Economy
France has the world's fifth largest economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by PPP figures. It has the second largest economy in Europe (behind its main economic partner Germany) in nominal figures.OECDs headquartered in Paris, France.
France's economy entered the recession of the late 2000s later and left it earlier than most comparable economies, only enduring four-quarters of contraction. Between January and March 2011, France's GDP growth had been stronger than expected at 0.9%, one of the best figures in Europe but shrunk between April and June 2011 decreasing by −0.1%. In 2011, the GDP surprisingly grew at 1.85%, below Germany at 2.9% but more than the UK that grew by 0.6%.
France has long been part of the world's and most developed national economies.
After the turn of the century, wealth per adult grew very strongly in France, tripling in value between 2000 and 2007. It then fell back by 15% and has not yet regained its 2007 value. Much of the earlier rise can be attributed to appreciation of the euro against the dollar, a factor which affected all Eurozone countries. However France also experienced a rapid rise in house prices as a result of which real property now accounts for two-thirds of household assets. Personal debts are 12% of household assets, which is a relatively low ratio in developed economies.