France's exports and imports: key macroeconomic indicators

The economy of France is the seventh among the countries of the world in terms of nominal gross product and the ninth, if considered 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 international organizations. These include, for example, the EU, WTO and OECD. The headquarters of the latter is located in Paris. The main branch 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 in 2016 was $ 2.5 trillion. 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 at 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, automobile 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 trading partners of France are the EU countries. 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%. 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.

Main exports and imports of France

From France, cars and equipment, aircraft, plastic, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, and alcoholic beverages are exported abroad. 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 2016. 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 indicator 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 goods exported from the country 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 imported goods reached 43.188 billion euros. And now consider the export and import of France for the period from 1970 to 2016. The volume of goods imported into the country was an average of 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.