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| This page is one
of the annex pages of www.understandfrance.org, the foremost
site on Franco-American intercultural differences. It contains
documents, facts and figures illustrating the content of some
of its pages. |
Facts
& figures |
This page contains
Facts and Figures about France and the French. Some are significant,
other less so....
|
 (credit) |
Miscellaneous figures about religion...
- God
: to the question "
Is it necessary to believe in God to be moral ? ", the
answer " Yes " is given by 40 to 58% Americans versus
13% by the French (source : IHT August 14, 2003).
- The number of muslims in
European countries and the % of total population is difficult
to compare (in France, according to French law, it is illegal
to collect data on religious beliefs). The best estimates are
:
| France : 3,3 million
(5,5%) |
Netherlands : 0,7 m (4,3%) |
Belgium : 0,3 m (2,5%) |
Greece : 0,1 m (1,3%) |
| Germany : 1,7 m (3%) |
Spain : 0,5 m (1,2%) |
Cyprus : 0,2 m (18,6%) |
Denmark : 0,08 m (1,5%) |
| United Kingdom: 1,5 m (2,6%) |
Italy : 0,5 m (1,2%) |
Austria : 0,2 m (2,1%) |
Other countries : < 0,01 m |
- The state and religion in various countries in Europe (from
L'Histoire Magazine, Aug.2004)
| |
Relation between Religions
and State |
Religious education in schools |
Salary of clergymen |
Public financing of religious
schools |
Abortion legal |
| France |
Separation
: no official role of churches in society (1905 law) |
no |
by churchgoers |
yes, on
a contractual basis |
yes |
| Netherlands |
Separation (1983) |
optional |
by churchgoers |
yes |
yes |
| Belgium |
Separation (1831) |
optional |
by State |
yes |
yes |
| U.K. |
Two bishops at the Chamber
of Lords and the king head of the Anglican Church |
mandatory (a derogation can
be granted since 1996) |
by State (for Anglicans), by
grant for other religions |
yes |
yes |
| Denmark |
The king head of the Lutheran
Church |
optional |
by State (for Lutherans), by
grant for other religions |
yes |
yes |
| Sweden |
Separation (2000) |
optional |
by State and churchgoers |
yes, on a contractual basis |
yes |
| Austria |
Separation (1867) |
optional |
by churchgoers |
yes, on a contractual basis |
yes |
| Germany |
Separation (1919) |
mandatory by laypeople |
by State and churchgoers |
yes |
yes |
| Italy |
Separation (1848) |
optional by laypeople |
by churchgoers |
yes |
yes |
| Portugal |
Separation (1978) |
optional |
by State (for Catholics) |
yes |
no |
| Spain |
Separation (1980) |
optional |
by State (for Catholics) and
churchgoers (others) |
yes |
yes |
| Ireland |
Separation (1972) but the Constitution
refers to the Holy Trinity |
90% of schools are catholic |
by churchgoers |
yes |
no |
| Greece |
Orthodoxy is the official religion |
mandatory (a derogation can
be granted since 2002) |
by State (for Orthodox) |
yes |
yes |
| Poland |
Separation (1995) |
optional |
by churchgoers |
no |
no |
| Czech Rep. |
Separation (1993) |
optional |
by State |
yes |
yes |
| About the media... |
|
About Europe and the world... |
|
Freedom
of the press
: 2007-ranking by Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF)
|
rank |
Country |
index |
37 |
Japan |
11,75 |
|
1 |
Iceland |
0,75 |
48 |
U.S.A. |
14,50 |
| 2 to 19 |
Scandinavia, Belgium, etc... |
0,75 to 5 |
120 |
India |
39,33 |
|
20 |
Germany |
5,75 |
144 |
Russia |
56,90 |
|
24 |
U.K. |
8,25 |
163 |
China |
89 |
|
31 |
France |
9,75 |
169 |
Erythrea |
114,75 |
French
movies : Financing structure of the sector in 2007 (Source : CNC in Le Figaro March 29,
2008)
Resources (total 1 bn Euros)
:
- French TV channels : 30,5%
- French producers : 25,8%
- Foreign co-producers : 17,8%
- Advance by French distributors
: 9,5%
- Advance by French vido editors
: 2,1%
- Advance by CNC (Centre National
du Cinéma) : 8,9%
- Loans by SOFICA (tax exempt
investment funds dedicated to the movies industry) : 3,9%
- Grants by Regional authorities
: 1,6%
|
|
- Languages spoken
in Europe (Source : Le
Monde 10/6/2008) :
- % of people speaking at least
one foreign language :
| Finland |
69% |
| Germany |
67% |
| Austria |
62% |
| The Czech Rep. |
61% |
| Greece |
57% |
| Poland |
57% |
| France |
51% |
| Spain |
44% |
| Hungary |
42% |
| Portugal |
42% |
| Italy |
41% |
| U.K. |
38% |
| Ireland |
34% |
- Most spoken languages in Europe
:
| |
native speakers |
foreign language |
| English |
13% |
38% |
| German |
18% |
14% |
| French |
12% |
14% |
| Italian |
13% |
3% |
| Spanish |
9% |
6% |
| Polish |
9% |
1% |
| Russian |
1% |
6% |
|
| |
|
- Criminality
: number of people in jail per 1000 inhabitants (Source : International
Center for Prison Studies 2004)
| 1 |
Rwanda |
13,35 |
| 2 |
USA |
7,09 |
| 3 |
Russia |
5,33 |
| |
|
|
| 6 |
Cuba |
4,87 |
| |
|
|
| - |
World average |
1,44 |
| 72 |
UK |
1,38 |
| |
|
|
| 104 |
Germany |
0,96 |
| |
|
|
| 110 |
France |
0,91 |
Back to Europe
|
- Comparative
figures of the Economic areas
of the world (Source : OECD, 2001)
| |
Population (millions) |
GNP (bns $)
(2000)
|
GNP/inh. ($) |
Exports
(mios $)
|
Imports
(mios $)
|
| USA |
284,5 (5%) |
8 391 (31%) |
29,494 |
802 (16%) |
1 292 (24%) |
| Europe
(15 countries) |
377 (6%) |
7 246 (27%) |
19,221 |
882 (17%) |
992 (18%) |
| Russia |
144,4 (2%) |
209 (1%) |
1,449 |
108 (2%) |
46 (1%) |
| China |
1 273 (21%) |
918 (3%) |
721 |
256 (5%) |
231 (4%) |
| Japan |
127 (2%) |
4 039 (15%) |
31,802 |
491 (10%) |
389 (7%) |
| Rest of world |
3 931 (64%) |
6 378 (23%) |
1,622 |
2 567 (50%) |
2 465 (46%) |
| World |
6 137 |
27 181 |
4,429 |
5 106 |
5 415 |
|
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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