Environment - current issues: some forest damage from acid rain (major forest damage occurred as a result of severe December 1999 windstorm); air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note:
largest West European nation
People France
Population:
60,180,529 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.6% (male 5,725,170; female 5,449,991)
15-64 years: 65.1% (male 19,619,994; female 19,583,850)
65 years and over: 16.3% (male 4,006,857; female 5,794,667) (2003
est.)
Median age: total: 38.3 years male: 36.8 years female: 39.8 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
0.42% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
12.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)