Economy of France

Economy of France
La Défense, the financial hub of France
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
Calendar year
Trade organisations
EU, WTO, G-20, G7 and OECD
Country group
Statistics
PopulationSteady 68,043,000 (February 2023)[3]
GDP
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 2.6% (2022)[5]
  • Increase 0.7% (2023f)[5]
  • Increase 1.3% (2024f)[5]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $46,315 (nominal; 2023 est.)[4]
  • Increase $58,830 (PPP; 2023 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
Negative increase 6.3% (February 2023)[7]
Population below poverty line
  • 5.5% or 13.2% with DOM-TOM
  • Negative increase 14.91% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE, 2018)[8]
Positive decrease 28.5 low (2018, Eurostat)[9]
Labour force
  • Increase 30,394,934 (2020, ILO)[12]
  • Increase 72.4% employment rate (Target: 75%; 2019)[13]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • Positive decrease 7.0% (Q2, 2023)[14]
  • Negative increase 17.2% youth unemployment (15 to 24-year-olds, Q4 2021)[14]
Average gross salary
€3,462 /monthly (2022)[15]
€2,468 /monthly (2022)[16][17]
Main industries
External
ExportsDecrease $746.9 billion (5th; 2020 est.)[18]
Export goods
machinery and equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
Main export partners
ImportsDecrease $803.6 billion (4th; 2020 est.)[19]
Import goods
machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $858.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
  • Increase Abroad: $1.429 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
Increase 10.604 billion (2021)[4]
$5.250 trillion (31 March 2017)[20]
Public finances
  • Positive decrease 112.6% of GDP (2021)[4]
  • Negative increase €2.813 trillion (2021)[4]
  • €163.3 billion deficit (2021)[21]
  • −6.5% of GDP (2021)[21]
Revenues52.5% of GDP (2021)[21]
Expenses59% of GDP (2021)[21]
Economic aid
  • AA
  • Outlook: Stable
  • Aa2
  • Outlook: Stable
  • AA
  • Outlook: Stable
  • AA
  • Outlook: Negative
Decrease 209 billion euro (February 2023)[28]

All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of France is a highly developed social market economy with notable state participation in strategic sectors.[29] It is the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and the ninth-largest economy by PPP,[30] constituting around 4% of world GDP.[31] Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, France's GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply. France has a diversified economy,[32] that is dominated by the service sector (which in 2017 represented 78.8% of its GDP), whilst the industrial sector accounted for 19.5% of its GDP and the primary sector accounted for the remaining 1.7%.[33] In 2020, France was the largest Foreign Direct Investment recipient in Europe,[34] and Europe's second largest spender in research and development.[35] It was ranked among the 10 most innovative countries in the world by the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index,[36] as well as the 15th most competitive nation globally according to the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report (up 2 notches compared to 2018).[37] It was the fifth-largest trading nation in the world (and second in Europe after Germany). France is also the most visited destination in the world,[38][39] as well as the European Union's leading agricultural power.[40]

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2023, France was the world's 23rd country by GDP per capita with $44,408 per inhabitant. In 2021, France was listed on the United Nations's Human Development Index with a value of 0.903 (indicating very high human development) and 22nd on the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2021.[41][42]

Paris is a leading global city, and has one of the largest city GDP in the world.[43] It ranks as the first city in Europe (and 3rd worldwide) by the number of companies classified in Fortune's Fortune Global 500.[44] Paris produced US$738 billion (or US$882 billion at market exchange rates) or around 1/3 of the French economy in 2018[45] while the economy of the Paris metropolitan area—the largest in Europe with London—generates around 1/3 of France's GDP or around $1.0 trillion.[46] Paris has been ranked as the 2nd most attractive global city in the world in 2019 by KPMG.[47] La Défense, Paris's Central Business District, was ranked by Ernst & Young in 2017 as the leading business district in continental Europe, and fourth in the world.[48] The OECD is headquartered in Paris, the nation's financial capital. The other major economic centres of the country include Lyon, Toulouse (centre of the European aerospace industry), Marseille and Lille.

