do
Land boundaries:
2,892.4 km; Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km,
Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km
Coastline:
3,427 km; mainland 2,783 km, Corsica 644 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
12-24 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de
Nova Island, and Tromelin Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims
Tromelin Island; Seychelles claims Tromelin Island; Suriname claims part of
French Guiana; Mexico claims Clipperton Island; territorial claim in
Antarctica (Adelie Land)
Climate:
generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers
along the Mediterranean
Terrain:
mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is
mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east
Natural resources:
coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc, potash
Land use:
arable land 32%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and
woodland 27%; other 16%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
most of large urban areas and industrial centers in Rhone, Garonne, Seine,
or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral
Note:
largest West European nation

:France People

Population:
57,287,258 (July 1992), growth rate 0.5% (1992)
Birth rate:
13 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
74 years male, 82 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women); adjective - French
Ethnic divisions:
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and
Basque minorities
Religions:
Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers)
1%, unaffiliated 6%
Languages:
French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional dialects (Provencal,
Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Literacy:
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
Labor force:
24,170,000; services 61.5%, industry 31.3%, agriculture 7.3% (1987)