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Archive for 'Statistics'

Over one in two French babies born out of wedlock

According to the latest figures, nearly 52% of all 819,600 babies born in France in 2007 had unmarried parents.

The total number of births was slightly down on the previous year (830,300) but higher than in the 25 previous years. Ten years ago, only 41% of babies were born out of wedlock.
A growing number […]

Posted: Thu 04-Sep-08 under Society, Statistics

France by Numbers: 63.392 Million

The French national statistics body Insee has just published the official demographic data for 2006. That year ended with a population of 63.392 million, up an unprecedented 300,000 from the previous year, the result of more births and less deaths. The French are the second most populated nation in Europe (after Germany). Nearly one in […]

Posted: Thu 21-Aug-08 under Society, Statistics

The Genetic Map of Europe

Biologists have constructed a genetic map of Europe showing the degree of relatedness between its various populations.

Without surprise, the study shows that the French are very much a cocktail of Northern-Spanish, Southern-German, Swiss, and a drop of Northern-Italian blood. What I never knew was the Austrian influence. And where do the Celts in Normandy and […]

Posted: Sun 17-Aug-08 under Statistics

World Languages: French comes in at 10th place

The French like to claim that their language is one of the world's most spoken, but the numbers don't add up.

According to this map (click for bigger), French barely makes it to the top-10, with 129 million speakers worldwide. Among the European languages, English scores 508 million, Spanish 392 million, Russian 277 million, and […]

Posted: Fri 15-Aug-08 under Language, Statistics

European Pot Smokers Map

On Wikipedia: Adult lifetime cannabis use by country

According to this map, Denmark and France are the European countries with the highest percentage of people who use, or have used, cannabis during their adult lifetime. The French (scoring 30.6%) come second after the Danes (36.5%), but both countries pale in comparison with the world's happiest potsmoking […]

Posted: Mon 11-Aug-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Society, Statistics

France by Numbers: 450,000

Each day, French internet users download 450,000 movies illegally. In the first five months of the year, 62 million illegal film downloads took place, while the number of sold cinema tickets was 90 million. Two out of three downloaded movies are American, one in five is French. Top French downloads are Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis […]

Posted: Wed 06-Aug-08 under Statistics

France by Numbers: 56 Million

Over 56 million French, or 88.1% of the population, own a mobile phone. In the last three months alone 300,000 new customers were registered. Two in three French chose a subscription over prepaid cards. On average, each French mobile phone users sends 48 SMS's per month.
Source (in French)

Posted: Tue 05-Aug-08 under Statistics

France by Numbers: 64,250

In July, the number of detainees in France hit 64,250 people—the highest number since WWII, when jails were crowded with Nazi collaborators. Worse: the prisons are operating at 126 percent of capacity—far higher than the European average—with some French jails housing twice as many inmates as there is room for. Newsweek calls it Incarceration Nation.

Posted: Mon 04-Aug-08 under Society, Statistics

France by Numbers: 42%

The French are feeling the squeeze: 42% of them are not going on holiday this summer. In 2005, the number was still below 30%. One in two blame it on reduced spending power. Hotel reservations are down, and restaurateurs see more tourists sitting on a bench with a sandwich than behind a plate on their […]

Posted: Thu 31-Jul-08 under Country & Travel, Statistics

France by Numbers: 8 Billion

The French can see goodbye to their traditional Christmas oysters this year. Up to 8 billion young oysters, or 80% of the total harvest, have died in just a few days. The probable cause is a virus, but there may be a link with global warming. The disease has hit ostriculteurs on both the Atlantic […]

Posted: Sun 27-Jul-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Statistics

France By Numbers: 18%

In the twelve months since June 2007, fruit in France has gone up 18% in price, and vegetables 11%. Bad weather (frost and rain) has been the main culprit. Peaches and apricots have seen the highest rise: 24% and 54%, resp. Wheat and corn are also up, but the trend is slowing.
Source: Liberation

Posted: Sat 26-Jul-08 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Statistics

Allo, Allo, Je Suis Dans Mon Bain

One in seven French women bathe with their mobile:

A survey (by mBlox) on the secret habits of French mobile phone users found that 14% of French women (compared to just 4% of men) take their mobile phones into the bathroom with them.
The survey also reveals that 18 to 24 year olds are the most […]

Posted: Fri 18-Jul-08 under Society, Statistics

France By Numbers: 7.9 Million

In 2006, 7,9 million French were officially living below the poverty line, having less than 880 euros per month at their disposal. One in three are single parents, mostly mothers. The French poor represent 13.2% of the population, which is below the average European level of 16%. The highest poverty level is found in Lettonia […]

Posted: Fri 18-Jul-08 under Society, Statistics

France by Numbers: 509

Yesterday, the French have beaten a new record: 509 km (316 mi) of combined bouchons on the motorways. The longest individual bouchon was at Orléans: 41 km (25 mi). As usual, everybody in France goes to the same place at the same time, and they all pay the price. Last year's peak was 401 km […]

Posted: Sun 13-Jul-08 under Statistics

France by Numbers: 35 Million

In 2007, the French army fired 35 million bullets, an average of 300 bullets per soldier. 27 Million were live bullets, eight million were blanks. The army proudly claims there were only ten incidents or accidents. An "incident" is a malfunction, an "accident" refers to a situation where somebody gets hurt. Hence, the recent incident […]

Posted: Sun 06-Jul-08 under Statistics

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