Natural resources: coal, iron ore, bauxite, fish, timber, zinc,
potash
Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 23%
forest and woodland: 27%
other: 16%
note: includes Corsica
Irrigated land: 14,850 sq km (1993 est.); note - includes Corsica
Environment:
current issues: some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution
from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban
wastes, agricultural runoff
natural hazards: flooding
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic note: largest West European nation; occasional strong,
cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral
People ———
Population: 58,317,450 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.04% (male 5,688,505; female 5,417,355)
15-64 years: 65.62% (male 19,147,369; female 19,120,935)
65 years and over: 15.34% (male 3,589,100; female 5,354,186) (July
1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.34% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 10.82 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)