Modern France is one of the most highly developed countries in Europe and the world. It plays an important role in world politics, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the G7 and many international organizations, and since 2009 again NATO. Close cooperation and cooperation with the EU and Germany in particular have ensured the high growth rates of France's GDP in recent decades.
Summary
The French economy is well diversified across all sectors. The government has partially or fully privatized most major companies, including Air France, France Telecom, Renault, and Thales. However, the role of the state remains significant in the energy sector, public transport and the military-industrial complex. Despite terrorist attacks, labor strikes and bad weather, France remains the most attractive tourist destination in the world. In 2016, it was visited by 83 million foreigners, with 530 thousand of them coming to Euro 2016.
Current situation
The political course of French President Francois Hollande is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the national industry and reducing unemployment. It is expected that about 50 billion US dollars will be additionally allocated for the implementation of these tasks. So far, the results of the program implementation are not yet visible. France's 2017 budget also includes income tax cuts for households and small and medium-sized businesses. François Hollande has already implemented two highly unpopular economic reforms, leading to widespread protests.
The "Macron Law" allowed businesses to work on some Sundays of the month and set wages much more freely. The "El Khomri Law" was also targeted in this area, which caused a strong protest from the trade unions.
GDP
France is the third economy of the European Union. Countries such as Germany and Great Britain, respectively, are located on the first and second. The latter is in the process of leaving the European Union, but is still an official member of this association. France's GDP at purchasing power parity is, according to data for 2016, 2.699 trillion US dollars. According to this indicator, the country is in eleventh place in the world. GDP at the official rate. – 2.448 trillion US dollars. 7.7% of the population is below the poverty line.
The services sector plays a key role in the structure of France's GDP. It gives 79.8% of GDP. The key sector is tourism. High share of services in GDPFrance is largely due to just this industry. Industry accounts for 18.3% of the gross domestic product. The key sectors are mechanical engineering, the chemical industry and metallurgy. Agriculture provides 1.9% of GDP. The economically active population, according to 2017 data, is 30 million people. Of these, 71.8% are employed in the service sector, 24.3% in industry, and 3.8% in agriculture. The average salary is 34,800 euros, after taxes - 26,400. The state is in 29th place in the ranking of ease of doing business.
French GDP per capita
In the late 2000s, most countries in the world fell into recession. However, France was able to quickly stop the decline in economic indicators. Per capita, as of 2016, accounts for 42,400 US dollars. This is 330% of the world average. This is France's record high GDP per capita, if we consider the period from 1960 to 2016. Experts predict that this figure will increase even more in 2018.
Economy growth
France's GDP increased by 1% in the first quarter of 2017. This is 0.2% less than in the past, but more than forecast. For the period from 1950 to 2017, the average growth of French GDP over the years was 3.19%. The largest increase in the rate was recorded in the second quarter of 1969. At that time, France's GDP growth was 12.5%. As for the record low, this value came at a recentrecession. In the first quarter of 2009, France's GDP decreased by 3.8%.
Outer Sector
In 2016, France's exports to various countries of the world amounted to 505.4 billion US dollars. This is less than the previous one. Goods exported include machinery and equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, and beverages. Germany ranks first among France's main export partners. It accounts for 16.7% of the total.
Other export partners include Belgium, Italy, Spain, UK, USA and the Netherlands. The volume of French imports in 2016 amounted to 525.4 billion US dollars. This indicator also decreased compared to the previous year.
The trade balance is negative at $20 billion. Goods imported from abroad include machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, and chemicals. Again, Germany is the key import partner of the state under consideration. It accounts for 19.5% of the total value.
Other import partners include Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and China. One of the key points of the new French government is the diversification of the sales market, so experts expect the expansion of cooperation between the state in question and Asia. The volume of foreign direct investment in December 2016 amounted to 1.1trillion dollars. This is more than a year earlier. The total external debt is 5.6 trillion dollars. Unfortunately, this figure also increased in 2016.
France remains one of the fastest growing countries in the world. But whether the reforms planned by the government and the president will show results remains in question.
