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Economy in France - Overview
France has a resilient economy that harks back centuries. Indeed, France is one of the world’s biggest economic powers, taking the 5th place for the largest economies in the world.
Major players of the french economic landscape include services, agriculture (agriculture in France plays a bigger role than other European economies), livestock, the chemical industry, and of course, tourism.
In fact, France’s tourism industry is so big, it represents almost 10% of the country’s GDP.
From 2019 to 2023, China’s trade with France saw an annual growth of 5.9%. Plus, France stands out as the top source of agricultural imports for China.
Reviewed By Lief Simon
Lief Simon is the managing editor of Global Property Advisor, Simon Letter, and Offshore Living Letter. He has purchased more than 45 properties, investing in 23 different countries around the world.
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France is the most popular tourist destination in the world, with more than 85 million people visiting each year.
According to the IMF, France’s economy is so good it had the 20th highest GDP per capita worldwide in 2012. And, even though they were hit by the late 2000’s recession, it bounced back quicker than most countries affected by it.
The only year France’s GDP contracted was back in 2009. Even so, France has experienced a rather stagnant growth following those years, expanding for only 0.8% in 2013, 0.2% in 2014, though picked up in 2015 with 1.2% in growth.
France has still ways to go about GDP growth, but it is already one big economic world power.
The trade between France and the United States hit $153.8 billion in 2022, a 32% rise from the previous year. This is the largest amount they have traded to date.
The expat who is looking to know more about France’s economy will find himself reassured. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it has “an enviable standard of living” and that “Inequality is not excessive and the country has come through the [financial] crisis without suffering too heavily,”
Not everything is rose-colored, though. France currently has a problem with employment.
The official numbers throw that the 10.2% of the workforce, in unemployed.
This rate is almost the same average for the Euro-zone, but it is a significant number by all means.
Many economy experts have differing points of view about the nature of the issue, but most say the labor market is the
culprit. Some argue that there’s low demand for work, since France has a huge public sector.
Some say there’s a recurring complaint from businesses. Seems like, in a nutshell, french workers have too many rights.
France is one of the countries with the strictest legislation of dismissal for open-ended and temporary contracts
anywhere. It is too expensive for employers to hire or fire workers. Insiders get high pay, job security and promotion
prospects by law.
The cost of labor to employers also adds social security payments much higher than in other countries.
This, in turn, makes employees, especially young ones, to get short-term jobs, or sometimes, none.
The social economic policies have promoted less economic disparity between other regions and is less higher than other
European countries.
The biggest regions in terms of GDP come as follows:
Hosting Paris, Île-de-France is the center of economic activity by a landslide. Tourism in Paris is one of the main contributors to this regional economy, receiving more than 30
million visitors annually. Other than that, one of the strongest economic activity comes from La Defensé business
district.
Here, almost 60% of the workforce focuses on commerce and marketing services, while 30% works on non-market services
(public administration, education, etc.)
A highly industrialized region, Rhône-Alpes is a part of the “Four Motors of Europe”, the other three being the Lombardy
region in Italy, Catalonia region in Spain,
and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
It specializes in many industry departments like mechanical. light and high-tech engineering, and precision machining.
For services, they make revenue from tourism in the Alps and education services.
The GDP per capita is higher in this region than the French average. Its main cities include Lyon, Vienne, and
Saint-Étienne.
Including Niece and Marseille, this region relies mostly on tourism, being coastal. It also drives more than 34 million
visitors a year and it’s a favorite region for tourists and expats alike.
Although being in line with the national average income, inequality is higher than other regions. On the other hand, it has the highest employment rate, at almost 90%.
| Information Type | France Data |
|---|---|
| Gross Domestic Product PPP (GDP) | US$3.130 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP Per Capita | US$47,358.56 (2024 est.) |
| Inflation Rate | 1.8% (2024 est.) |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Exchange Rate Versus U.S. Dollar | 0.91 euro per U.S. dollar (Oct. 18, 2024) |
| Real Annual Growth Rate | 0.7% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate | 7.5% (2024 est.) |
| Agriculture | Wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Labor Force | 74.50 million (2024 est.) |
| Labor Force by Occupation | Agriculture: 3% Industry: 22.3% Services: 74.7% (2024 est.) |
| Industries | Machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism |
| Exports | US$990.48 billion (2023 est.) |
| Exports Commodities | Machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages |
| Exports Partners | Germany, Spain, US, Italy, UK, Belgium (2024) |
| Imports Partners | Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, US, China, UK (2024) |
Reviewed By Lief Simon
Lief Simon is the managing editor of Global Property Advisor, Simon Letter, and Offshore Living Letter. He has purchased more than 45 properties, investing in 23 different countries around the world.
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In France, the services sector is the biggest contributor to the economy. It represents about two-thirds of the GDP.
For example, it covers areas like retail, tourism, financial services, and government expenditures. Plus, industry also has an important role.
The French economy fell by 8.3% in 2020 compared to the year before. With strong government assistance for businesses and households, it bounced back with a 7% growth in 2021.
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