Transport in France

France is a country of over 60 million inhabitants. It urbanised more recently than Britain and Germany, with the percentage of the population in urban areas increasing from 62 per cent in 1960 to 77 per cent in 2005 and 83 per cent in 2030. Population density is low. France is perhaps the most car dependent country in Europe and is served by an extensive motorway system, mainly built and operated by the private sector through concessions with user tolls. Road safety was poor until 2002, but the fatality rate per population has reduced by 40 per cent since then.

Despite an excellent high speed intercity rail system, and not having a particularly high level of car ownership, France's high dependency on the car is evident by the fact that it accounts for between 82 and 85 per cent of the distance travelled. The national rail system accounts for under 10 per cent of passenger travel and the air system is relatively little used.

The information you see above is just a sample of what we have available in the Transport Statistics Database. Additional information can be accessed by using the Table & Graph Builder. Data about France can be found in the following data sets:

• General & Infrastructure
• Energy & Emissions
• Safety
• Traffic & Travel
• Vehicle Stock

• Union Routiere de France (URF) Faits and Chiffres 2006
• Ministry of Transport, Equipment, Tourism and the Sea - Statistics
• European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP)