France in the European Union

Transcription

1 2008 France in the European Union

2

3 France in the European Union 2008

4 Publication manager: Jean- Philippe Cotis Editorial supervision: INSEE Texts: INSEE French official statistical system Maps: INSEE Translation: Jonathan Mandelbaum Graphic design and layout: ineiaki Global Design Photo credits: ineiaki Global Design Photo alto PhotoDisc Collection: Thinkstock Goodshoot Phovoir BrandX INSEE Bercy - Sircom Publisher: Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE) [ French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies] 18 boulevard Adolphe- Pinard, PARIS Cedex 14, France insee- contact@ insee. fr www. insee. fr INSEE Partial reproduction authorized subject to acknowledgement of France in the European Union as source and Eurostat as data provenance ( unless otherwise indicated). This publication was prepared as part of the French Presidency of the European Union in the second half of The text is also available on the INSEE website France in the European Union

5 Foreword On the eve of the French Presidency of the European Union, this volume makes highly salutary reading. It gives us a clearer view of France s position with respect to its EU neighbours, and of where EU countries stand vis-à-vis one another. Whilst comparisons are not a substitute for analysis, they do remain essential for decision-making. Today, public policy must constantly rely on statistical science. The figures provided by the EU statistical system and compiled here by INSEE speak to us, quite simply because they speak about us that is, about us Europeans. How many of us are there? How do we live? How long do we work? How productive are we? Are we getting good health care? We all ask ourselves these questions, and we will find the answers in this book. INSEE has not hesitated, either, to explore future-oriented fields such as sustainable development and trade with Mediterranean-rim countries. All of these statistics are accurate and reliable in a word, scientific. They seek to capture the richness and diversity of the economic and social spheres. For we must also measure the supplément d âme (supplement of the soul) that the French philosopher Henri Bergson already saw, three-quarters of a century ago, as the true strength of a society. This supplement should take into account a society s progress in a broader sense, encompassing social, environmental, psychological, and other factors. Growth is not an end in itself, but a means to promote the success of each individual and the well-being of all. In this spirit, I am pleased that an International Commission, chaired by Joseph Stiglitz, is examining the construction of new indicators to measure the progress of our society beyond GDP figures. The goal is not to develop a new single indicator, a unit of happiness a second GDP, as it were but to showcase the world s complexity through a multiplicity of data. When I hosted the Commission s first meeting at the Ministry in Paris, I specifically asked its members to prepare operational indicators that will enable us to define public policies. As Bergson also wrote, we must act as people of thought, and think as people of action. Statistics are located precisely in that middle ground between theoretical reflection and political decisionmaking. I wish you a pleasant read, and an enjoyable journey with INSEE through the European Union in numbers. Christine Lagarde French Minister of the Economy, Industry, and Employment

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7 Note 6 Introduction 9 Population 13 Territory, population 18 Birth rates 19 Life expectancy 20 Natural increase, migration fl ows 21 Living conditions 23 Consumption 26 Living standards 27 Contents Social protection, Health 29 Social protection 32 Health 33 Education, Innovation 35 Education 40 R&D, technological innovation 41 Labour market 43 Employment, unemployment 48 Earnings, hours worked 49 Sustainable development 51 Energy 55 Sustainable growth 56 Forestry, fisheries, and natural equilibrium 57 Economy, Finances 59 GDP, productivity 64 GDP components 65 External trade 66 Public finances 67 Production system 69 Agriculture 74 Industry, construction 75 Wholesale/retail trade, services 76 Transport, tourism 77 Europe and the Mediterranean 79 Mediterranean rim: selected figures 82 EU - Mediterranean Partner Countries trade 83

8 Note Statistical source The statistical source for all data published in this work is Eurostat, unless otherwise indicated. Data are subject to revision, particularly those marked as estimated or provisional. Regular updates are available on the Eurostat website Owing to a difference in coverage, a national statistic published by Eurostat may sometimes diverge from the same statistic published by the country concerned. In such cases, the Eurostat source has been chosen here for comparability purposes. Aggregate data for the European Union (EU 15, EU 25 or EU 27) or the euro zone are calculated or estimated by Eurostat. Whenever a statistic is estimated or unavailable for one of the countries, the fi gure shown is an estimate. By convention, EU 27 denotes all 27 Member States as of January 2008, whatever the year to which the statistic in question refers. European spaces EU 15: the 15 Member States of the European Union until 30 April 2004 Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. EU 25: the 25 Member States of the European Union until 31 December 2006 Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. EU 27: the 27 Member States of the European Union since 1 January 2007 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Euro zone: countries participating in the Monetary Union Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain; Portugal since January 1999; Greece since January 2001; Slovenia since January Conventional signs and abbreviations e estimate p provisional fi gure : fi gure unavailable /// no statistic, owing to the nature of things ha hectare inhab. inhabitant kw kilowatt bn billion PPS purchasing power standard t tonne toe tonne of oil equivalent per thousand 6 France in the European Union

9 Definitions Fertility rate, total fertility rate (TFR) The fertility rate for a specifi c age (or age group) is the number of children born alive to women of that age during the year, divided by the average female population of that age in that year. By extension, the fertility rate is the ratio of the number of children born alive in the year to the total female population of childbearing age (average number of women aged in that year). The change in the fertility rate partly depends on the change in the age structure of women aged The total fertility rate (TFR) is equal to the sum of age-specifi c fertility rates observed in a given year. It measures the average number of children that would be born alive to a cohort of women during their lifetime if they were to pass through their childbearing years with the age-specifi c fertility rates observed in the year studied. The change in the TFR provides a summary indicator of the changes in fertility rates, irrespective of the age structure of the population. Purchasing power standard (PPS), purchasing power parity (PPP) Purchasing power parities are currency conversion rates that eliminate price-level differences between countries. They serve to convert economic indicators expressed in national currencies into an artifi cial common currency called purchasing power standard, which allows meaningful comparisons between countries. Equivalent income, disposable income, consumption unit (CU) Equivalent income is defi ned as a household s disposable income divided by the number of consumption units (CUs) in the household (see below). Disposable income is the sum of labour income, asset income, transfers from other households, and social benefi ts, net of direct taxes and social contributions. The number of consumption units (also known as adult equivalents) in a household is computed by means of the modifi ed OECD equivalence scale, which assigns a weight of 1 CU to the fi rst household member aged 14 or over, 0.5 CUs to each additional member aged 14 or over, and 0.3 CUs to each child under 14 years old. Income inequality The S80/S20 income-distribution ratio is an income-inequality indicator. It is equal to (1) the share of income received by the 20% of the population with the highest income (top quintile) divided by (2) the share of income received by the 20% of the population with the lowest income (lowest quintile). For convenience, this ratio is commonly referred to as the interquintile ratio. Poverty (monetary) A person is regarded as poor when his or her equivalent income is below the poverty line. The poverty line is conventionally defi ned as 60% of the median equivalent income of the total population. Gross domestic product (GDP), value added Gross domestic product is an aggregate representing the fi nal result of the production activity of resident producer units. It may be defi ned as the sum of gross value added (GVA) of the country s various institutional sectors or its various industries, plus taxes net of subsidies on products. Value added is equal to output minus intermediate consumption. Note 7

10 au moins 25 % au plus 15 % UE % 10 % 0 % Suède Slovaquie Finlande France Lituanie Chypre Malte

11 UE 27 UE 27 Introduction Zone euro Zone euro France France Niveau de vie moyen en euros Rapport interquintile de revenu S80/S20 Jean-Philippe Cotis Director-General, INSEE

12 Introduction The European Union in France in the European Union

13 Ever since the signing of its founding treaties, the European Union (EU) has devoted special attention to establishing reliable statistics allowing comparisons between Member States. Indeed, quality information is necessary for democratic debate to fl ourish. These statistics accompanied EU integration and have gradually been enhanced by the expansion of the Community sphere. In the past decade or so, a new phase has begun with the introduction of structural statistical indicators. These provide a gauge of the EU s progress towards its ambitious goals in the economic, social, and environmental fi elds. The present volume aims to provide EU citizens with insights on the changes experienced by our societies. For this purpose, it relies on data published by Eurostat. Presented in tables and charts, the data illustrate both the unity and the diversity of EU countries. They are offered with brief commentaries to highlight the Union s most distinctive features. While not exhaustive, France in the European Union encompasses many domains of EU statistics. We trust that the information compiled here will enable readers to corroborate some reasoned intuitions, or, quite to the contrary, to dispel unwarranted clichés. They will discover, for example, that the proportion of higher-education graduates in science and technology amongst young people aged is substantially greater in the EU (12.9 per thousand) than in the United States (10.6 per thousand). The fi rst eight chapters illustrate both the progress achieved by the EU and the road yet to be travelled. One example concerns the goals of the EU employment strategy. While most Member States have indeed met the target for female employment (60%), they are still a long way from the target employment rate among persons aged (50%). Yet these overall fi ndings should not mask the wide diversity of EU economies as regards their economic and social structures as well as their performance. The choice of topics refl ects this objective of identifying common features without losing sight of diversity. Conventional statistics on demographic, social, and economic life, for example, are fully represented here. But the reader will also fi nd information on emerging domains or subjects less customarily observed which EU statistics also explore. In the area of new information and communication technologies (NICTs), there are fi gures on broadband Internet access and enterprises with websites. The chapter on sustainable development gives the fi ne-particulate air pollution rate and the share of renewable energies in total energy production. The outsourcing of corporate functions is visible in the robust growth of the business-services sector. In this concert, France sometimes stands apart from the EU average. The country with the largest surface area, it enjoys one of the highest fertility rates. It is the most popular tourist destination, since nearly 80 million visitors come to France annually, if only for a brief stay. France is one of the countries with the lowest CO 2 emissions generated by energy consumption, notably thanks to the diversity of its energy sources. Its enterprises employing ten persons or more post one of the highest broadband Internet access rates, with nine out of ten enterprises connected. Introduction 11

