About Paris:
Principal languages: French (official), English
Ethnicity/race: French 92%; Arab/North African 4%; German 2%; Breton 1%; Catalan 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 83–88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%–10%, unaffiliated 4%.
National Holiday: Independence Day, 14 July
Literacy rate: 99% with a rank of 37 out of 194
Economic summary: GDP/PPP $2.276 trillion (2013 est.). Real growth rate: 0.3%. Inflation: 1.53 %. Unemployment: 10.5%. Arable land: 33.4. Agriculture: chiefly wheat, sugar, wine, and beef, tropical commodities, cotton, tobacco, and vegetable oils. Labor force: 30,143,373 Industries: machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metals, aircraft, electronics equipment, textiles, and foods (especially cheeses). Coal, iron ore, bauxite, and other minerals are mined. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish. Exports: $578.3 billion (2014 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages. Imports: crude petroleum (6.5%), refined petroleum (5.4%), cars (4.8%), packaged medicaments (3.0%), and planes/helicopters (2.5%) Major trading partners: Germany, UK, Spain and Italy
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 36.441 million; mobile cellular: 60.95 million Radio: AM 41, FM about 3,500 Television broadcast stations: 584. Internet hosts: 15,182,001. Internet users: 45.262 million
Transportation: Railways: total: 29,901 km. Highways: total: 11,882 Waterways: 8,000km Airports: 16
International disputes: Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia
Tourism in Paris:
France was visited by 84.7 million foreign tourists in 2013, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world. It is third in income from tourism due to briefer visits. 20% more tourists spent less than half as much as they did in the United States.
France has 37 sites inscribed in UNESCO's world heritage list and features cities of high cultural interest (Paris being the foremost, but also Toulous, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lyon, and others), beaches and seaside resorts, ski resorts, and rural regions that many enjoy for their beauty and tranquillity (green tourism). Small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage (such as colognes-le-rouge or locronan) are promoted through the association les plus beaux villages de France (litt "The Most Beautiful Villages of France"). The "remarkable gardens" label is a list of the over two hundred gardens classified by the French ministry of culture. This label is intended to protect and promote remarkable gardens and parks.
In 2012, travel and tourism directly contributed EUR77.7 billion to French GDP, 30% of which comes from international visitors and 70% from domestic tourism spending. The total contribution of travel and tourism represents 9.7% of GDP and supports 2.9 million jobs (10.9% of employment) in the country. Tourism contributes significantly to the balance of payments
|
|