“Par rapport à” is a French prepositional phrase that is widely used. It means three different things: “compared with/in comparison with/against,” “in relation to,” and “with regard to/towards.”

Compared with/against

• il est généreux/petit par rapport à son frère (he is generous compared with his brother)
• le chômage a augmenté par rapport à l’an dernier (unemployed increased compared with last year)
• par rapport au dollar (against the dollar)

In relation to

•  le nombre de voitures par rapport au nombre d’habitants (the number of cars in relation to the number of inhabitants)
• un angle de 40° par rapport à la verticale (an angle of 40º to the vertical)
• un changement par rapport à la position habituelle du parti (a change from the usual party line)

With regard to/towards

• notre position par rapport à ce problème (our position with regard to this problem)
• l’attitude de la population par rapport à l’immigration (people’s attitude towards immigration)