14 The fi nal chapter extends the statistical coverage to our immediate neighbours around the Mediterranean rim. Eleven countries in the region have a combined population of 262 million, characterized by its youth and demographic dynamism. The EU is the main trading partner for this group of countries. Statistics is an open book for learning about the people and economies that form the European Union. We wish you an enjoyable read! Jean-Philippe Cotis Director-General Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques (INSEE) French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies France in the European Union

15 Population Territory, population Birth rates Life expectancy Natural increase, migration flows

16 Population Population change, France in the European Union

17 On 1 January 2008, according to estimates available in February 2008, the European Union (EU) population stood at million. While six in ten of the planet s inhabitants live in Asia, the EU is home to 8% of the world population, far behind China (20%) and India (17%), but ahead of the United States (5%). Sixtythree percent of the Union s population live in one of the five most populous countries of the EU 27: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Only 11% live in the fourteen least populated countries. For geographical and historical reasons, the population is very unevenly distributed across EU territory. Outside of large metropolises, it is concentrated in a crescent running from England through the Rhine Basin to northern Italy, as well as in southern Poland. The least inhabited areas are largely in the Scandinavian countries, Ireland, central France, central Spain, and Greece. Malta, the smallest EU country, is also the most densely populated, with 1,368 inhabitants per square kilometre. On the same criterion, Netherlands (485 inhabitants per km 2 ) and Belgium (352 inhabitants per km 2 ) rank second and third. At the opposite end, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Finland have fewer than 40 inhabitants per km 2. With 101 inhabitants per km 2, France, the EU s largest country, has a population density below the average 116 inhabitants per km 2. However, for its metropolitan territory alone (mainland + Corsica), France ranks in an intermediate position with 114 inhabitants per km 2. In ten years, the EU population has grown 4%, twice as slowly as the United States (10%). Most of the increase is due to migration. In 2007, entries outnumbered exits by more than 1.6 million, four times the excess of births over deaths a measure known as the natural increase. The EU s weak demographic growth is characterized by a deep divide between west and east, partly reflecting migration flows. In five years, Ireland (but also Cyprus, at the opposite geographic end) saw its population rise 11.4%, followed by Spain (8.6%) and Luxembourg (7.6%). Further down the table come Italy (3.9%), Malta (3.3%), France, and the United Kingdom (3.1%). Net migration accounts for more than two-thirds of population growth in most of these countries. France is an exception, with the natural increase contributing three-quarters of its population growth. By contrast, the number of inhabitants has declined in the past five years in Germany, Poland, Hungary, the three Baltic States, Romania, and Bulgaria. In nearly all these countries, net migration is negative, and this excess of exits over entries is combined with an equally negative or near-zero natural increase. The proportion of foreigners in a country reflects both immigration flows and nationality-acquisition policies. Latvia and Estonia post the highest percentages of non-eu nationals among their residents 20% and 18% respectively owing to the presence of large minorities that remain Russian citizens. These two countries are followed by Spain, Greece, and Austria, at slightly over 7%. In France, foreign residents from outside the EU account for 3.8% of the total population, below the Union average of 4.1%. The EU population is ageing. Today, 17% of EU citizens are aged 65 or over, 16% are under 15 years old. Italy (20%), Germany (20%), and Greece (19%) are the countries with the highest percentages of elderly persons, nearly twice as many as in Ireland (11%), Slovakia (12%), and Cyprus (12%). But the latter countries are not necessarily those with the highest proportions of under-15s. These variations reflect differences in the countries demographic histories. For the percentage of young people in the total population, Ireland ranks first at 20%, followed by Denmark and France at 19%, then Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom at 18%. Female fertility, if it were to persist at its current level, would be inadequate to ensure generation Population 15

18 Total fertility rate, France in the European Union

19 replacement in all EU countries. Ireland, France, the Scandinavian countries, and the United Kingdom are the most fertile countries, but their total fertility indicator, which exceeds 1.8 children per woman, is below the 2.1 needed to guarantee generation replacement. In central and eastern Europe and the Iberian peninsula, fertility has fallen below 1.4 children per woman. The mean age of childbearing is younger in eastern European countries. The percentage of first-time mothers under 25 is 43% in Bulgaria, 39% in Romania, and 37% in Latvia. These figures are three times as high as in Denmark (11%), the Netherlands and Spain (12%), and Sweden (13%). The disparities are due to two factors: firstly, specific socio-cultural characteristics such as the age of union formation or the reproductive period that influence individual life courses; secondly, differences in the age distribution of the female population. In sum, the contribution of births to population growth varies by a factor of two, ranging from 8 births per 1,000 inhabitants in Germany to 15 in Ireland. The aggregate birth rate for the EU is 11. The differences between countries broadly overlap those observed for fertility. However, other factors play a role as well, such as the age structure of the population, which determines the number of women of reproductive age. As a result, Estonia s birth rate matches that of Sweden and Denmark, despite a lower total fertility indicator. In contrast, Germany and Austria rank last, even though their fertility, while admittedly weak, is not the lowest. young people. The explanation lies in the fact that mortality rate is determined both by the individual probability of dying at a given age and by the population pyramid. The gaps in life expectancy at birth provide a summary gauge of differences in the individual probability of dying at any age. The maximum difference between countries exceeds 11 years for men and 7 years for women, with a deep rift between the eastern European countries and the rest. The Baltic countries have the lowest life expectancy for men (under 68 years) and the widest gender gap (over 10 years). Sweden and Cyprus post the longest male life expectancy (nearly 79 years) and among the smallest gender gaps (4 years). Women live oldest in France: more than 84 years. The trend increase in life expectancy is between two and three months a year. Infant mortality no longer has a significant influence on the level of life expectancy, but it remains a major indicator of health status. Infant mortality reaches 9.7 in Bulgaria, 13.9 in Romania, and over 6 in Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Latvia. In Finland, Sweden, and Luxembourg, it is under 3. The effect of mortality on population growth also varies by a factor of two among Member States. The mortality rate for the EU as a whole is 10 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. It is higher in the countries of eastern Europe: Bulgaria and Latvia (15 ), Lithuania (14 ), Hungary and Estonia (13 ), and Romania (12 ). The mortality rate is lowest in Ireland (6 ) and Cyprus (7 ). These are also the countries with the highest proportion of Population 17

20 Territory, population EU population compared with other regions of the world, 2005 China India Other Asian countries Africa United States Other countries of America and Oceania Countries of present EU 27 Other European countries Europe Source: United Nations Surface area Population Density Share of population (%) aged (km 2 ) (thousand) (inhab./km 2 ) 65+ under at 1 Jan at 1 Jan Austria 83,200 8, Belgium 30,300 10, Bulgaria 111,000 7, Cyprus 9, Czech Republic 77,300 10, Denmark 43,100 5, Estonia 43,400 1, Finland 304,100 5, France 632,800 63, Germany 357,100 82, Greece 130,800 11, Hungary 93,000 10, Ireland 68,400 4, Italy 295,100 59, Latvia 62,300 2, Lithuania 62,700 3, Luxembourg 2, Malta , Netherlands 33,800 16, Poland 312,700 37, Portugal 92,100 10, Romania 230,000 21, Slovakia 49,000 5, Slovenia 20,100 2, Spain 506,000 45, Sweden 410,300 9, United Kingdom 242,500 61, EU 27 4,300, , France in the European Union

