Administrative divisions of France
France is divided into 101 first-level administrative divisions:
Largest cities in France
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ParisCapital | 9,904,000 |
| 2 | Lyon | 1,423,000 |
| 3 | Marseille | 1,400,000 |
| 4 | Lille | 1,044,000 |
| 5 | Nice | 927,000 |
| 6 | Toulouse | 847,000 |
| 7 | Bordeaux | 803,000 |
| 8 | Rouen | 532,559 |
| 9 | Strasbourg | 439,972 |
| 10 | Nantes | 438,537 |
Paris is the largest urban area in France with about 9,904,000 people.
Terrain, rivers & lakes
Highest terrain in France: ≈ 4,341 m — read from the global elevation model, so summit heights are approximate. The physical map paints elevation bands from green lowlands to brown highlands.
🌊 Rivers
- Vienne
- Durance
- Tarn
- Marne
- Segre
- Seine
- Rhin
- Rhne
- Rhône
- Mosel
- Dordogne
- Yonne
- Schelde
- Doubs
- Sane
- Maas
- Ariège
- Garonne
- Loire
🏞️ Lakes
- Lake Geneva
Ethnic groups in France
Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian), Indochinese, Basque minorities
Regionally, French is the most common ethnic group across most of the 101 divisions, while Creole predominates in 2 divisions (Guyane française, La Réunion); African descent predominates in 2 divisions (Martinique, Guadeloupe); Comorian predominates in 1 division (Mayotte).
Source: CIA World Factbook · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Religions in France
Roman Catholic 47%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 2%, Buddhist 2%, Orthodox 1%, Jewish 1%, other 1%, none 33%, unspecified 9% (2021 est.)
Regionally, Roman Catholic is the most common religious group across most of the 101 divisions, while Muslim predominates in 1 division (Mayotte).
Source: CIA World Factbook (2021 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Languages in France
French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provençal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard)
Regionally, French is the most common language group across most of the 101 divisions.
Source: CIA World Factbook · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
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RomaniaSources: boundaries, cities, rivers and lakes from Natural Earth (public domain, 1:10m); elevation from the AWS Open Data terrain tiles (SRTM/GMTED); ethnic, religious and language shares from the CIA World Factbook; regional dominance compiled by Glostats from national censuses and surveys. Page generated 2026-10-19. More about our data.