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Finland (continued) (1989), 4.1828 (1988), 4.3956 (1987), 5.0695 (1986), 6.1979 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Railroads: 5,924 km total; Finnish State Railways (VR) operate a total of 5,863 km 1.524-meter gauge, of which 480 km are multiple track and 1,445 km are electrified

Highways: about 103,000 km total, including 35,000 km paved (bituminous, concrete, bituminous-treated surface) and 38,000 km unpaved (stabilized gravel, gravel, earth); additional 30,000 km of private (state-subsidized) roads

Inland waterways: 6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal); 3,700 km suitable for steamers

Pipelines: natural gas, 580 km

Ports: Helsinki, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku; 6 secondary, numerous minor ports

Merchant marine: 82 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 737,811 GRT/764,695 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 11 short-sea passenger, 18 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 24 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 12 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 7 bulk, 1 combination bulk

Civil air: 39 major transport

Airports: 160 total, 157 usable; 56 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 23 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good service from cable and radio relay network; 3,140,000 telephones; stations—4 AM, 42 (101 relays) FM, 79 (195 relays) TV; 2 submarine cables; satellite service via Swedish earth stations; satellite earth stations—2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 EUTELSAT

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,312,941; 1,091,416 fit for military service; 32,288 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (1989 est.)  France



Geography

Total area: 547,030 km²; land area: 545,630 km²; includes Corsica and the rest of metropolitan France, but excludes the overseas administrative divisions

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Colorado

Land boundaries: 2,892.4 km total; Andorra 60 km, Belgium 620 km, FRG 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km

Coastline: 3,427 km (includes Corsica, 644 km)

Maritime claims:
 * Contiguous zone: 12-24 nm
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary dispute with Canada (St. Pierre and Miquelon); 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; 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: 32% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures; 27% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: most of large urban areas and industrial centers in Rhône, Garonne, Seine, or Loire River basins; occasional warm tropical wind known as mistral

Note: largest West European nation

People

Population: 56,358,331 (July 1990), growth rate 0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)

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

Ethnic divisions: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 1% Muslim (North African workers), 6% unaffiliated

Language: French (100% of population); rapidly declining regional dialects (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 24,170,000; 61.5% services, 31.3% industry, 7.3% agriculture (1987)

Organized labor: 20% of labor force (est.)

Government

Long-form name: French Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Paris

Administrative divisions: metropolitan France—22 regions (régions, singular—région); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comté, Haute-Normandie, Île-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes; note—the 22 regions are subdivided into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the territorial collectivities (Mayotte, St. Pierre and Miquelon)

Dependent areas: Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna

Independence: unified by Clovis in 486, First Republic proclaimed in 1792

Constitution: 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962  102