21 Birth rates Highest birth frequencies among mothers 40% aged under 25 aged % 30% 20% 20% 10% Bulgaria Romania Latvia Lithuania France 10% France Netherlands Spain Ireland Italy Births Total fertility rate mother aged under 25 Share of live births mother aged 35+ ( inhab.) (%) outside marriage Number of children per household Austria Belgium 11.4 : : : : : Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg : Malta : Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden : United Kingdom EU : : : : : Population 19

22 Life expectancy Life-expectancy gender gap (female minus male), 2006 years Lithuania Estonia Latvia Hungary Slovenia France Poland Slovakia Finland Romania Czech Austria Luxembourg Bulgaria Portugal Rep. Belgium Germany Malta Ireland Denmark Sweden Greece Netherlands Cyprus Mortality rate Infant mortality rate 1 Life expectancy at birth Life-expectancy gap Male Female F - M ( ) (years) Austria Belgium 9.7 : Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy 9.7 : : : : Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands 8, Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain : : : Sweden United Kingdom 9.6 : : : : EU : : : : 1. Per 1,000 live births. 20 France in the European Union

23 Natural increase, migration flows Population growth due to natural increase in fastest-growing countries per thousand 9 Total change Change due to natural increase EU 27 France Luxembourg Spain Cyprus Ireland Rate of change of population due to natural increase due to net migration Share of foreign population total ( ) (%) of which from non-eu countries Austria Belgium 1.8 : Bulgaria -5.3 : Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia -1.3 : Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland 8.7 : Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg 3.6 : Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU : : 4.1 Population 21

24 France in the European Union

25 Living conditions Consumption Living standards

26 Living conditions Consumption per capita, France in the European Union

27 The three leading categories of EU household consumption expenditures are housing (22%), transport-telecommunications, and food (including alcohol and tobacco) (16%). The food share, closely correlated with living standards in individual countries, is highest amongst the new Member States, often exceeding 20%, versus 13% for the United Kingdom and 11% for Ireland. France and Germany rank close to the EU average, with shares of 17% and 15% respectively. Between 2004 and 2007, France posted average annual infl ation of 1.8%, slightly below the EU fi gure of 2.2%. Infl ation was under the French fi gure only in some northern European countries: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. By contrast, infl ation outpaced the EU average in the new Member States at over 5% in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, and Hungary and to a lesser extent in Greece, Spain, and Luxembourg, at over 3%. In 2005, one in two EU residents had an equivalent income exceeding 13,815 euros per year (median equivalent income). This fi gure is equal to household income mainly earned income and investment income plus social benefi ts net of taxes and social-insurance contributions divided by the number of consumption units ( modifi ed OECD scale). The median equivalent income varies on a scale of 1 to 9 across EU countries, reaching as high as 1 to 12 when Luxembourg is included. France, at 16,187 euros, ranks in the middle of the pack. Income dispersion is relatively wide in Europe. Total equivalent income for the most affl uent 20% of the population is almost fi ve times that of the least affl uent 20%, a ratio referred to as S80/S20. Inequality is greatest in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Portugal, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Hungary. The gap is smaller in northern European countries and the Czech Republic (with a S80/S20 ratio ranging from 3.1 to 3.6) and in France (S80/S20 ratio of approximately 4). In 2005, 16% of EU residents had incomes below the national poverty line, versus 13% of French residents. The poor are defi ned here as persons whose equivalent incomes are 60% below their country s median level. The poverty line varies from 127 euros per month in Latvia to 809 euros in France and 1,484 euros in Luxembourg. Monetary poverty is less common in northern European countries but also in most of the new Member States except Poland and the Baltic countries. Conversely, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the countries of southern Europe register the highest poverty rates. France, Germany, and the northern European countries owe their comparatively favourable ranking to their social-transfer systems (excluding old-age pensions). In contrast, these systems do little to reduce poverty in Italy, Spain, and Greece. By and large, monetary poverty and material deprivation go together, except in Ireland. The dividing line broadly reproduces the opposition between northern countries and southern countries, France ranking in the middle. The inability to afford a week s holiday once a year is very widespread in the EU, with more than one in three households thus deprived. The situation concerns more than half of all households in the new Member States, Portugal, and Greece, and one-third of households in France. Differences between countries are smaller for durable goods such as washing machines, except for motor vehicles: 9% of all EU households cannot afford a car, versus more than 25% of households in Latvia and Slovakia, and fewer than 5% in France. The deprivation rate is relatively high in three countries with high living standards: Finland (14%), Denmark, and Italy (12%). Nearly three-quarters of EU citizens own their dwellings or are housed free of charge. In Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and France, the percentage is two-thirds. Germany stands apart for its low proportion of owner-occupiers (54%). Living conditions 25

28 Consumption Share of housing and heating in household consumption, 2005 At least 25% No more than 15% 20% EU 27 10% 0% Sweden Slovakia Finland France Lithuania Cyprus Malta 2005 % Food, alcohol, tobacco Share of household consumption HICP 1, Apparel, average Housing, Transport, Recreational, furniture, and annual appliances heating Health communications culture change Austria Belgium Bulgaria : : : : : : 7.0 Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark : : : : : : 1.8 Estonia Finland France Germany Greece : : : : : : 3.3 Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal : : : : : : 2.5 Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Harmonised index of consumer prices, France in the European Union

29 Living standards Living standards and inequality, 2005 EU 27 EU 27 Euro zone Euro zone France France 0 5,000 10,000 15, Average equivalent income Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 Median income per consumption unit Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 Poverty rate Households unable to afford a week s holiday a car Households owning their homes 2 (euros) (%) (%) (%) (%) Austria 17, Belgium 17, Bulgaria : : : : Cyprus 14, Czech Republic 4, Denmark 22, Estonia 3, Finland 18, France 16, Germany 15, Greece 9, Hungary 3, Ireland 1 19, Italy 14, Latvia 2, Lithuania 2, Luxembourg 29, Malta 8, Netherlands 17, Poland 3, Portugal p 7, p 84 Romania : : : : Slovakia 3, Slovenia 9, p 95 Spain 11, Sweden 17, United Kingdom 1 19, EU 27 13, Or housed in rent-free accommodation. Living conditions 27

30 France in the European Union

31 Social protection Health Social protection Health

32 Social protection - Health Social-protection expenditures, France in the European Union

33 Social-protection benefi ts averaged 27.2% of the EU 27 gross domestic product (GDP) in The country data should be compared with caution, as taxes, social contributions, and tax relief have not been deducted. Among the countries formerly constituting the 15- member Union (EU 15), the share of socialprotection benefi ts was lowest in Ireland (18.2% of GDP) and highest in Sweden (32.0%). Apart from Ireland and Luxembourg, the countries of northern Europe and France tend to be above the EU average, while those of southern Europe (Spain, Greece, Italy, and Portugal) usually devote a smaller share of GDP to social protection. Amongst the ten new entrants since 2004, social-protection benefi ts represent the smallest share of GDP in Latvia (12.4%) and the highest in Slovenia (23.4%). These differences are partly due to the level of economic development: the richer countries redistribute a larger proportion of their GDP. However, other factors infl uence the level of social benefi ts, such as the population pyramid, household structure, and the unemployment rate but also, and above all, the differences between national systems of social protection. The share of social-protection benefi ts in GDP generally declined between 1995 and 2000, owing to the economic recovery, the easing of unemployment, and fi scal-adjustment efforts prior to entry into the European Monetary Union (1 January 1999). Nevertheless, the ratio has since trended up again in most Member States. Old-age benefi ts account for the largest share of social-protection expenditures. The EU 27 average stood at 45.8% of total benefi ts in The country with the highest fi gure is Italy, notably because of the high percentage of over-60s in its population. By contrast, the proportion is only 26.6% in Ireland, the EU country with the youngest population. France, at 43.9%, is close to the EU average. The shares of family benefits and unemployment benefi ts vary widely from one country to another. The volume of unemployment benefi ts is not determined by the unemployment rate alone. Sizeable differences also persist regarding coverage, length of payments, and benefi t levels. For instance, Belgium and Italy, despite similar unemployment rates, devote 12.2% and 2% respectively of their social benefi ts to unemployment. The breakdown of benefi ts by category amongst the ten new entrants of 2004, excluding Poland, is more consistent that in the former EU 15: it is characterized by a relatively smaller share of unemployment benefi ts. The share of family benefi ts in total socialprotection benefi ts ranges from 4.4% in Poland to 16.9% in Luxembourg, with France at 8.5%. The EU as a whole devotes an average 28.6% to sickness benefi ts. As a share of GDP, the share of total health expenditures (including disability) varies by a factor of 3 between the highest percentage (Sweden: 12.3%) and the lowest (Latvia: 4.2%). The average life expectancy in good health after age 50 in the EU is 19.1 years for women and 17.6 years for men. Denmark posts the highest values, with 24.1 years for women and 23.6 years for men. Road accidents remain the leading cause of death among young men. This is still a major public-health problem. Road safety improved throughout most of the EU between 1990 and But the frequency and seriousness of road accidents remain high in several countries, exceeding 120 deaths per million inhabitants, compared with fewer than 50 in other countries. Social protection - Health 31

