Introduction
France is a European country that is mainly located on the west of the continent and also includes several overseas territories like French Guiana in South America and some land in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Its continental borders are the North Sea (north), the English Channel (north-west), the Atlantic Ocean (west), the Bay of Biscay (south-west), Spain, Monaco, and Andorra (south), the Mediterranean Sea, and Italy (south-east), Switzerland and Germany (East), and Belgium and Luxemburg (north-east).
France has an advantageous location due to the possibility to divide maritime borders with the United Kingdom and establish neighbor relationships with such European leaders as Germany, Italy, and Spain. In this report, the analysis of socio-demographic, economic, and trading factors of France will be developed along with the comparison of this country’s economic situation to the one in the United States.
Socio-Demographic Information
The analysis of socio-demographic factors helps recognize an overall situation in the country and its living standards. In 2017, the population of France constituted approximately 67 million, with around 63 million living in the metropolitan region (World Bank, 2019a). French people are mostly the representatives of Celtic, Latin, Slavic, and North African ethnic groups who officially speak French (black, white, mulatto, and Chinese) (“France demographics profile,” 2018). Compared to the gender structure that is equal in France, the age varies, including 0-14 years (18.5%), 15-24 years (11.8%), 25-54 years (37.8%), 55-64 years (12.4%), and older than 65 years (19.5%) (“France demographics profile,” 2018).
The birth rate is higher than the death rate, which results in sustainable population growth each year. In rural areas, sanitation facility access remains unimproved in 1.1% of the population, whilst in urban areas, this rating is a little bit higher – 1.4% (“France demographics profile,” 2018). The majority of people are Christians, but there are also some Muslims, Buddhists, and Jewish in the country.
Health and education are two crucial areas of development in France. According to the latest records, 5.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is spent on education, and 11.5% – on health expenditures (“France demographics profile,” 2018). Obesity in adults remains a serious problem, and multiple nutrition and health education programs are in progress. Higher education is usually introduced in public universities and prestigious facilities. The Ministry of National Education made primary and secondary education compulsory for children from six to sixteen years.
Economic Information
The economic situation in the country undergoes considerable chances because of recent political decisions and an overall global situation. France’s economy takes fifth place in the world and demonstrates strong steps to endure the current economic crisis (“France economic outlook,” 2019). The official currency is Euro which is equal to about 1.14 USD. During the last five years, the GDP of France stays at the same level, demonstrating about 2% increase annually.
In 2017, the GDP was about 2,300 billion Euros that equals about 20 trillion dollars (“France economic outlook,” 2019). GPD per capita is 35,387 EUR or $40,050. The unemployment rate continues to fall up to 9.4%, and the inflation rate rises to 1% annually (“France economic outlook,” 2019). Effective export and import strategies contributed to stability in the country.
Being the country with a diversified economy, France demonstrates good results in several industries. For example, the chemical industry promotes the development of the country and its other areas like automobile, electronics, textiles, food, and machinery, which are the country’s exports up to 30% of the total GDP (“France economic outlook,” 2019). Tourism is also an essential part of the French economy and its key export. Additional effective exported services are from the business and transportation industries. As for imports, they include vehicles, aircraft, and other travel services and constitute about 68% of the total GDP (France economic outlook,” 2019). In both export and import cases, France develops continuous business relationships with such countries as Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic that supports strong democratic traditions. The current president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Government that is led by the Prime Minister introduce an executive branch of the country with evident political influence on the work of the Parliament and senators. France also plays an important role in international relations with a number of diplomatic missions.
It is a part of such international organizations as the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the regional level, France is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nationals Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Asian Development Bank, and the Council of Europe.
France – the United States Comparison
Economic conditions in the United States (US) and France have certain similarities and differences. In 2017, the US GDP was 19.391 trillion, which made the country the first on the global list, while France was only in sixth place (World Bank, 2019b). GDP growth (2.9%) is also higher in America, as well as its GDP per capita $58,270 (Bureau of Economic Analysis; World Bank, 2019b). Inflation and unemployment rates are 2.1% and 8.1%, respectfully, which proves that the US economy to be better than the one in France (World Bank, 2019b).
One of the methods to deal with unemployment in the US is to promote electronically mediated work that counted about 1% of total employment in the country in 2017 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). However, being powerful in the technological sphere, the US faces certain barriers in foreign markets. In general, the economic ratings of France cannot be defined as poorer compared to the US regarding their populations, geographical locations, and international relations. However, health and education expenditures remain higher in the US, as well as sanitation standards in rural and urban areas.
Trading Issues
Regarding the above-mentioned investigation and evaluation, it is wrong to say that France has better or worse ratings compared to America. Both countries demonstrate sustainable development in a number of spheres. In 2017, France improved its budget deficit to 2.7% of the GDP due to regular economic reforms by Macron (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.). Its foreign investments at home increase annually with $858.3 billion in 2017 compared to $807.4 billion in 2016 (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.). Regardless of the global world crisis and unstable political and international relations in Europe, France continues developing its trading relations with a number of countries. The top export destinations of the country are Germany (as its closed and the most stable partner), Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the US. Import destinations are almost the same with the only replacement – the United States to China.
Conclusion
Despite the existing economic challenges, France demonstrates rather good results in coping with a crisis. The country does not stop its foreign trade relations with its regular partners and improves its leading industries like cars, chemistry, and food. Compared to the United States, France cannot be defined as an evident leader due to its size, geographical location, and population. However, having one of the leading economies in the world proves that the majority of French attempts have positive results and further potential.
References
Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2019). New dates set for GDP, personal income, and international trade. Web.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2018). Electronically mediated employment. Web.
Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). The World factbook: France. Web.
France demographics profile 2018. (2018). Web.
France economic outlook. (2019). FocusEconomics. Web.
International Monetary Fund. (2018). United States. Web.
World Bank. (2019a). France. Web.
World Bank. (2019b). United States. Web.