Download France - UNA-UK

GenUN MUN 2013
Country profile - France
Capital
Paris
Government
Constitution-based republic, two-chamber Parliament (Senate and National Assembly),
executive presidency
Languages
French 100%, several rapidly declining regional dialects/languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian,
Corsican, Catalan, Basque and Flemish)
Ethnicity
It is illegal in France to collect data on ethnicity and race, but groups broadly include: Celtic
and Latin, with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese and Basque minorities
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, Unaffiliated 4%
Economy &
wealth
GDP: $2.78 trillion (world rank 5)
GDP per capita: $42,642 (world rank 24)
9.2% unemployment rate
6.2% below the poverty line
Donated $11.4 billion in development aid in 2010 – one of the largest donors
France is transitioning from an economy that has featured extensive government ownership
and intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. Strong presence in power,
public transport and defence sectors.
Population,
human
development
& society
21st most populous country in the world, with 65 million people
81.5 years life expectancy
3.29 per 1,000 infant mortality rate
99% literacy rate
Rating of 71 on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (0 = perceived as
highly corrupt, 100 = perceived as very clean)
Military, arms
and defence
$59.09 billion (2.3% of GDP) annual military spend
352,771 troops
300 nuclear weapons (one of the five nuclear-weapon states recognised by the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty. The others are: China, Russia, UK and US)
Arms export world rank: 4; arms import world rank: 49
Voted for the Arms Trade Treaty. Statement: “France recommends that a more inclusive
range of arms should be considered which could take into account, in addition to the
question of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition, transfers of all conventional
arms, ammunition and possibly repair and maintenance equipment intended to ensure
operability for all such arms.”
UN and other
international
relations
Contributed 5.593% of the UN's $5.15 billion two-year budget (fourth-largest contributor) and
7.5% of the UN's $7.84 billion peacekeeping budget (fifth-largest contributor)
Contributed 956 people to the UN's 93,368 uniformed peacekeeping personnel
Permanent member of the UN Security Council. This means that France plays a key role in:
setting up peacekeeping missions, selecting the UN Secretary-General, and endorsing
applications for membership of the UN.
Member of the G8 and G20; European Union and Eurozone; and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation
Human rights treaties: all major treaties ratified except the Intl Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (not signed)