34 Social protection Breakdown of social benefits, 2005 % of total benefits EU 27 France Old age Survival Family Unemployment Housing-Exclusion Sickness Disability 2005 Social-protection expenditures per capita sickness Share of social benefits devoted to: disability old age and survival (PPS 1 ) (%) family unemployment Austria 8, Belgium 8, Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 3, Denmark 8, Estonia 1, Finland 6, France 8, Germany 7, Greece 5, Hungary 3, Ireland 5, Italy 6, Latvia 1, Lithuania 1, Luxembourg 12, Malta 3, Netherlands 8, Poland 2, Portugal 2 4, Romania 1, Slovakia 2, Slovenia 4, Spain 4, Sweden 8, United Kingdom 7, EU 27 6, Note: Data are provisional for a majority of countries. 1. Purchasing power standards France in the European Union

35 Health Health and disability expenditures per capita, 2005 purchasing power standards 4,000 EU 27 2,000 0 Romania Lithuania Estonia Malta Hungary Portugal Spain Italy Germany Belgium France Denmark Sweden Bulgaria Latvia Poland Slovakia Cyprus Czech Republic Greece Slovenia Ireland Finland Austria U.K. Netherlands Luxembourg 2005 Health and disability expenditures Social protection - Health Number of hospital beds Number of physicians Life expectancy in good health 1 at age 50 Women Men Change in no. of road accidents (% of GDP) (per 100,000 inhabitants) (years) (%) Road deaths (per million inhabitants) Austria : Belgium Bulgaria 5.8 : 365 : : -39 : Cyprus Czech Republic 8, Denmark 10.3 : Estonia Finland France Germany Greece : Hungary Ireland : Italy : Latvia Lithuania : Luxembourg 8.3 : : Malta 6,0 744 : /// 42 Netherlands : Poland Portugal : : Romania : : -30 : Slovakia Slovenia : Spain Sweden 12.3 : United Kingdom EU : Disability-free life expectancy

36 France in the European Union

37 Education Innovation Education R&D, technological innovation

38 Education - Innovation Population aged having participated in training or education, France in the European Union

39 Under the Lisbon Strategy launched in 2000, EU governments agreed to promote an increasingly knowledge-based society and economy. The priority areas in education and training are monitored through fi ve quantitative objectives: providing access to upper secondary education for all students, reducing the early school-leaving rate, expanding adult participation in lifelong learning, improving literacy levels, and increasing the number of science and technology graduates. In 2006, 15% of young people in the EU that is, one in six left the school system early. The goal is to reduce this EU average to under 10% by A geographic divide is emerging between the countries of northern and central Europe on the one hand, and the countries of southern Europe on the other. The Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Finland have performed better, and their rates have already fallen below 10%. Malta and Portugal still lag far behind, with rates of close to 40%. France, at 13%, ranks above the EU average, but has not yet met the goal. A second goal tied to the fi rst is to increase the percentage of graduates from upper secondary school so that all Europeans can fully participate in a knowledge-based Europe. Eight countries have already exceeded the 85% target set for France is not amongst them, but its rate of 82% stands above the 78% average. With regard to the number of higher-education graduates in mathematics, science, and technology, the objective of a 15% increase was reached in The EU turns out 860,000 graduates in these disciplines, one-sixth of the world total. By comparison, the United States produces 430,000 and Japan 230,000. The ratio of young Europeans aged with university degrees in science and technology is 12.9 per 1,000, versus 10.6 in the United States and 13.7 in Japan. The best-performing countries in the EU are Ireland (24.5) and Education - Innovation France (22.5), followed by Lithuania (18.9), the United Kingdom (18.4), and Finland (17.7). The EU also wants to reduce the proportion of young people with low literacy levels. In 2006, 21% of 15-year-olds were poor readers in EU countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The Union hopes to achieve a signifi cant decrease in the percentage of young people lacking basic reading skills, with a goal of fewer than 16% of young people with reading diffi culties by This target has been met by Finland, Ireland, Estonia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Behind the latest entrants, Romania and Bulgaria, where one in two young persons is a poor reader, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Spain post the highest percentages, ranging from 25% to 28%. France, with 22%, is somewhat closer to the objective. The current proportion of adults in the EU who have participated in lifelong-learning activities in a given month is 9.6%, the goal being 12.5% by The northern countries, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, and Slovenia report the highest participation rates and have exceeded the objective. The other EU countries remain below target. France ranks on the low side at 7.5%. Public investment in education represents a major collective effort in all EU countries. Public education expenditures account for 5.1% of GDP in the EU as a whole. France, at 5.8%, ranks above the average, but below Sweden and especially below Denmark, which spends more than 8%. With 38 billion euros in domestic expenditure on research and development (R&D) in 2006, France ranks fourth among OECD nations behind the United States, Japan, and Germany. France spends 2.12% of its GDP on research and thus ranks sixth among EU countries on 37

40 Proportion of enterprises employing 10+ people with a website, France in the European Union

41 this intensity criterion. Sweden and Finland post the highest intensities, at 3.82% and 3.45% respectively. They are the only Member States to exceed the 3% target set by the Lisbon Strategy. As in most other EU countries, R&D intensity in France ranks well below that of the United States and even further behind that of Japan and South Korea. A country s number of patents refl ects its capacity to exploit knowledge and turn it into potential economic gains. In 2003, the ratio of high-technology patents fi led with the European Patent Offi ce (EPO) to each country s active population shows the very wide lead held by Finland, which outperforms the Netherlands and Sweden in the ranking of EU Member States. France is in sixth position. The proportion reaches two-thirds in Germany, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Finland, and as high as three-quarters in Denmark. The households of northern Europe are among the most intensive ICT users in the world. More than 80% own a personal computer in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. France, with 56% of households owning PCs, is less advanced and ranks slightly under the EU average. Also in the Netherlands, threequarters of households have broadband Internet access, compared with 70% in Denmark and 67% in Sweden. France, at 43%, matches the EU average. According to the innovation scoreboard developed by the European Commission, France ranks signifi cantly above the EU average for certain innovation indicators, such as the proportion of persons employed in hightech services, and business R&D spending by enterprises. France performs less well in newproduct sales and new-brand creation. Overall, according to the summary innovation indicator based on 25 primary indicators, France ranks above the EU average, but at a sizeable distance from the Scandinavian countries and Germany. Nine in ten French enterprises employing ten or more people have broadband Internet access, compared with an EU average of three in four. By contrast, a smaller proportion of French businesses have websites (57% versus an EU average of 63%) well behind Scandinavian enterprises at over 80%. Nearly one-half of EU enterprises (44%) outsource their information and communication technology (ICT) functions. But this average masks an extreme diversity across the EU. In nine countries, including France, no more than one-third of enterprises outsource ICT. Education - Innovation 39

42 Education Total public spending on education, 2004 % of GDP EU 27 France United States Japan Science and technology graduates 1 ( of age group) Upper secondary education 2 Low educational attainment 3 Lifelong learning 4 Young people who are poor readers 5 Education expenditures (% of age group) (% of GDP) Austria Belgium p Bulgaria Cyprus 3.6 p : 6.7 Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland p France 22.5 p Germany 9.7 p Greece 10.1 p Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia p 19.0 p Lithuania p Luxembourg : Malta : 4.9 Netherlands Poland Portugal p 39.2 p Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden : United Kingdom p EU : Population aged Population aged having participated in a form of education or 2. Population aged training. 3. Population aged who are not participating in 5. Students aged 15 who are at or below level 1 of combined reading any form of education or training and have not gone literacy scale in PISA survey. beyond lower secondary education. 40 France in the European Union

43 France s performance for selected innovation indicators Source: European Commission, European Innovation Scoreboard, 2007 Share of medium/high technology in industrial R&D spending Enterprises receiving public funding for innovation R&D expenditures as % of turnover Employment in high-tech services as % of active population Exports of high-tech products Sales of new-to-market products as % of turnover New Community trademarks per million population Composite indicator (25 primary indicators) R&D, technological innovation 0 EU 25 = 100 Research and development expenditures (% of GDP) Hightechnology patents (per million persons 2 ) Composite innovation indicator ICTs and enterprises 3 Outsourcing of ICT functions Broadband Internet access ICTs and households PC in home (%) (%) Broadband Internet access Germany p Austria p Belgium p Bulgaria Cyprus p Denmark p Spain p Estonia p Finland France p Greece p : : 37 7 Hungary 1, Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta p 0.55 : : : Netherlands p : Poland Portugal Czech Republic Romania : United Kingdom Slovakia Slovenia Sweden EU In With 10 or more employees. 2. In active population. Sources: Eurostat; European Patent Office; European Commission Education - Innovation 41

