The economy of France is the seventh among the countriesof the world in terms of nominal gross product and the ninth, if viewed at purchasing power parity. In Europe, it is in third place. If we consider France's exports and imports briefly, the trade balance is 1.17 trillion US dollars. The balance is negative. France exports and imports mainly to countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands.
Key macroeconomic indicators
France is a member of many internationalorganizations. These include, for example, the EU, WTO and OECD. The headquarters of the latter is located in Paris. The main industry in the national economy of France is the chemical industry. It helps in the development of other spheres and makes a significant contribution to the economic growth of the country. An important industry is also the tourism business.
The nominal gross domestic product of France in2016 was 2.5 trillion dollars. This is the sixth indicator among all countries in the world. In 2015, it grew by 1.2%. For the third quarter of 2016 - by 0,2%. GDP per capita is 38 thousand US dollars. If we consider the gross product by sector, then the main industry is the service sector. It is responsible for 79.8% of France's GDP. Agriculture provides only 1.9% of the gross product, industry - 18.3%. This shows that France is already a full-scale postindustrial society. 7.7% of the population are below the poverty line. About 30 million French are in working age. Of these, 71.8% work in services, 24.3% in industry, and 3.8% in agriculture. The average salary is 2900-3300 euros, after taxes - 2200-2500.
The main branches are machine-, car-and aircraft construction, chemical, metallurgy, textile, food industry and tourism. The export and import of France in the amount of 1.17 trillion dollars. The main trading partners are such EU countries as Germany, Belgium and Italy. France's exports and imports include machinery and equipment, crude oil, aircraft, pharmaceutical and chemical products. The external debt of the country is about 6 trillion US dollars.
External Economic Relations of France
As already mentioned, the main tradepartners of France are the countries of the European Union. Germany, Belgium and Italy are on the first place both in terms of exports and imports. France's external economic ties also include Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, and China.
Consider France's export partners.Germany accounts for 16.7% of the total, for Belgium - 7.5%, for Italy - 7.5%, for Spain - 6.9%, for the UK - 6.9%, for the USA - 5.6% , the Netherlands - 4,3%. And now let's move on to the import partners. Germany accounts for 19.5% of the total, 11.3% for Belgium, 7.6% for Italy, 7.4% for the Netherlands, 6.6% for Spain, 5.1% for the UK, , 4.9% - to China.
The main articles of France's exports and imports
From France are exported cars andequipment, aircraft, plastic, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, alcoholic beverages. These are the main exports from the country. The import of France is also represented by machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastic and chemical products.
The balance was 4.4 billion euros in November 2016of the year. This is the lowest deficit since August. Export grew by 5.3%, and imports - only by 2.8%. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, the average balance was -1091.03 million euros. That is, often in France, the trade deficit was fixed. The highest figure is in October 1997. Then the balance was positive and amounted to 2674 million euros. The biggest deficit was in February 2012. Then the deficit was -7040 million euros.
Export
In November 2016, the value of the amount exported fromthe country's goods rose to 38.811 billion euros. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, then the average export volume is 18398.37 million. The highest rate was recorded in June 2015. Then the export was 39.896 billion. The lowest - in May 1970. Then the volume of exports was 1.166 billion euros.
The main article is machinery and equipment, aircraft, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, various alcoholic beverages.
Import
In November 2016, the value of importsthe country of goods reached 43.188 billion euros. And now consider the export and import of France for the period from 1970 to 2016. The cost volume of goods imported into the country on average was 19.489 billion euros. The lowest rate was recorded in May 1970. Then the import was only 1.152 billion euros. The highest rate was recorded in August 2012. Then it was 44.471 billion euros. As in exports, machinery and equipment occupy a significant place in imports. France also depends on the import of crude oil.
