France Facts
France Facts
Facts about France
Capital
Paris
Total Area
total: 547,030 sq km
land: 545,630 sq km
water: 1,400 sq km
note: includes only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas
administrative divisions
Population
60,656,178 (July 2005 est.)
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (1980 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
Life Expectancy
total population: 79.6 years
male: 75.96 years
female: 83.42 years (2005 est.)
Government Type
republic
Currency
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro
as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries;
on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions
within the member countries