44 France in the European Union

45 Labour market Employment, unemployment Earnings, hours worked

46 Labour market Employment rate of population aged 15-64, France in the European Union

47 In 2006, the number of economically active persons in the European Union (including Bulgaria and Romania) was 233 million, of whom nearly 45% were women. The proportion of women in the active population is rising, but the fi gure still varies from 32.1% in Malta to 49.9% in Estonia, which has reached parity. France ranks slightly below the EU average at 46.9%. The goals of the European Employment Strategy (EES), set at the European Councils of Lisbon (2000) and Stockholm (2001), are a 70% total employment rate, a 60% female employment rate, and a 50% employment rate for persons aged in all EU countries by While some countries Denmark, United Kingdom, and Sweden have already exceeded these three objectives, most of the others still have a long way to go, especially as regards senior employment. In Poland, Malta, Belgium, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Luxembourg, fewer than one out of three persons aged hold jobs. It is in these same countries, as well as France, that people leave the labour market earliest, i.e., on average, before age 60. In contrast, the average age of exit from the labour force exceeds 63 years in the new Member States Bulgaria and Romania as well as Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, three countries where the unemployment rate amongst seniors is well above the target 50%. The female-employment goal should be easier to reach by 2010, since one-half of the Member States have already passed the 60% threshold. The top performers are Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands owing to the remarkable expansion of part-time work and Finland. At the opposite end, one fi nds the southern countries: Greece, Italy, and, most notably, Malta. France, which stands above the EU average at 58.8%, is moving closer to the goal. Each country s performance with regard to the employment rate for the 15-64s depends on several factors including the labour-force participation rate for women and persons aged 55-64, but also for young people aged On this criterion, the dispersion is very wide between northern countries such as Denmark (64.6% youth employment rate; 77.4% total employment rate) and the Netherlands (66.2% and 74.3% respectively), and countries such as Hungary (21.7% and 57.3% respectively). It should be noted, however, that the defi nition of youth employment rates favours the statistics of countries where initial training and small jobs are frequently combined by contrast with countries such as France, where the low employment rate of young people aged (30.2%) refl ects a sharper divide between education and fi rst jobs. This partly contributes to the negative gap observed between France s total employment rate of 63.8% and the EU average of 64.5%. Between 2006 and 2007, the EU s average unemployment rate eased from 8.1% to 7.1%. Only Slovakia continued to record a two-digit rate, at 11.1%. Denmark and the Netherlands (both at under 4%, and often designated as benchmarks for fl execurity ), Cyprus, Austria, Ireland, and Luxembourg, as well as Lithuania, Estonia, and Slovenia, were all below 5% in In Germany, France, and Spain, unemployment is still running above the EU average, although German and French unemployment rates posted signifi cant declines of 1.4 and 0.9 points respectively in Rates of long-term unemployment are, of course, closely correlated with total rates. However, long-term unemployment is relatively less common in Spain, Finland, and Sweden, whose rankings are therefore more favourable using this indicator than with the standard unemployment rate. The opposite is true of the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Romania. Labour market 45

48 Share of part-time work, France in the European Union

49 The wage spread is very wide in the EU 27, with the EU 15 on one side of the divide and the new Member States on the other. The average gross annual wage stood at over 47,000 in Denmark versus under 2,000 in Bulgaria in 2005, a ratio of 1 to 24. France, at 30,500, ranked slightly above the EU 27 average of 29,000, but well behind Denmark, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Between 2001 and 2005, the average wage in the EU 15 gained an average 0.7% per year in constant euros, but some of the new entrants did not match this performance. This is particularly true of Poland, which recorded a negative 6.4%. In contrast, the average wage rose in Hungary (6.9%) and Slovakia (7.6%). France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium stayed around the average trend of the EU 15. to Germany (34.6-hour working week, 25.8% of economically active persons in employment working part-time) and Denmark (34.5 hours and 23.6% respectively). The comparison should therefore be rounded out by an analysis of hours worked by full-time salaried employees only. This barely modifi es the previous conclusions for the countries with the longest working weeks. However, the latter are matched or even overtaken by countries such as Austria and the United Kingdom, where the proportion of salaried employees working more than 48 hours per week is relatively high. At the other end of the ranking, the countries with the shortest working weeks for full-time employees approximately 39 hours are the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Finland, and Italy. Nineteen of the 27 EU countries apply a legal minimum wage. Its infl uence on the wage spread depends on its level. In a majority of the accession countries notably Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland the minimum wage is equal to about one-third of the average wage. By contrast, in France, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Malta, it is equal to onehalf of the average wage. The average working week is longer in central and eastern European Member States, particularly Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland, where it exceeds 40 hours. It is in these same countries that part-time work is least common. In contrast, some western European countries combine a short average working week and a very high rate of part-time employment. The best example is the Netherlands, where salaried employees work on average less 30 hours a week, but where almost one-half of economically active persons in employment (amongst whom, 3 out of 4 women) work parttime. To a lesser extent, the same profi le applies Labour market 47

50 Employment, unemployment Average age of exit from labour market, 2006 years 64 Earliest exits Latest exits Malta France Slovakia Luxembourg Poland EU 27 U.K. Sweden Ireland Bulgaria Romania 2006 % Active population Employment rate Unemployment rate Number (thousand) Female share Total, ages Female, ages Total, ages Total Long-term Austria 4, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 3, Cyprus Czech Republic 5, Denmark 2, Estonia Finland 2, France 27, Germany 41, Greece 4, Hungary 4, Ireland 2, Italy 24, Latvia 1, Lithuania 1, Luxembourg Malta Netherlands 8, Poland 16, Portugal 5, Romania 10, Slovakia 2, Slovenia 1, Spain 21, Sweden 4, United Kingdom 29, EU , France in the European Union

51 Earnings, hours worked Full-time wage: level and change EU 15 France France EU Average gross annual wage, 2005, in thousands of euros 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 0.6% Average annual change in gross wage, , in constant euros Average gross annual wage 1 Minimum wage/ average Hourlywage gap (M-F)/M Average working week All salaried employees of which: full-time Female part-time employment (euros) (%) (%) (hours) (%) Austria 36,030 : Belgium 36, Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 20,550 : Czech Republic 7, Denmark 47,530 : Estonia : Finland 33,290 : France 30, Germany 41,690 : Greece : : Hungary 7, Ireland : Italy : : Latvia 4, Lithuania : Luxembourg 42, Malta 11, Netherlands 38, Poland 6, Portugal 14, Romania 3, Slovakia 6, Slovenia : Spain 20, Sweden 34,050 : United Kingdom 42, EU 27 28,990 : Wage in industry and services. 2. INSEE estimates Labour market 49

52 France in the European Union

53 Sustainable development Energy Sustainable growth Forestry, fi sheries, and natural equilibrium

54 Sustainable development Municipal waste collected, France in the European Union

55 France imports slightly more than half of the energy that it consumes. This places the country in the European Union (EU) average, but ahead of Germany, Spain, and Italy. Three countries perform much better in regard to energy independence: Denmark and the United Kingdom, which will be extracting North Sea oil for several years to come, and Poland, which has large coal deposits. France offset the weakness of its natural resources by launching a large-scale nuclear programme after the first oil shock in the mid-1970s. Like most EU countries, France became more energy-dependent between 1995 and But it has kept the trend under better control than the EU average. Industry uses one-fourth of the energy consumed in France, a proportion close to that of Germany, but four points below the EU average. The figure approaches or exceeds 40% in countries such as Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, and Finland, where industry accounts for roughly one-fourth of total value added versus 15% in France. The transport sector accounts for 31.5% of total French energy consumption. France thus ranks close to the EU average, well below large peripheral Member States such as the United Kingdom or Spain, but above Germany. In France, as in other countries, the transport sector is the focus of special attention for its greenhouse-gas emissions. France stands at fi ve points below the EU average for the ratio measuring the carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) intensity of energy consumption, at 37% versus 42%. This result is mainly due to the 42% share of nuclear power in gross domestic energy consumption, an indicator for which France is far ahead of the other EU Member States. France lowered the CO 2 intensity of its energy consumption by 10% between 1990 and 2005, thanks to technical progress and the shift in the energy source mix. The indicator remains higher in France than in Finland (19%) or Sweden (10%). With regard to stabilizing emissions of the Sustainable development six greenhouse gases, France already complies with the target assigned to it by the EU under the Kyoto protocol. The share of renewable energies in France is 6%, slightly below the EU average. The proportion is larger than in the United Kingdom and Germany, but much smaller than in Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Latvia (36%), which are relying heavily on renewable energies in an effort to reduce their energy dependence. Resource productivity is a good indicator of an economy s ability to manage its resources in keeping with a sustainable-development approach. It is measured in euros of GDP per kilogram of material used directly. The value of the indicator in France is well above the EU 15 average, three times as high as in Greece, twice as high as in Spain, and slightly higher than in the United Kingdom and Germany. Energy intensity measures the oil (petroleum) equivalent needed to generate one unit of GDP. With 185 kilograms of oil equivalent per 1000 euros of GDP, France is one of the five EU countries with the lowest energy intensity. The French figure rose 8% between 1995 and However, it remains well below that of Germany, Austria, Ireland, and, above all, Denmark. The energy intensity of industry closely depends on sectoral specialization: industries producing intermediate goods are the most energy-consuming. France is in the EU average, but its performance is slightly inferior to Italy s. Germany, a leading producer of capital goods, posts an energy intensity that is one-fourth that of Slovakia or Latvia and, overall, well below the EU average. With 553 kilograms collected in 2006, France produces more municipal waste per inhabitant than the EU average. Three-quarters of this refuse originates in households. Each French person generates twice as much waste as a Polish person, but slightly less than a German, Spanish or British person. Since 1995, the weight of waste 53

