Indicators of economy in France

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in France in 2020 decreased moderatly from 2.729 trillion US dollars to 2.639 trillion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in some sectors of the economy, but a drop of 3.3 percent is still comparatively good this year. Numerous countries suffered more substantial losses. The tourism sector alone slumped by around 49 percent. Fortunately, the unemployment rate actually fell from 8.4 to 8.0 percent. The country's gross debt increased by 13.8 percent. The inflation rate fell from 1.1 percent previously to 0.5 percent by the end of 2020.

In 2021, there was already a recovery and the gross domestic product increased to 2.958 trillion US dollars (=108.4% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in France is 3,680 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 3.8 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in France than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 35.3 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2021

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, France ranked 12th in 2022 with 55.0 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 54 originate from France. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 29: Total (Paris)
Rank 39: BNP Paribas (Paris)
Rank 48: AXA Group (Paris)
Rank 61: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (Paris)
Rank 99: Sanofi (Paris)
Rank 119: EDF (Paris)
Rank 121: Credit Agricole (Montrouge)
Rank 171: ENGIE (La Defense)
Rank 177: VINCI (Nanterre)
Rank 202: L'Oréal (Paris)

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021