Making Sense Of The World, One Map At A Time
The map above shows some of the minority language sin France in terms of where they are spoken, how many speakers there are and what percentage of the people living in that region are able to speak the language.
However, the map is now somewhat out of data here are the latest figures as of 2022 from Ethnologue.
The map above was taken from a tweet by Ben Southwood on X/Twitter.
It shows a rather stunning fact.
However, over 200 years ago in 1800, it had an estimated population of 29 million people making it possibly the world’s 4th most populous country at that time.
Here’s a list of countries by when they overtook France’s population and when it happened (with current population in brackets):
They were created as a result of a reform aimed at providing better representation for French citizens living abroad.
Here’s a brief overview of their history:
The map above shows where nobody in France lives, based on 1km2 squares. In total, 31.7% of metropolitan France is uninhabited.
Which is actually pretty remarkable considering the number for the United States is 47%, despite the fact that France is almost 4X more densely populated than the United States (123 people per km2 vs 34 people km2)
Note the first paragraph was written when the post was first published in 2015:
As France and the world continue to come to terms with the aftermath of France’s darkest night since World War 2, it’s perhaps worth remembering that France is the only Republic on which the sun never sets.
The true map of France above shows that France is more than just a European country, but one that stretches around the globe. And as the world stands with France in this dark time, it’s important to know that the light of the sun has not abandoned it.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr
If you would like to support victims of the Paris attacks consider donating to the Red Cross and/or to Doctors Without Borders
The map above shows the 3,209 bars which primarily serve alcohol in mainland France. This compares to 34,669 “mixed establishments”, such as restaurants, night clubs, etc. which also sell alcohol across France.
While WW1 ended nearly a century ago, its scars can still be found across Northern France and Belgium. Zone Rouge (French for Red Zone) is perhaps the ultimate example of this.