56 per inhabitant in France has been increasing by seven kilograms a year, more than the EU average. The urban population s exposure to air pollution from ozone depends on multiple factors, including the emission of polluting gases and local geographic characteristics. Within a single country, it varies with climate conditions: one example is the high ozone concentration in France during the summer 2003 heatwave. The expansion of public transport and greater reliance on this means of travel would promote the reduction of ozone peaks. In France, air pollution from particles with a diameter of less than 10 µm (PM10) stands at one-half the level of Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Italy; it is well below the EU average. This type of urban pollution has not changed significantly between 2001 and It should decrease in the years ahead thanks to the growing number of vehicles on the road complying with the Euro 4 standard, and to the implementation in 2009 of the Euro 5 standard, which will require diesel vehicles to be fi tted with particle filters. The European forest contributes to the fi ght against global warming by capturing carbon dioxide gas. It covers 44% of EU territory (31% of French territory). Sweden, Spain, and Finland together contain one-half of total EU woodlands. Forest production intensity varies significantly among countries. The EU average is 2.5 cubic metres of timber per hectare of woodland per year; France produces 3.9 cubic metres. Two-thirds of the EU wood harvest consists of conifers, mostly logged in northern Europe. of the sector, the EU has reformed its common fisheries policy (CFP). Since 1995, the volume of catches has fallen by one-third. French fisheries production declined by 100,000 tonnes between 1995 and 2006, despite a slight increase in fl eet capacity. In the United Kingdom, Spain, and especially Denmark, the production slump has been far steeper, but has been accompanied by a sharp cutback in fleet capacity available. The population of common birds has fallen heavily in Europe since France s bird abundance index lost 17 points in fi fteen years, but has been stable since the early 2000s. Whilst the decline continues in the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Sweden, the index is trending up again in Ireland, Spain, and Latvia. The EU Birds Directive has set up special protection areas (SPAs) within the Natura 2000 spaces. SPAs account for 10% of land surface area in the EU versus 7.7% in France. But France also has areas under regulatory protection such as national parks, nature reserves, and biological reserves on woodlands owned by the State or local government. Between 1990 and 2000, protected spaces generally proved more resistant than the rest of French national territory to artifi cialization caused by construction and by the expansion of road and rail infrastructure. With 5.3 million tonnes in 2006, the EU accounts for 6% of world production of fi sh and other marine products. One-half is caught by vessels from four countries: Denmark, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France. Faced with the decline in fishery resources and the economic diffi culties 54 France in the European Union

57 Energy Energy consumption breakdown by fuel tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) EU 27 France Crude oil and oil products Natural gas Nuclear energy Solid fuels Renewable energies 2005 % of nuclear primary Share in energy consumption of renewable energies of industry final of transport Energy dependency ratio 1 CO 2 intensity of energy consumption 2 Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta 0.0 : Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Imports/consumption ratio. 2. Ratio of CO 2 emissions due to energy consumption (tonnes) to gross domestic energy consumption (toe); Eurostat data, restated by French Environmental Institute (IFEN). Sustainable development 55

58 Sustainable growth Energy intensity of total economy, 2005 toe/euros of GDP 200 Top energy-efficient countries Denmark Ireland Austria Germany France Luxembourg Italy Netherlands EU 27 Resource productivity 1 Energy intensity 2 Municipal Air pollution of total economy of industry waste ozone 3 particles 4 (euros of GDP/kg) (toe/euro of GDP) (toe/euro of GVA) (kg/inhab.) (µg/m 3 ) Austria , Belgium , Bulgaria : 1,582 : 446 : : Cyprus : : : Czech Republic : , Denmark , Estonia : , Finland , France , Germany , Greece : 443 9, Hungary : , Ireland : 13.8 Italy , Latvia : : Lithuania : , Luxembourg : : : Malta : : : Netherlands , Poland : , Portugal , Romania : 1,165 : 385 : : Slovakia : , Slovenia : 320 : 432 6, Spain , Sweden : 497 2, United Kingdom , EU : Ratio of GDP to domestic consumption of material. 4. Average 24-hour particle (PM10) concentration. 2. Quantity of energy needed to generate one unit of GDP. 5. Total EU Summary indicator of daily ozone-concentration peaks. 56 France in the European Union

59 Forestry, fisheries, and natural equilibrium Fishery catches in selected countries, 2005 million tonnes 10 0 China Peru United States Chile Indonesia Japan EU 25 Woodlands Sustainable development Conifer harvest Fisheries production (%) (million m 3 ) (thousand t) Fishing fleet capacity (thousand kw) Common bird index 1 Special protection areas 2 (1990=100) (%) Austria : : 11.6 Belgium Bulgaria : : : Cyprus : 13.4 Czech Republic : Denmark Estonia : 13.1 Finland France , Germany Greece : 10.0 Hungary : : 14.5 Ireland Italy , Latvia Lithuania : 8.1 Luxembourg : 5.4 Malta : 4.5 Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania : : : Slovakia : : 25.1 Slovenia : 23.0 Spain , Sweden United Kingdom EU ,312 7, common field-bird species. 2. Defined by EU Birds Directive, % of land surface area. Sources: Eurostat; European Thematic Centre on Biodiversity 57

60 France in the European Union

61 Economy Finances GDP, productivity GDP components External trade Public fi nances

62 Economy - Finances Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, France in the European Union

63 In 2006 after the enlargement wave of 2004 the European Union (EU) had a population of nearly 500 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of 11,600 billion euros. France accounted for 12.7% of the EU s total population and slightly over 14% of its GDP. The leading countries in terms of GDP per capita (measured in purchasing power standards) in 2006 included Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden. France belongs to the intermediate group situated between the average and 120% of the average. Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom rank alongside it. Germany, France, and Italy enjoyed a swift rise in their living standards until the mid- 1980s, but their relative positions have since been weakening. By contrast, the British economy has recovered. Spain s rapid growth has enabled it to join the intermediate group, and Greece is converging towards it as well. The new entrants lag behind, with GDP per capita ranging from around 40% to 90% of the EU average, but these countries should gradually catch up with the average. In accounting terms, GDP per capita depends on productivity and the volume of labour. By these criteria, French hourly productivity is relatively high at 34% above the EU 27 average. But this only partly offsets the weakness of France s employment rate and its shorter hours worked. For a number of countries including France the main precondition for a return to more vigorous growth in GDP per capita is a recovery in the employment rate. This objective also requires macroeconomic policies conducive to growth and institutional reforms spanning many areas: more open markets for goods and services, greater fluidity in labour markets, and efforts in training, research and development, and investment. Finding the right balance and optimal synergy between these instruments is the common challenge for all EU Member Economy - Finances States. Certain countries have shown the way, registering occasionally spectacular gains in employment, as in Spain, Ireland, and Luxembourg, or to a lesser extent in Bulgaria and the Baltic countries. The right mix is harder to find in the major countries that have reached maturity. Among these, France has often benefited from a consumption engine more buoyant than elsewhere, particularly in 1998 and But this has not always ensured a better performance in regard to growth or employment. Between 2001 and 2006, France posted annual GDP growth of 1.7%, versus an EU average of 2.0%. French employment rose only 0.4% per year, as against 0.8% for the EU as a whole. Supply factors thus play a role as well. The performance of the EU economies also depends on their ability to exploit greater trade openness. In theory, openness improves the allocation of production resources and fosters greater emulation among businesses. The catch-up economies, three-quarters of whose sales are to the EU, are taking full advantage of this dynamic. The new entrants also benefit from the expanding flows of foreign direct investment (FDI). These flows are also very important for small EU countries such as Luxembourg. In the large countries, FDI have a more modest relative weight (as a share of GDP), but the opening to foreign investment is substantial in absolute terms. In 2006, France ranked third for outward FDI, behind the United States and United Kingdom, and second after the U.S. for inward FDI, just ahead of Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium. Current-account balances display contrasting profiles. The current-account deficits of the catch-up countries are a normal consequence of their import requirements, whether in goods 61

