France (La France; official: République française) is a republic in western Europe. The total area of France is 543,965 km2 and is thus to surface the second largest country in Western Europe and the 37th in the world. France is thirteen times as big as the Netherlands and about as big as Spain and Portugal combined. In the whole of Europe is France, after Russia and the Ukraine, the largest country. The greatest distance from north to south is 975 kilometers, about the same as from east to west. Most are natural limits of France. In the west lies the Atlantic Ocean, in the northwest the strait and the Channel, in the east, the Rhine, the Jura Mountains and the Alps in the south of the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees. Furthermore, France is bordered in the north to Belgium (620 km) and Luxembourg (73 km), in the east of Germany (451 km), Switzerland (573 km), Italy (488 km) and Monaco (4.4 km) and Spain to the south (623 km) and Andorra (57 km).
The French state alongside includes metropolitan France "la Metropole", the overseas departments: Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique and La Reunion, the "collectivités territoriales" Îles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon and Mayotte, and four overseas territories: New Caledonia, Vanuatu , French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. In addition, France also claim to a part of Antarctica: Adelieland. New Caledonia has also been 1 Jan, 2000 a new status. The overseas departments (DOM) counted approximately 1.7 million inhabitants and the overseas territories (TOM) and New Caledonia in 1996 had slightly more than 430,000 inhabitants. Today these areas are already represented in the French National Assembly.
The mainland of France had by January 1, 2001 approximately 59 million inhabitants. When the overseas departments to be added, the figure rises to 61.1 million inhabitants and it is France, after Germany that more than 82 million inhabitants, ranks second in the European Union. The population of France increased sharply after 1945 by including the progress in health care and the expansion of social services. Until early 20th century, population growth but low and between the two world wars, the population decrease. From the mid-sixties, took a strong position but the population growth since 1977 has been a slight increase. In 1992 the birth rate and mortality 13 ‰ ‰ 9. The life expectancy at birth in 2000 was 81 years for women and for men over 73 years. In addition to the natural population increase is a significant part of the increase attributable to the immigration of foreigners (mainly Algerians, Portuguese, Italians, Spaniards, French refugees from Africa and Moroccans). Their number in 1990 was 6.3% of the total population, most ethnic minorities (85%) live in Paris and environs, in the Rhone-Alpes region and in Corsica.
The growth of the population in 2001 was more than 300,000 people, net migration contributed to it with 60,000 people. The net migration of France is generally the lowest of the European Union. Value for the entire European Union for two-thirds of the total population is determined by the migration balance, is that in France but for 20%. In both 2000 and 2001 were approximately 775,000 babies born, which is in France spoke of a "mini-baby boom". The growth of the population varies widely by region. As the population grows in northern France traditionally much stronger than in southern France.
0-19 years 25.3%
20-64 years 58.5%
65 + 16.2%
France is relatively sparsely populated and even one of the least densely populated countries in Europe. The average population density was in 2002 106 inhabitants per km2, but the population is very unevenly distributed. Sparsely populated areas are the Central Massif, the boards of the Paris Basin, Les Landes, the high mountains. Densely populated areas, the departments of Ille-de-Paris, Nord, Rhone, Val de Marne and Hauts-de-Seine. These are areas characterized by intensive agriculture, but mostly by industrial and urban areas. In 1999, lived 45 million French people in an urban environment, which is 77% of the population. In 1973, this was still 73%. In Paris alone has about 20% of the French population. Through the formation of "metro poles d'équilibre" as Nantes, Lille, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lyon has tried to restore balance in France and the growth of Paris to slow down.
Basque Country is for the most part to the Spanish side of the Pyrenees and only one in ten of the 500,000 people who speak Basque, the French nationality. Although the Basques linked culturally and ethnically, the Spanish and French Basque a different background. Spanish Basque Country was rapidly industrialized and the Basque quickly played an important role in the economy and politics. French Basque Country, comprising the departments of Soule, Labourd and Basse Navarre, was a backward region of farmers and fishermen until tourism in the nineteenth century came up. Although almost all violent actions by the Spanish Basques are also sometimes in the French cities of demonstrations and actions.