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France's land area: size rank & territory types

Updated on by Georank team

France's land area is 208,090 sq mi, and the total size is 248,573 sq mi, with inland water included. France rankes 42/197 by total surface area.

  • Occupies 0.36% of the land mass of all countries.
  • 52.5% of its territory is agricultural land.
  • France has 0.59% of the world's agricultural land area.
  • 32.5% of its area is covered by forests.
  • Has 0.43% of the world's forests.

France total size and land area

France Rank
Total surface area 248,573
sq mi
42/197
Share all of all countries' surface area 0.13% N/A
Land area 208,090
sq mi
48/197
Share of all countries' land area 0.36% N/A
Population 68,551,653 23/197
Population density 330 ppl/mi² 75/197

France's True Size on the Map

Drag France across the map to see how the Mercator projection distorts its apparent size at different latitudes. Add more countries to compare.

France's area by type

France Rank
Forest area 67,580
sq mi
37/196
Forest area as share of land 32.5% 96/196
World's forests share 0.43% N/A
Agricultural land 109,256
sq mi
41/194
Agricultural land share 52.5% 55/194
Share of global agricultural land 0.59% N/A
Arable land 65,248
sq mi
18/191
Arable land share 31.4% 27/191
Permanent cropland 3,967
sq mi
36/192
Permanent cropland share 1.91% 89/192
Water area 40,483
sq mi
8/197
Water as share of total area 16.3% 5/197
Roads length 654,437
mi
7/176
Land borders length 2,458
mi
53/197
Coastline length 3,016
mi
26/197
Share of marine protected waters 49.8% 4/155

France's size on the map

Data sources: World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2026, retrieved 2026-04-06).

GeoRank.org/size/france | CC BY

The map above outlines the borders of France but is not accurate for size comparison because it's a 2d map with Mercator projection that distorts territories near the poles. The farther a country is from the equator, the more magnified it appears. More about country size projections.

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Data sources:

  1. World Bank | Agriculture & Rural Development (2022–2026, retrieved 2026-04-06)
  2. Wikidata (2026, retrieved 2026-02-08)
  3. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2025, retrieved 2026-02-20)
  4. United Nations | World Population Prospects (2026, retrieved 2026-03-10)

Total agricultural land encompasses all areas used for agriculture: territories under permanent and temporary crops and pastures. It includes land under flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vineyards, but excludes sites utilized for timber production.

Arable land encompasses fields utilized for temporary crop production, pastures, market or kitchen gardens, and temporarily fallowed land. Land abandoned due to shifting cultivation practices is not included.

Permanent cropland refers to farmland for the long-term cultivation of crops, such as coffee, cocoa, and rubber, which do not require replanting after each harvest. This category encompasses land with permanent crops like flowering shrubs, fruit and nut trees, and vines, but does not include land under trees for timber production.

Inland areas under water, such as large rivers, lakes, and some coastal waterways.

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) — you’re free to copy, share, remix, adapt, and use even commercially as long as you give appropriate credit and clearly indicate if you made changes. Other sources may be subject to different license terms.