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Economy - overview: France is in the midst of transition from a
well-to-do modern economy that has featured extensive government ownership and
intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The government has
partially or fully privatized many large companies, banks, and insurers. It
retains controlling stakes in several leading firms, including Air France,
France Telecom, Renault, and Thales, and is dominant in some sectors,
particularly power, public transport, and defense industries. The
telecommunications sector is gradually being opened to competition. France's
leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by
means of laws, tax policies, and social spending that reduce income disparity
and the impact of free markets on public health and welfare. The government has
lowered income taxes and introduced measures to boost employment and reform the
pension system. In addition, it is focusing on the problems of the high cost of
labor and labor market inflexibility resulting from the 35-hour workweek and
restrictions on lay-offs. The tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe
(nearly 50% of GDP in 2005). The lingering economic slowdown and inflexible
budget items have pushed the budget deficit above the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP
limit; unemployment stands at 10%.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.816 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $29,900 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 21.4%
services: 76.1% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
27.72 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 24.4%
services: 71.5% (1999)
Unemployment rate:
10% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 6.5% (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1995)
Distribution of family income: Gini index: 32.7 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (2005 est.) Budget:
revenues: $1.06 trillion
expenditures: $1.144 trillion; including capital expenditures of $23
billion (2005 est.) Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft,
electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism
Industrial production growth rate: - 0.3% (2005)
Electricity - production: 536.9 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption: 433.3 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: 72.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 6.2 billion kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 76,300 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - consumption: 2.06 million bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: 409,600 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 2.281 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: 144.3 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 1.566 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 43.74 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 1.725 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 40.26 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 12.86 billion cu m (1 January
2002)
Agriculture - products: wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine
grapes; beef, dairy products; fish
Exports: $346.5 billion f.o.b. (2003
est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment,
aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel,
beverages
Exports - partners: Germany 15%, Spain 9.5%, UK 9.4%, Italy 9%,
Belgium 7.2%, US 6.7% (2004)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil,
aircraft, plastics, chemicals
Imports - partners: Germany 19.2%, Belgium 9.9%, Italy 8.8%, Spain
7.4%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.7%, US 5% (2004)
Debt - external: NA
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $5.4 billion (2002)
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
Currency code: EUR
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004),
0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook.
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