Polity · 1940 CE – 1944 CE
Free French
La France Libre · France libre
- Peak recorded area
- 2,377,840 km²
- 1942 CE
- Data series
- 51
- 1940 CE–1944 CE
Overview
Free France was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic during World War II. Led by General Charles de Gaulle, Free France was established as a government-in-exile in London in June 1940 after the Fall of France to Nazi Germany.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
5 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1944 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
5 of 7 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 47.2years1944 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Population5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 38.9Mpersons1944 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Urban Population4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 6.5Mpersons1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Height Men | 171.7cm1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Infant Mortality | 78.22per 1000 live births1940 CE · Clio-Infra |
Economy
6 of 13 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 3,8612011 int'l $1944 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP per capita PPP5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 3,678int'l $ (inflation adj.)1944 CE · Gapminder |
| Total Exports4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 570.43million USD (current)1944 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 217.89million USD (current)1944 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 352.54million USD (current)1944 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 788.31million USD (current)1944 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.0182CINC (share of world capability)1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 32.5Mcoal-ton equivalents1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 3.1Mtons1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure4 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 1.2Bcurrent USD1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel3 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 579Kpersons1944 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 212.01TWh1944 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0TWh1944 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.686TWh1944 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.084index (0-1)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.06index (0-1)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.079index (0-1)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity25 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | -3index (-10 to 10)1944 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.487index (0-1)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 0.256index (0-1)1944 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Electricity Production5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 16BGWh1944 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 2,755items1944 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 1,728gross tons1944 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Radios5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 5,117count1944 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm5 obs · 1940 CE–1944 CE | 9,600tonne-km1944 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- French
Memberships
- France–Russia Defense Pact (1944)Military alliance · member1944 CE – 1955 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Free French is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.