64 Exports per capita, France in the European Union

65 and services or in capital. Some euro-zone countries, as well, post milder yet significant deficits, amid rising commodity prices and an appreciating euro. This pattern was observed in 2006 in France, whose deficit reached 1.3% of GDP versus an EU average of 0.8%. Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal experienced the same phenomenon. But other economies, such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands, are responding differently. Germany s current-account surpluses have risen thanks to moderate wage growth which has sharply improved cost competitiveness and its export sector, which is particularly well geared to conquering international markets. national inflation rates and real interest rates since end French public opinion is particularly sensitive to the pace of price increases, a response naturally exacerbated in periods of weak growth. The stabilization of public finances is a major issue for a number of EU countries. The EU has achieved significant progress in fiscal consolidation, particularly since 2005 in the wake of the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. The EU public deficit fell from 2.7% of GDP in 2002 to 1.6% in These positive results are linked to the economic upswing, which boosts tax receipts. They also reflect further structural reform in pension systems and labour markets. After rising between 2002 and 2005, the ratio of EU public debt to GDP also started to decline in 2006, easing from 62.7% to 61.4%. The ratio is particularly low in Luxembourg, Ireland, and the Baltic countries. In France, the public debt stood at 64.2% of GDP in Despite the progress accomplished, the EU still has a long way to go to achieve fiscal equilibrium and a sustainable debt path especially given the challenge of an ageing population. Beyond fiscal discipline, financial integration is helping to strengthen the EU s growth potential. Since 1999, the trend towards equalization of inflation rates has been accompanied by a downward convergence of interest rates in the EU countries. This achievement, however, remains vulnerable, as indicated by the greater dispersion of Economy - Finances 63

66 GDP, productivity Real GDP growth 4% EU 27 2% France O% GDP per capita (PPS) Productivity per person employed Hourly productivity 1 Real GDP growth Employment growth EU 27 index: 2006= annual average (%) Labour-cost growth Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU EU 15 index= France in the European Union

67 GDP components Real growth in final household consumption expenditure 4% 2% EU 27 France 0% industry Share of total value added construction wholesale/ retail trade and services household consumption expenditure Real growth gross fixed capital formation annual average domestic demand Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece : : : Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Note: GDP components at chained prices, base year = % Economy - Finances 65

68 External trade EU 27 trade with non-eu countries, 2006 % of total EU 27 trade 6 Exports 4 Imports 2 0 United States Dynamic Asian economies* OPEC Russia China *DAEs: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. How to read this chart: 1.7% of EU exports go to China. Nominal share of trade with EU 1 Real growth in trade with EU Curr-acct balance 2 Outward FDI 3 Exports Imports Exports Imports (% of GDP) in annual average in 2006 Inward FDI Austria Belgium Bulgaria : : Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece : : : Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania : : Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Share of goods and services trade with EU in country s total trade. 3. Foreign direct investment. 2. Current-account balance % 66 France in the European Union

69 Public fi nances Public deficit, 2006 % of GDP - 4 EU 27 France Public deficit General-government revenues General-government expenditures Public debt Long-term interest rate 1 (% of GDP) (%) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic : Denmark Estonia : Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg : Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania : Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Yield on 10-year government bonds. Economy - Finances 67

70 France in the European Union

71 Production system Agriculture Industry, construction Wholesale/retail trade, services Transport, tourism

72 Production system Productivity per person employed in manufacturing industry, France in the European Union

73 Society expects much from agriculture in respect of the environment, quantitative and qualitative food safety, and rural development. With its successive enlargements to new Member States, the European Union (EU) has become the world s leading exporter of agricultural products, just ahead of the United States. European agriculture remains highly diverse, and its profi le has not changed signifi cantly in the past fi fteen years. Northern Europe specializes in livestock breeding and openfi eld crops requiring large acreage, which offer the highest agricultural returns. Southern Europe specializes in horticulture and permanent crops on smallholdings, with more modest economic performances. France occupies an intermediate position: its diversifi ed production comprises openfi eld crops, permanent crops, and herbivores. With the entry of 12 new Member States since 2004, this diversity has increased even more sharply. Agriculture is a signifi cant component of the accession countries economies, providing almost 12% of employment as against under 4% in the EU 15. For the moment, however, yields and productivity are lower. Farms are typically small, averaging 8 hectares versus 20 in the EU 15: the spectrum ranges from subsistence agriculture on numerous very small farms in Poland and Slovenia to large holdings created from State farms and socialist cooperatives in Hungary and the Czech Republic. Specialization remains low: farms generally engage in mixed livestock breeding and mixed crops. EU industrial production has been gradually recovering since 2003, after its steep decline in On average, manufacturing output gained 1.4% in real terms in The United Kingdom and Italy recorded negative fi gures, France a positive 0.4%. Among the new Member States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Production system and Poland have posted increases of more than 7%. The small EU countries also stand out for their industrial dynamism, with growth rates of over 10%. Another sector where most new entrants have achieved robust or even outstanding growth is construction (building and public works). In 2005, France had the EU s second-largest manufacturing industry, generating 14% of EU value added, on a par with the U.K., but far behind Germany s share of over onequarter. France s position is strengthened by its productivity and investment per person employed. Without matching the exceptional values reported by Ireland, or even the more modest levels of Luxembourg and Finland, these French ratios exceed EU averages. Northern and southern Europe display contrasting wholesale/retail sectors. Retail outlets employ an average 8-15 persons in the northern countries, compared with 2-3 in southern Europe. In northern Europe, food retailing has become concentrated in hypermarkets and supermarkets; in the southern countries, it tends to remain in the hands of specialized shops. E-commerce is gaining customers. France ranked just above the EU average in 2007 for the percentage of individuals having ordered/bought goods or services for private use over the Internet in the last three months, at 26% versus 23%. Among Member States, e-commerce is far more signifi cant in the northern countries, where information and communication technology (ICT) is more widespread. Enterprises are increasingly outsourcing the support functions for their principal activities, such as information technology (IT), legal work, accounting, and consulting. As a result, business services have been expanding steadily in recent years. While industrial employment 71

74 Share of road haulage in total domestic freight transport, France in the European Union

75 is declining in the EU, business-service jobs increased by an average 3% per year between 2000 and Ireland, Belgium, and France post the highest turnover per person employed in this sector. By contrast, in the countries having joined the EU since 2004, business services remain modest and still account for a small share of total employment. France is the world s leading tourism destination, with 79 million foreign visitors in The British and Germans rank fi rst, followed by the Belgians and Dutch. France has the EU s largest camping accommodation capacity, with 40% of bed-spaces offered. Moreover, the French do not travel abroad much: only 19% of their holiday departures are to another country. The main destinations are Spain, North Africa, and Italy. far the prevailing mode of individual transport throughout Europe. The French are among those who rely most heavily on cars for their travel, along with the British, Germans, and Dutch. An identical volume of economic activity (measured by GDP) can generate different quantities of freight for structural reasons. As a share of GDP, EU freight transport in 2006 was close to its 1995 level. But there is a sharp contrast between many countries of western and northern Europe (France, Belgium, U.K., Luxembourg, and the Nordic countries), where freight has relatively declined, and more peripheral countries (such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Greece), where it has risen sharply. The dynamism of French tourism is matched by that of the hotel and restaurant industry. France posts one of the highest turnovers per person employed in this sector in the EU. With more than 200,000 enterprises, turnover per person employed largely exceeds that of two other leading EU tourist destinations: Italy and Spain. This performance may be partly due to the additional revenues generated by business tourism a signifi cant activity in France but it may also refl ect underemployment in the sector, which faces a labour shortage. Transport is a component of economic activity, an indicator of individual mobility, and a refl ection of territorial unity. Each transport mode has different environmental and health effects. The share of road haulage in domestic freight transport in France matches the EU average. The fi gure is lower that those observed in southern Europe, Ireland, and the U.K. By contrast, northern European countries are proportionally less reliant on road transport. This is particularly true of Germany and the Netherlands, where river transport accounts for a more signifi cant share. Private cars are by Production system 73

