The French economy is the seventh among the countries of the world in terms of nominal gross product and the ninth in terms of purchasing power parity. In Europe, she is in third place. If we consider the export and import of France briefly, the trade balance is 1.17 trillion US dollars. The balance is negative. Export and import of France is carried out mainly in such countries as Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands.
Key macroeconomic indicators
France is a member of many international organizations. 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 areas 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 in 2016 amounted to $ 2.5 trillion. This is the sixth indicator among all countries of 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. She is responsible for 79.8% of France’s GDP . Agriculture provides only 1.9% of the gross product, industry - 18.3%. This indicates that France is already fully a post-industrial society. Beyond poverty is 7.7% of the population. About 30 million French are of working age. Of these, 71.8% work in the service sector, 24.3% in industry, and 3.8% in agriculture. The average salary is 2900-3300 euros, after taxes - 2200-2500.
The main sectors are machine, automobile and aircraft manufacturing, chemical, metallurgy, textile, food processing and tourism. France's exports and imports total $ 1.17 trillion. The main trading partners are EU countries such as Germany, Belgium and Italy. France's exports and imports include machinery and equipment, crude oil, airplanes, pharmaceutical and chemical products. The country's external debt is about 6 trillion US dollars.
Foreign economic relations of France
As already mentioned, the main trading partners of France are the EU countries. Germany, Belgium and Italy are in first place in terms of both exports and imports. France’s foreign economic relations also include Spain, Great Britain, the USA, the Netherlands, and China.
Consider France's export partners. Germany accounts for 16.7% of the total, Belgium - 7.5%, Italy - 7.5%, Spain - 6.9%, the UK - 6.9%, the United States - 5.6% , in the Netherlands - 4.3%. And now let's move on to 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 export and import of France
Machines and equipment, aircraft, plastic, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, alcoholic beverages are exported from France. These are the main export items from the country. French imports are also represented by machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastic and chemical products.
The balance was 4.4 billion euros in November 2016. This is the smallest deficit since August. Exports grew by 5.3%, while imports grew by only 2.8%. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, the average balance was -1091.03 million euros. That is, trade deficit was often recorded in France . The highest figure is in October 1997. Then the balance was positive and amounted to 2674 million euros. The largest deficit occurred in February 2012. Then the deficit was -7040 million euros.
Export
In November 2016, the value of goods exported from the country increased to 38.811 billion euros. If we consider the period from 1970 to 2016, the average export volume is 18,398.37 million. The highest rate was recorded in June 2015. Then the export was equal to 39.896 billion. The lowest is in May 1970. Then the export volume amounted to 1.166 billion euros.
The main articles are machinery and equipment, aircraft, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, various alcoholic beverages.
Import
In November 2016, the value of goods imported into the country reached 43.188 billion euros. Now consider the export and import of France for the period from 1970 to 2016. The average value of goods imported into the country was equal to 19.489 billion euros. The lowest rate was recorded in May 1970. Then imports amounted to only 1.152 billion euros. The highest rate was recorded in August 2012. Then it amounted to 44.471 billion euros. As in export, machinery and equipment occupy a significant place in imports. France also depends on the import of crude oil.