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Introduction | Germany

Background: | As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

Geography | Germany

Location: | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates: | 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: | total: 3,621 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline: | 2,389 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate: | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrain: | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural resources: | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land use: | arable land: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 4,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources: | 188 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%) per capita: 460 cu m/yr (2001)
Natural hazards: | flooding
Environment - current issues: | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea

People | Germany

Population: | 82,369,548 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 5,826,066/female 5,524,568) 15-64 years: 66.2% (male 27,763,917/female 26,739,934) 65 years and over: 20% (male 6,892,743/female 9,622,320) (2008 est.)
Median age: | total: 43.4 years male: 42.2 years female: 44.7 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate: | -0.044% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: | 8.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate: | 10.8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: | 2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.1 years male: 76.11 years female: 82.26 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 43,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 1,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality: | noun: German(s) adjective: German
Ethnic groups: | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Religions: | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages: | German
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
People - note: | second most populous country in Europe after Russia

Government | Germany

Country name: | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Government type: | federal republic
Capital: | name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions: | 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)
Independence: | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
National holiday: | Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Constitution: | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990
Legal system: | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004) head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next scheduled for 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections to be held by autumn 2009) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions
Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block) elections: Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2
Judicial branch: | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Political parties and leaders: | Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Erwin HUBER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
International organization participation: | ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr. embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy is being built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 2375174 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold

Economy | Germany

Economy - overview: | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $2.81 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $3.322 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 2.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $34,200 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.8% industry: 29% services: 70.1% (2007 est.)
Labor force: | 43.51 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 2.8% industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999)
Unemployment rate: | 8.4% note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 11% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 28 (2005)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.3% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 18.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $1.476 trillion expenditures: $1.473 trillion (2007 est.)
Public debt: | 63.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products: | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Industries: | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: | 2.1% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: | 579.4 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 61.8% hydro: 4.2% nuclear: 29.9% other: 4.1% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 545.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: | 61.43 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: | 56.86 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production: | 141,700 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - consumption: | 2.618 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports: | 518,700 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: | 2.953 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: | 367.2 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 19.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 96.84 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 9.42 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 86.99 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 246.5 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: | $185 billion (2007 est.)
Exports: | $1.334 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners: | France 9.6%, US 8.6%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, Austria 5.6%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.7% (2006)
Imports: | $1.089 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners: | Netherlands 11.9%, France 8.6%, Belgium 7.3%, China 6%, UK 5.7%, Italy 5.7%, US 4.7%, Austria 4.3% (2006)
Economic aid - donor: | ODA, $10.44 billion (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $136.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external: | $4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $811 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $1.123 trillion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $1.221 trillion (2005)
Currency (code): | euro (EUR)
Currency code: | EUR
Exchange rates: | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Germany

Telephones - main lines in use: | 54.2 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 84.3 million (2006)
Telephone system: | general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios: | 77.8 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: | 51.4 million (1998)
Internet country code: | .de
Internet hosts: | 16.494 million (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 200 (2001)
Internet users: | 38.6 million (2006)

Transportation | Germany

Airports: | 550 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 331 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 52 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 219 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 181 (2007)
Heliports: | 28 (2007)
Pipelines: | condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)
Railways: | total: 48,215 km standard gauge: 47,962 km 1.435-m gauge (20,278 km electrified) narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)
Roadways: | total: 231,500 km paved: 231,500 km (includes 12,400 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways: | 7,467 km note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2006)
Merchant marine: | total: 382 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,085,484 GRT/14,261,476 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 50, chemical tanker 11, container 269, liquefied gas 5, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 7 (China 2, Finland 4, Ireland 1) registered in other countries: 2,716 (Antigua and Barbuda 891, Australia 2, Bahamas 40, Belgium 1, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 17, Cyprus 197, Denmark 12, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 2, France 1, Georgia 2, Gibraltar 117, Hong Kong 10, Isle of Man 61, Italy 1, Jamaica 1, Liberia 728, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 67, Marshall Islands 214, Morocco 1, Netherlands 70, Netherlands Antilles 48, Norway 2, NZ 1, Panama 38, Portugal 22, Russia 2, Singapore 18, Spain 9, Sri Lanka 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 3, Sweden 4, Turkey 1, UK 71, US 6) (2007)
Ports and terminals: | Bremen, Bremerhaven, Duisburg, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Lubeck, Rostock, Wilhemshaven

Military | Germany

Military branches: | Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age (conscripts serve a 9-month tour of compulsory military service) (2004)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 19,594,118 females age 16-49: 18,543,955 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 15,906,930 females age 16-49: 15,051,183 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | males age 16-49: 442,972 females age 16-49: 420,801 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.5% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues | Germany

Disputes - international: | none
Illicit drugs: | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center

This page was last updated on 19 June, 2008