Country · Europe
France
French Republic
France is a country in Western Europe. About 67 million people live there, in an area of 551 695 square kilometres. Its capital city is Paris.
Picture credit: Pierre Blaché (CC0) · Jebulon (CC0) · Yann Caradec (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Ermell (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is France?
France lies in Western Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 5 121 km from the equator.
It shares a border with 8 countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland.
How big is France?
France covers 551 695 square kilometres.
That is about 5.4 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 48th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 121.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in France?
About 67 million people live in France.
That is the 21st biggest population in the world.
People here speak French.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 79 years.
The land of France
The land of France sits on average 375 metres above sea level.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes France different?
Dishes the country is known for: Crêpe, Pot-au-feu and Macaron.
Websites from here often end in .fr.
France and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 9 live in France.
It takes up about 0.41 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 3rd of 45 by size, and 3rd by population.
France and its neighbours
France is about 1.1 times the size of Spain, its largest neighbour.
More people live in France than in Spain — 67 million against 46.8 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 76 live wild in France: Red fox, Raccoon, European badger, Eurasian otter, Eurasian beaver, Red squirrel and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mont Blanc, at 4 807 metres. The longest river in the country is the Loire. The largest lake in the country is Lake Geneva.
Red fox
Raccoon
European badger
Eurasian otter
Eurasian beaver
Red squirrel
European hedgehog
European rabbit
European brown hare
Common pipistrelle bat
Alpine ibex
Chamois
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is France compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 17 times as big as France: 9 372 610 km² against 551 695 km². See both on one map
- France is about 2.3 times as big as the United Kingdom: 551 695 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of France?
The capital of France is Paris. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in France?
About 67 million people live in France, which makes it the 21st most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border France?
France borders Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland — 8 neighbours in total.
How big is France?
France covers 551 695 square kilometres, making it the 48th largest country in the world. That is about 5.4 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in France?
The highest mountain in France is Mont Blanc, 4 807 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in France?
The longest river in France is the Loire, about 1 006 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in France?
The largest lake in France is Lake Geneva. The whole lake covers about 580 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is France in?
France is in Europe, in the part called Western Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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