In 2008, the French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (second generation) lived in France representing 19% of the country population as its mentioned in France map. About 5.5 million are of European origin and 4 million of Maghrebi origin. Among the 802,000 newborns in metropolitan France in 2010, 27.3% had at least one foreign-born parent and about one quarter (23.9%) had at least one parent born outside of EU27.

 

France is the second-largest trading nation in Europe (after Germany). Its foreign trade balance for goods had been in surplus from 1992 until 2001, reaching $25.4 billion (25.4 G$) in 1998; however, the French balance of trade was hit by the economic downturn, and went into the red in 2000, reaching US$15bn in deficit in 2003 as you can see in France map. Total trade for 1998 amounted to $730 billion, or 50% of GDP—imports plus exports of goods and services. Trade with European Union countries accounts for 60% of French trade.

 

France, as with many modern industrialised nations, has a large and diverse industrial base as its shown in France map. Leading industrial sectors in France are telecommunications (including communication satellites), aerospace and defense, ship building (naval and specialist ships), pharmaceuticals, construction and civil engineering, chemicals, and automobile production (3.5m units in 2005). Research and development spending is also high in France at 2.3% of GDP, the third highest in the OECD.

 

As of January 1, 2008, metropolitan France is divided into the following: 22 regions (including Corsica, although strictly speaking Corsica is designated as a "territorial collectivity", not a region, but it is most often called a region in common speech and grouped with the other regions), the regions are subdivided into 96 departments as its mentioned in France map. The departments are in turn divided into 342 arrondissements, the arrondissements are then divided into 3,883 cantons, the cantons are subdivided into 36,569 communes (although some of the larger communes actually are composed of several cantons). 3 communes (Paris, Marseille, and Lyon) are further divided into 45 municipal arrondissements. There also exist 730 associated communes (as of January 2006), formerly independent communes.