Guiana; Mexico claims Clipperton
Island; territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); Saint Pierre
and Miquelon is focus of maritime boundary dispute between Canada and
France
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%
Irrigated land:
11,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and
vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural
runoff
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note:
largest West European nation; occasional warm tropical wind known as
mistral

@France, People

Population:
57,840,445 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.47% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
13.13 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
9.3 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
78.19 years
male:
74.27 years
female:
82.3 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.8 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective:
French
Ethnic divisions:
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese,
Basque minorities
Religions:
Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African
workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%
Languages:
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages
(Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)