76 Agriculture Breakdown of agricultural production, 2006 (euros) Two-thirds plant production Two-thirds animal production 100% 67% 33% 0% Greece Romania Italy France Denmark Ireland plant products animal products Utilized agricultural area Number of farms Average farm size Agricultural production at basic prices 1 Income per economically active person in agriculture Share of agriculture in total employment (thousand ha) (thousand) (ha) (million euros) (euros per year) (%) Austria 3, ,029 15, Belgium 1, ,817 32, Bulgaria 2, ,867 2, Cyprus , Czech Republic 3, ,292 7, Denmark 2, ,564 33, Estonia , Finland 2, ,129 17, France 27, ,422 24, Germany 17, ,390 20, Greece 3, ,144 13,078 : Hungary 4, ,133 4, Ireland 4, ,245 18, Italy 12,708 1, ,666 14, Latvia 1, , Lithuania 2, ,276 3, Luxembourg , Malta ,004 : Netherlands 1, ,270 33, Poland 14,755 2, ,439 2,904 e 19.2 Portugal 3, ,163 6,087 : Romania 13,907 4, ,901 2, Slovakia 1, ,513 5, Slovenia , Spain 24,855 1, ,170 23, Sweden 3, ,625 17, United Kingdom 15, ,272 32, EU ,996 14, ,290 10, Including subsidies for products France in the European Union

77 Industry, construction Shares of main countries in EU manufacturing-industry value added, 2005 Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain other EU 27 countries Average annual growth 2 Manufacturing industry 1 Investment per person employed Productivity per person employed Share of total employment Construction Average annual growth 2 (%) (euros) (euros) (%) (%) Austria 3.8 8,600 67, Belgium 1.4 8,900 78, Bulgaria ,100 5, Cyprus 0.7 5,300 29, Czech Republic 7.8 : : : 5.9 Denmark 1.3 8,300 62, Estonia 10.5 : 12, Finland 3.0 9,000 74, France 0.4 8,000 57, Germany 2.1 6,600 59, Greece ,300 36, Hungary 7.0 5,500 21, Ireland , , Italy ,500 45, Latvia 6.7 4,000 8, Lithuania ,800 9, Luxembourg ,600 71, Malta : : : : 4.1 Netherlands 0.7 : : Poland 7.4 3,700 19, Portugal 0.3 3,300 21, Romania 6.2 2,700 5, Slovakia 7.9 6,900 14, Slovenia 3.5 6,600 24, Spain 0.8 7,200 48, Sweden 2.4 9,000 62, United Kingdom ,000 64, EU ,400 47, Includes food industries; excludes energy. 2. Average annual growth of production index for the sector. Production system 75

78 Wholesale/retail trade, services Persons employed per retail-trade outlet, 2005 Fewer than 3 persons More than 10 persons Portugal Greece Italy Bulgaria Czech Republic Cyprus France Germany Ireland Estonia Slovakia U.K Persons employed per retail-trade outlet wholesale/ retail Turnover per person employed hotels and restaurants transport business services Individual buyers on Internet, (number) (thousand euros) (%) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic : : : 8 Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland : Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta : : : : : : Netherlands : Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom EU Proportion of buyers observed in three-month period. 76 France in the European Union

79 Transport, tourism Passengers transported in ten leading EU airports, 2005 London Heathrow (UK) Paris CDG (FR) Frankfurt Main (DE) Amsterdam Schiphol (NL) Madrid Barajas (ES) London Gatwick (UK) München (DE) Roma Fiumicino (IT) Barcelona (ES) Paris Orly (FR) million passengers Ratio of freight volume transported to GDP Share of road haulage in total domestic freight transport 1 Share of cars in total domestic passenger transport Camping accommodation capacity Proportion of holidays abroad 2 (1995=100) (% tonnes-km) (% passengers-km) (thousand bed-spaces) (%) Austria Belgium Bulgaria : 4 12 Cyprus : 3 : Czech Republic Denmark Estonia : 4 : Finland France , Germany Greece : Hungary Ireland : Italy 110 e , Latvia : 2 7 Lithuania Luxembourg Malta : : : : Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania : 27 2 Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden : United Kingdom 82 e EU : : : 1. Excluding international transit. 2. At least 4 nights. Production system 77

80 France in the European Union

81 Europe and the Mediterranean Mediterranean rim: selected fi gures EU - Mediterranean Partner Countries trade

82 Europe and the Mediterranean Mediterranean partners of European Union 80 France in the European Union

83 Relations between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean rims have been guided since autumn 1995 by the Barcelona Process, which seeks the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean area of shared prosperity and the progressive establishment of a free-trade area by The process may merge into the new Union of the Mediterranean initiative. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership currently comprises 37 members, namely, the EU 27 and the ten Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs): Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. Libya has had observer status since The ten MPCs plus Libya had a combined 262 million inhabitants in Thanks to dynamic demographics, their population is young, with a median age of under 29 years. The under-15s account for over 25% of the total population, and up to 39% in Syria and 45% in the Palestinian Territories. Most of the countries are urbanized, apart from Egypt and Syria, one-half of whose inhabitants still live in rural areas. Jordan and Turkey stand apart for their economic vigour, reflected in GDP growth exceeding 7%. The economies of Algeria, an oil and gas producer, and Libya, an oil producer, are industrially oriented. Elsewhere, the main driver is the service sector, which contributes more than 70% of value added in Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories. partner. It absorbs half of the MPCs exports and is their chief supplier, accounting for nearly half of their imports as well. Flows are particularly intense with North African countries, whose trade is very largely EU-oriented. This is especially true of Tunisia and Morocco, which shipped 80% and 74% of their exports respectively to the EU in By contrast, only 3% of Jordan s exports go to the EU. In the opposite direction as well, flows are far more substantial with North African countries than with the rest of the Mediterranean basin. More than half of the goods and services imported by Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco come from the EU. By contrast, the EU provides only 12% of Syria s imports and 24% of Jordan s imports. Within the EU, the main trading partners of the Mediterranean-rim countries are France, Germany and Italy. In 2006, these three countries together received 50.2% of EU imports from the Mediterranean rim and contributed 56.5% to EU exports there. Germany and France post the largest trade surpluses with the area, while Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Portugal are running trade deficits. By contrast, the Mediterranean rim represents a more modest share of EU trade. In 2006, 7.3% of EU imports came from the ten MPCs, which received 9.0% of EU exports. The eleven economies display high openness ratios, which measure average exports and imports of goods and services as a proportion of GDP. Five countries in the group even outperform China, whose ratio is exceptionally high (37% in 2006). The most open economies are Libya (57%) and Tunisia (51%), followed by Israel (44%). Historical links and geographic proximity explain the importance of trade between the EU and the ten MPCs. The EU is by far the area s leading Europe and the Mediterranean 81

84 Mediterranean rim: selected fi gures Demographic data 2006 Total population Population growth Proportion of under-15s (thousand) (%) (%) Total fertility rate (children/ woman) Population density Share of urban population 1 (inhab./km 2 ) (%) Algeria 33, Egypt 71, Israel 7, Jordan 5, Lebanon 3, Libya 1 5, Morocco 30, Palestinian Terr. 3, Syria 18, Tunisia 10, Turkey 72, Source: United Nations, Economic data 2006 % GDP growth 1 Contribution to value added from: Share in GDP 3 Openness CPI 2 agriculture industry services of exports of imports ratio 3 Algeria Egypt p p 30.3 p 32.6 p 31.5 Israel p 44.5 p 43.8 p 44.2 Jordan p Lebanon : Libya Morocco p 2.4 p 15.7 p 21.6 p p 33.0 p 38.4 p 35.7 Palestinian Terr Syria Tunisia p 4.0 p 12.2 p 26.5 p p 50.1 p 52.1 p 51.1 Turkey Real growth, Consumer price index, 2000= figures for Jordan, 2003 for Palestinian Territories, 2004 for Lebanon, and 2005 for Egypt. 4. Source: United Nations, France in the European Union

85 EU - Mediterranean Partner Countries trade EU 25 share of Mediterranean Partner Countries trade, 2005 % 60 Imports from EU Exports to EU Algeria Egypt Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco Palestinian Territories Syria Tunisia Turkey Value Imports from MPCs 1 Share of total imports (non-eu) Value Exports to MPCs Share of total exports (non-eu) Balance (bn euros) (%) (bn euros) (%) (bn euros) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden , United Kingdom EU Ten Mediterranean Partner Countries. Europe and the Mediterranean 83

86 au moins 25 % au plus 15 % UE % 10 % 0 % Suède Slovaquie Finlande France Lituanie Chypre Malte Printing: Jouve 11 boulevard de Sébastopol, PARIS, France Copyright: June 2008 France in the European Union

87 France in the European Union In the second half of 2008, France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. The event provides an opportunity to measure France s position amongst the 27 Member States. This publication offers readers a set of statistics, charts, and maps showing where France stands with respect to its partners average. All major economic and social fields are covered succinctly by means of selected representative indicators. The commentaries provide insights for analyzing the information given. ISBN