France vs Somalia
France and Somalia are almost exactly the same size.
FranceSomaliaFrance moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.01×
France is 1.01× the area of Somalia.
 France |  Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 643,801 km²#42 of 194 | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 10 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationFrance: 3.5× the population | 68,720,337#23 of 194 · 2025 | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityFrance: 3.46× the density | 107 / km²#83 of 194 | 31 / km²#149 of 194 |
| Urban populationFrance: 1.43× the urban share | 79%#49 of 192 · 2025 | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSomalia: 3.73× the births per woman | 1.61 per woman#123 of 192 · 2024 | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSomalia: 3.09 points higher | +0.25%#147 of 192 · 2025 | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSomalia: 4.36× the birth rate | 9.7 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2024 | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSomalia: 1.03× the death rate | 9.4 per 1,000#48 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Somalia: 30.4 points higher | 16.2%#148 of 192 · 2025 | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65France: 19.9 points higher | 22.5%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationFrance: 0.7 per 1,000 higher | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyFrance: 24.0 years longer | 83.0 years#18 of 192 · 2024 | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySomalia: 19.2× the infant mortality | 3.4 per 1,000 births#159 of 191 · 2024 | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 3.28 per 1,000#54 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| University enrolment | 71.5%#43 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexFrance: 0.516 higher | 0.920#25 of 190 · 2023 | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaFrance: 76.0× the income per person | $48,630#23 of 185 · 2025 | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPFrance: 259× the economy | $3.37T2025 | $13B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)France: 38.9× the output per person | $63,975#28 of 184 · 2025 | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSomalia: 2.2 points higher | +0.8%#160 of 187 · 2025 | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +0.9%#144 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentSomalia: 2.52× the unemployment | 7.5%#53 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 31.8#104 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureSomalia: 27.7 points higher | 2.3% of jobs#154 of 178 · 2025 | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryFrance: 1.5 points higher | 19.3% of jobs#85 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesFrance: 26.1 points higher | 78.3% of jobs#20 of 178 · 2025 | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSomalia: 4.6 points higher | 1.8% of GDP#100 of 184 · 2025 | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsFrance: 4.2 points higher | 33.4% of GDP#89 of 168 · 2025 | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingFrance: 1.32× the military spending | 2.0% of GDP#59 of 155 · 2025 | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersFrance: 3.18× the share online | 89%#64 of 184 · 2024 | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsFrance: 2.17× the mobile subscriptions | 117 per 100#91 of 191 · 2023 | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaFrance: 4.22× the forest share | 33% of land#96 of 192 · 2024 | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personFrance: 80× the CO₂ per person | 4.00 t a year#61 of 185 · 2024 | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySomalia: 79.2 points higher | 16.2%#118 of 190 · 2021 | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityFrance: 45.6 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Somalia: 2.26× the air pollution | 8.2 µg/m³#168 of 191 · 2023 | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landFrance: 28.8 points higher | 28.8% of land#40 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landFrance: 29.5 points higher | 31.3% of land#26 of 190 · 2024 | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSomalia: 1.14× the water stress | 21.4%#66 of 176 · 2022 | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationFrance: 3.07× the rain and snow | 867 mm#99 of 180 · 2022 | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityFrance: 2.08 higher | −0.09#110 of 193 · 2025 | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionFrance: 2.93 higher | +1.24#23 of 193 · 2025 | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Member of | EU, NATO, Euro area, Schengen Area, OECD, G7, G20 | — |
| Capital | Paris | Mogadishu |
| Currency | Euro (EUR), CFP Franc (XPF) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
| Official languages | French | Arabic, Somali |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +33 | +252 |
| Region | Western Europe, Europe | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. France sits at about 43° N and is stretched to 1.87× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why France looks so much bigger than it is next to Somalia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is France bigger than Somalia?
- Yes. France and Somalia are almost exactly the same size. France covers 643,801 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Somalia fit into France?
- About 1.0 times: France has 1.01× the area of Somalia.
- Why do France and Somalia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. France is drawn about 1.87× its true area there and Somalia about 1.01×. That is why France looks so much bigger than it really is next to Somalia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, France or Somalia?
- France: 68,720,337 people against 19,654,739. Density: France 107 per km², Somalia 31 per km².
- Which is richer, France or Somalia?
- By gross national income per person, France: $48,630 against $640 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 76.0× as much.
- Where do people live longer, France or Somalia?
- In France: life expectancy at birth is 83.0 years, against 59.0 — 24.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do France and Somalia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — France: semi-presidential republic; Somalia: parliamentary republic.