807 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, potash, timber, fish

Land use: arable land: 33% permanent crops: 2% other: 65% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 20,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought;
forest fires in south near the Mediterranean

Environment - current issues: some forest damage from acid rain (major
forest damage occurred as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm);
air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution
from urban wastes, agricultural runoff

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: largest West European nation

People France

Population: 59,765,983 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.5% (male 5,675,269; female 5,401,661) 15-64
years: 65.2% (male 19,503,556; female 19,479,646) 65 years and over: 16.3%
(male 3,948,433; female 5,757,418) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.35% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 11.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69
male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 83.14 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.44% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,000 (1999 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African,
Indochinese, Basque minor