FRANCE

Three basic European ethnic stocks--Celtic, Latin, and Teutonic (Frankish)--have blended over the centuries to make up its present population. France's birth rate was among the highest in Europe from 1945 until the late 1960s. Since then, its birth rate has fallen but, remains higher than that of most other west European countries.

POPULATION GRAPH

Population:
total: 62,752,136
note: 60,876,136 in metropolitan France (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 5,704,152/female 5,427,213)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 19,886,228/female 19,860,506)
65 years and over: 16.4% (male 4,103,883/female 5,894,154) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 39.1 years
male: 37.6 years
female: 40.7 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.35% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
11.99 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.73 years
male: 76.1 years
female: 83.54 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.4% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
120,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French
Ethnic groups:
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities
overseas departments: black, white, mulatto, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian
Religions:
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4%
overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages:
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)