France's economy entered the recession of the late 2000s later and appeared to leave it earlier than most affected economies, only enduring four-quarters of contraction.[49] However, France experienced stagnant growth between 2012 and 2014, with the economy expanding by 0% in 2012, 0.8% in 2013 and 0.2% in 2014. Growth picked up in 2015 with a growth of 0.8%. This was followed by a growth of 1.1% for 2016, a growth of 2.2% for 2017, and a growth of 2.1% for 2018.[50] According to the OFCE (Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques) think tank, the expected growth rate for 2022 will be 1.2%.[51]

According to INSEE (2021), non-financial and non-agricultural medium-sized firms employed 3 million full-time equivalent employees (24.3% of the workforce), accounted for 27% of investment, 30% of turnover, and 26% of value added, despite accounting for only 1.6% of total firms in France.[52][53]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Titre | Insee". www.insee.fr. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "The outlook is uncertain again amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and three years of COVID". International Monetary Fund. 11 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Economic dashboard". Insee. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  8. ^ "People at risk of poverty or social exclusion". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  11. ^ Nations, United. "Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Labor force, total – France". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  13. ^ "In Q1 2021, the unemployment rate was virtually stable at 8.1 %". insee.fr. Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Euro area unemployment at 6.5" (PDF). Eurostat. May 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Home".
  16. ^ "Taxing Wages 2023: Indexation of Labour Taxation and Benefits in OECD Countries | READ online".
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ "Country Comparisons - Exports". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Country Comparisons - Imports". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Banque de France". Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  21. ^ a b c d "French Economy Dashboard - Public Finance". Insee. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "Sovereign Ratings List". Standard & Poor's. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2015. Note: this source is continually updated.
  25. ^ "Moody's downgrades France's government bond ratings to Aa2 from Aa1; outlook changed to stable from negative". Moody's Investors Service. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  26. ^ "France's credit downgraded to AA at Fitch Ratings – MarketWatch". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  27. ^ "Scope affirms France's AA long-term credit ratings; revises Outlook to Negative from Stable". Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Les réserves nettes de change". Direction générale du Trésor. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  29. ^ Prasad, Monica (2006). The Politics of Free Markets: The Rise of Neoliberal Economic Policies in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States. University of Chicago Press. p. 328. ISBN 9780226679020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  30. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2022". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. October 2022. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  31. ^ "Global Economy Watch - Projections > Real GDP / Inflation > Share of 2016 world GDP". PWC. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  32. ^ Country profile: France Archived 1 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Euler Hermes
  33. ^ Country profil: France Archived 16 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine, CIA World factbook
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference FDI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ How does your country invest in R&D ? Archived 23 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (retrieved on 27 September 2020)
  36. ^ These are the world's most innovative countries Archived 24 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Business Insider
  37. ^ "The Global Competitiveness Report 2019" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Tourism industry sub-sectors: COUNTRY REPORT – FRANCE" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2015.
  39. ^ "UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2014 Edition" (PDF). 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2014.
  40. ^ France: the market Archived 19 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Société Générale (latest Update: September 2020)
  41. ^ "Human Development Index 2018 Statistical Update". hdr.undp.org. United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  42. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 Executive summary p. 2" (PDF). transparency.org. Transparency International. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  43. ^ The global geography of world cities Archived 14 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine, iied, 9 July 2020
  44. ^ 10 reasons to move to Paris La Défense Archived 4 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Official website of Paris La Défense
  45. ^ "Database - Regions - Eurostat". Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  46. ^ "Global Wealth PPP Distribution: Who Are The Leaders Of The Global Economy? - Full Size". www.visualcapitalist.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  47. ^ Global Cities Investment Monitor 2019 Archived 20 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine, KPMG, 2019
  48. ^ The attractiveness of world-class business districts: Paris La Défense vs. its global competitors Archived 18 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, EY, November 2017
  49. ^ "Germany, France pull out of recession". CNN. 13 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  50. ^ "5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  51. ^ "Quelle trajectoire pour l'économie française au cours du prochain quinquennat?" [What path for the French economy over the next five years?] (PDF). Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (in French). Sciences Po. 21 July 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  52. ^ Bank, European Investment (10 January 2024). Hidden champions, missed opportunities: Mid-caps’ crucial role in Europe’s economic transition. European Investment Bank. ISBN 978-92-861-5731-8.
  53. ^ "Gross value added, compensation of employees and domestic employment by industry in 2021 − The national accounts in 2021 | Insee". www.insee.fr. Retrieved 29 January 2024.