This section looks at some important facts about France - population, demographics, religion, geography of France etc
Population of France
The population of France at July 2006 is estimated at 60.9 million people, of a total world population of 6.5 billion people. This makes it the 23rd most populated country in the world. 16.4% of the population of France are 65 years old or more.
85% of the population of France are Roman Catholic.
(For comparison, the 22nd largest population is the Congo Republic, with a population of 62.7 million people, and in position 24 is the United Kingdom with 60.6 million people. China is the most populated country in the world, with 1.3 billion people. The European Union as a whole has a population of 456.9 million, ahead of the USA with 298.4 million people.)
Life Expectancy in France
The overall life expectancy in France is 79.3 years - male 76 and female 83.5 years.
French flag
Geography and Area of France
The surface area of France is 547,030 square kilometres. 1,400 square kilometres of this is water.
France shares borders with 8 countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland
France has 3,427 kilometres of coastline.
France is divided into 22 administrative regions: Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur and Rhone-Alpes.
It is then further divided into 96 'departments', largely as established under Napoleon...between them containing almost 36,000 communes - regionally administered local units.
The Capital of France is Paris!
Highest Mountain: The highest mountain in France is Mont Blanc, at 4,807 metres high.
See the rivers of France for the major waterways
See also the 'biomes of France' for general landscape and environments.
Some more useful French facts and information
- How many people speak French, and where they live? see French language speakers
- See a description of the France flag
- Read the history of Marianne, symbol of Liberty
- See a schedule of French public holidays
- the words for the French national anthem
- learn about the original French franc
- find the emergency telephone numbers in France