors: Bordeaux, Boulogne, Cherbourg, Dijon, Dunkerque,

       La Pallice, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Mullhouse, Nantes, Paris,

       Rouen, Saint Nazaire, Saint Malo, Strasbourg

      Merchant marine: total: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 942,333 GRT/1,304,754 DWT

      ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 4, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 1, container 1, liquefied gas 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 17, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3

      note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2000 est.)

      Airports: 475 (2000 est.)

      Airports - with paved runways: total: 268

      over 3,047 m: 14

      2,438 to 3,047 m: 30

      1,524 to 2,437 m: 94

      914 to 1,523 m: 72

      under 914 m: 58 (2000 est.)

      Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 207

      1,524 to 2,437 m: 4

      914 to 1,523 m: 73

      under 914 m: 130 (2000 est.)

      Heliports: 3 (2000 est.)

      France Military

      Military branches: Army (includes Marines), Navy (includes Naval

       Air), Air Force (includes Air Defense), National Gendarmerie

      Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

      Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 14,573,199 (2001 est.)

      Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15–49: 12,127,793 (2001 est.)

      Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 390,064 (2001 est.)

      Military expenditures - dollar figure: $39.831 billion (FY97)

      Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (FY97)

      France Transnational Issues

      Disputes - international: Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and French Guiana; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu

      Illicit drugs: transshipment point for and consumer of South

       American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics

      ======================================================================

      @French Guiana

      French Guiana Introduction