How many varieties of cheese are there in France?

Food hard Data from 2023

Guess before you scroll — the answer is below

Answer in cheeses. Shorthand like 9m or 1.2bn works.

The answer

1,200 cheeses

Roughly 1.2K.

France produces around 1,200 distinct cheeses, though only about 45 hold protected designation of origin status. De Gaulle’s famous line about governing a country with 246 cheeses was, if anything, an undercount.

Where this number comes from

Source Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL)
Figure refers to 2023
Last checked
Unit cheeses

Numbers move. If this one has drifted from its source, let us know.

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