Overview

The French Republic (République Française)—more commonly known as France—occupies 212,918 square miles, making it the largest country in Western Europe and slightly smaller than the state of Texas. It is hexagonal in shape, with half its borders, or 1,920 miles, made up of coastline. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the English Channel to the northwest, Belgium and Luxembourg to the north, Germany to the northeast, Switzerland to the east, Italy to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Spain to the southwest. The topography of France includes the Pyrenees mountains along the southern border and the Alps along the southwest border. The remaining terrain varies from mountain ranges to plains to forests, and includes four major river systems.

The population of France was approximately 55.5 million in 1987, and it has remained relatively stable over time. The capital and...