This country comparison is a concise, tabular overview of numerous data from our respective country pages for Belgium and France. There, we provide many explanations and details per country that go far beyond this comparison.
See also: Explanations and country ranking on quality of life
General information
| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: | Western Europe | Western Europe |
| Area: | 30,530 km² | 549,087 km² |
| National language: | Dutch | French |
| Government form: | Federal parliamentary republic (under constitutional monarchy) | Semi-presidential republic |
| Independent since: | 1830 AD | 843 AD |
| Capital: | Brussels | Paris |
Population
Details for Belgium and France| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Population: | 11,593,000 | 67,750,000 |
| Inhabitants/km²: | 379.7 | 123.4 |
| Life expectancy males: | Ø 79 years | Ø 79 years |
| Life expectancy females: | Ø 83 years | Ø 85 years |
| Average age: | Ø 41.6 years | Ø 41.7 years |
| Birth rate: | 9.90 ‰ | 10.90 ‰ |
| Death rate: | 11.00 ‰ | 9.90 ‰ |
| Migrationrate: | 4.38 ‰ | 1.06 ‰ |
Quality of life
Values from 0 (bad) to 100 (very good)See also: Explanations and country ranking on quality of life
| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Political stability: | 76 | 75 |
| Civil rights: | 88 | 85 |
| Health: | 89 | 92 |
| Climate: | 20 | 41 |
| Cost of Living: | 25 | 26 |
| Popularity: | 40 | 71 |
Economy
Details for Belgium and France| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Currency: | euro (1 EUR = 100 Cent) | euro (1 EUR =100 Cent) |
| Unemployment rate: | 6.4 % | 8.1 % |
| Inflation rate: | 2.44 % | 1.64 % |
| Cost of Living: (USA = 100%) | 96.97 % | 96.23 % |
| Commercial taxes and contributions: | 55.40 % | 60.70 % |
| Average income: | 50,490 US$ | 44,160 US$ |
| Corruption index: | 27 (good) | 28 (good) |
| BEL: total | per 1000 inh. | FRA: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross domestic product: | 594,104 M US$ | 51.25 M US$ | 2,957,880 M US$ | 43.66 M US$ |
| Gross national product: | 585,375 M US$ | 50.49 M US$ | 2,991,553 M US$ | 44.16 M US$ |
| Exported goods: | 515,625 M US$ | 44.48 M US$ | 920,864 M US$ | 13.59 M US$ |
| Imported goods: | 509,018 M US$ | 43.91 M US$ | 957,717 M US$ | 14.14 M US$ |
| Gross debt: | 648,951 M US$ | 55.98 M US$ | 3,327,038 M US$ | 49.11 M US$ |
| Budget deficit: | 33,075 M US$ | 2.85 M US$ | 190,306 M US$ | 2.81 M US$ |
Infrastructure
Details for Belgium and France| BEL: total | per 1000 inh. | FRA: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roadways: | 118,414 km | 10.21 km | 1,053,215 km | 15.55 km |
| Railways: | 3,592 km | 0.31 km | 29,640 km | 0.44 km |
| Harbours: | 201 | 0.0173 | 548 | 0.0081 |
| Passenger airports: | 5 | 0.0004 | 61 | 0.0009 |
Energy balance
Details for Belgium and France| BEL: total | per 1000 inh. | FRA: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy consumption: | 82.16 bn kWh | 7.09 m kWh | 450.80 bn kWh | 6.65 m kWh |
| Energy production: | 79.83 bn kWh | 6.89 m kWh | 529.10 bn kWh | 7.81 m kWh |
| Energy export: | 8.47 bn kWh | 730,185.03 kWh | 61.41 bn kWh | 906,425.59 kWh |
| Energy imports: | 14.65 bn kWh | 1.26 m kWh | 19.90 bn kWh | 293,728.53 kWh |
| CO2 emissions: | 93.01 m t | 8,022.98 t | 300.52 m t | 4,435.74 t |
Telecommunication
Details for Belgium and France| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| International dialing: | +32 | +33 |
| Internet domain: | .be | .fr |
| BEL total | BEL per 1000 inh. | FRA total | FRA per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landlines: | 3,293,420 | 284 | 37,759,000 | 557 |
| Mobile cellulars: | 11,740,118 | 1013 | 72,751,000 | 1074 |
| Internet server: | 5,192,000 | 448 | 17,266,000 | 255 |
| Internet users: | 10,756,947 | 928 | 58,329,375 | 861 |
| Broadband Internet: | 4,920,679 | 424 | 30,627,000 | 452 |
Healthcare system
Details for Belgium and France| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital beds per 1000 inh.: | 5.58 | 5.91 |
| Physicians per 1000 inh.: | 3.32 | 3.23 |
| Diabetes: | 4.6 % | 4.8 % |
| Tuberculosis: | 0.08 ‰ | 0.08 ‰ |
| Tuberculosis cure rate: | 67.0 % | 37.0 % |
| Smokers: | 23.4 % | 33.4 % |
Climate
We also provide a more detailed climate comparison of both countries.The data for each country can be found here: Belgium and France
| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime temperatures: | 14.9 °C | 16.9 °C |
| Nighttime temperatures: | 7.3 °C | 7.9 °C |
| Rel. humidity: | 82 % | 78 % |
| Rain days: | 10.6 | 8.9 |
| Sunshine hours per day: | 4.7 | 5.5 |
Native languages
| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| French: | 41.1 % | 93.6 % |
| Dutch: | 54.2 % | n/a |
| Arabic: | n/a | 2.5 % |
| Italian: | 2.1 % | 0.4 % |
| Portuguese: | n/a | 1.2 % |
| German: | 0.7 % | n/a |
| Spanish: | n/a | 0.4 % |
| Turkish: | n/a | 0.4 % |
| other: | 1.9 % | 1.5 % |
Religions
| Belgium | France | |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity: | 75.0 % | 64.0 % |
| Nondenominational: | n/a | 24.0 % |
| Islam: | n/a | 8.0 % |
| Jewry: | 0.3 % | 0.7 % |
| Buddhism: | n/a | 0.6 % |
| other: | 24.7 % | 2.7 % |