on-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification

Geography - note: largest West European nation; occasional strong,
cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral

@France:People

Population: 58,609,285 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 5,712,739; female 5,449,139)
15-64 years : 65% (male 19,178,683; female 19,126,672)
65 years and over: 16% (male 3,687,216; female 5,454,836) (July 1997
est.)

Population growth rate: 0.35% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 11.98 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 9.08 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years : 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.38 years
male: 74.44 years
female: 82.53 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French

Ethnic groups: 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:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (1980 est.)

@France:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: French Republic
conventional short form: France
local long form : Republique Francaise
local short form: France

Data code: FR

Government type: republic

National capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: 22 regions (regions, singular - region);
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, Rhone-Alpes
note: metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including the
"territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and is subdivided into
96 departments; see separate entries for the overse