France.
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Photo: flaggenlexikon.de |
Capital - Paris
Language - French
Population - total: 63,713,926
Geography - total: 643,427 sq km; 547,030 sq km (metropolitan France)
Area-comparative - slightly less than the size of Texas
Climate - metropolitan France: generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-north-westerly wind known as mistral
French Guiana: tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation
Guadeloupe and Martinique: subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average
Reunion: tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April)
Religion - Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%,
unaffiliated 4%
overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Ethnic Groups - Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
overseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian
Life expectations - total population: 80.59 years
male: 77.35 years
female: 84 years (2007 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
Government type - republic
Exports - Oil-Exports: 474,200 bbl/day (2005)
Natural Gas Exports : 770 million cu m (2004 est.)
$490 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Export Commodities - machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
GDP per capita - $30,100 (2006 est.)
Natural Resources - metropolitan France: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish
French Guiana: gold deposits, petroleum, kaolin, niobium, tantalum, clay
Natural Hazards - metropolitan France: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean
overseas departments: hurricanes (cyclones), flooding, volcanic activity (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion)