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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
As Western Europe's richest
and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the
continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European
power struggles immersed the country 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 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 formed a common European
currency, the euro. |
| 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 |
| 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: 3,618 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech
Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km,
Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
temperate and marine; cool,
cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
| Terrain: |
lowlands in north, uplands in
center, Bavarian Alps in south |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
| Natural
resources: |
iron ore, coal, potash,
timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 33%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 20% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
4,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
| 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 currently
attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power;
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-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic location on North
European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
| Population: |
83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994)
15-64 years: 67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698)
65 years and over: 16.61% (male 5,336,664; female
8,456,615) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.27% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.16 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
10.42 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
4 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
77.61 years
male: 74.47 years
female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.38 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
37,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
600 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
| Ethnic
groups: |
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%,
other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek,
Polish, Spanish) |
| Religions: |
Protestant 38%, Roman
Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1977 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% |
| 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 |
| Administrative
divisions: |
16 states (Laender, singular
- Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen,
Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt,
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen |
| 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 German people 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 Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27
October 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers)
appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
elections: president elected for a five-year 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 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected
by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of
2002)
election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent
of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected
chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7% |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral Parliament or
Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats
usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; 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
representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council
or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by
votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to
vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998
(next to be held by the fall of 2002); 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: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by
party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%,
PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245,
FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party -
SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15 |
| 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 [Renate
KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela
MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free
Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang
GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001;
Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic
Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
employers' organizations;
expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
| International
organization participation: |
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA,
NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-8141
FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001)
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265
telephone: [49] (30) 238-5174
FAX: [49] (30) 238-6290
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main,
Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
| Flag
description: |
three equal horizontal bands
of black (top), red, and gold |
| Economy
- overview: |
Germany possesses the world's
third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but
structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs
of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a
cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high
unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding
contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the
eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual
transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth
picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly
passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong
in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are
transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European
economic integration and globalization in general. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$1.936 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$23,400 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
1.2%
industry: 30.4%
services: 68.4% (1999) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
40.5 million (1999 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
industry 33.4%, agriculture
2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
9.9% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $996
billion
expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
| 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: |
4.7% (2000) |
| Electricity
- production: |
531.377 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
63.29%
hydro: 3.59%
nuclear: 30.3%
other: 2.82% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
495.181 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
39.5 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
40.5 billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
potatoes, wheat, barley,
sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Exports: |
$578 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
machinery, vehicles,
chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Exports
- partners: |
EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK
8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%,
Japan 2.0% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$505 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery, vehicles,
chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
| Imports
- partners: |
EU 52.2% (France 10.5%,
Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US
8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999) |
| Economic
aid - donor: |
ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
| Currency: |
deutsche mark (DEM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a
common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in
Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will
replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
| Exchange
rates: |
euros per US dollar - 1.0659
(January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US
dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048
(1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend
1998 |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
15.318 million (April 1999) |
| 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 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 and
includes roaming service to many foreign countries
international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12
Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic
Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian
Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone
communication centers; tropospheric scatter links |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 51, FM 767, 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
Service Providers (ISPs): |
123 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
18 million (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 40,826 km
including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or
multiple-tracked (1998)
note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG)
no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the
DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an
approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks |
| Highways: |
total: 656,140
km
paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
| Waterways: |
7,500 km
note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal
is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999) |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 2,500 km (1998) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen,
Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe,
Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 457 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT
ships by type: cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination
ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker
7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12,
short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
613 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 322
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 55
1,524 to 2,437 m: 67
914 to 1,523 m: 63
under 914 m: 124 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 291
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 53
under 914 m: 225 (2000 est.) |
| Heliports: |
59 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army, Navy (includes Naval
Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 482,318
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$32.8 billion (FY98) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.5% (FY98) |
| 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 |
|
