from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Germany
Introduction
Background: As Europe's largest economy and second most populous
nation, Germany remains 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
Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North
Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of
Denmark
Geographic 51 00 N, 9 00 E
coordinates:
Map Europe
references:
Area: total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than Montana
comparative:
Land total: 3,621 km
boundaries: 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 territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: 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 lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
extremes: highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel,
resources: uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber,
arable land
Land use: arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 66.27% (2005)
Irrigated 4,850 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural flooding
hazards:
Environment - emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries
current contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from
issues: 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 - party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
international Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air
agreements: 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 - strategic location on North European Plain and along
note: the entrance to the Baltic Sea
People
Population: 82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858)
65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female
9,415,619) (2006 est.)
Median age: total: 42.6 years
male: 41.3 years
female: 43.9 years (2006 est.)
Population -0.02% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 78.8 years
expectancy at male: 75.81 years
birth: female: 81.96 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.1% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 43,000 (2001 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
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.)
Government
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 federal republic
type:
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 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states*
divisions: (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat);
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 Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
holiday:
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 chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July
branch: 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 to be
held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute
majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held
November 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 bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the
branch: Federal Assembly or Bundestag (613 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
representation; members 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: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September
2005 (next to be held September 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: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by
party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%,
Greens 8.1%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP
61, Left 54, Greens 51
Judicial Federal Constitutional Court or
branch: Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected
by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Political Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard
parties and BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela
leaders: MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER,
chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido
WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was
Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY];
Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]
Political business associations, employers' organizations;
pressure expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
groups and
leaders:
International AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group,
organization BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD,
participation: EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI
(observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WADB
(nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH
representation chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
in the US: 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 chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
representation embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin;
from the US: note - a new embassy will be 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) 2385 174
FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main,
Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Flag three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and
description: gold
Economy
Economy - Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy
overview: - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of
the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick
turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable
future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to
1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. 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 $70 billion. Germany's aging population,
combined with high unemployment, has pushed social
security outlays to a level exceeding contributions
from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market
- including strict regulations on laying off workers
and the setting of wages on a national basis - have
made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate
restructuring and growing capital markets are setting
the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the
long-term challenges of European economic integration
and globalization, particularly if labor market
rigidities are further addressed. In the short run,
however, the fall in government revenues and the rise
in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's
3% debt limit.
GDP $2.48 trillion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $2.73 trillion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 0.9% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $30,100 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 0.9%
composition by industry: 29.6%
sector: services: 69.5% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 43.32 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 2.8%
by occupation: industry: 33.4%
services: 63.8% (1999)
Unemployment 11.7% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 3.6%
income or highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 28.3 (2000)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 2% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 17.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 67.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages;
products: 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 2.9% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 558.1 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 61.8%
production by hydro: 4.2%
source: nuclear: 29.9%
other: 4.1% (2001)
Electricity - 510.4 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 54.1 billion kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 45.4 billion kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 158,700 bbl/day (2003)
production:
Oil - 2.677 million bbl/day (2003)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 12,990 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: 2.135 million bbl/day (2003)
Oil - proved 395.8 million bbl (1 January 2004)
reserves:
Natural gas - 22.22 billion cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 93.88 billion cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 7.731 billion cu m (2003)
exports:
Natural gas - 85.02 billion cu m (2003)
imports:
Natural gas - 305.8 billion cu m (1 January 2004)
proved
reserves:
Current $115.5 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $1.016 trillion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and
commodities: manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands
partners: 6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (2005)
Imports: $801 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles,
commodities: metals
Imports - France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK
partners: 6.3%, Italy 5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005)
Reserves of $101.7 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $3.626 trillion (30 June 2005)
external:
Economic aid - ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
donor:
Currency euro (EUR)
(code): note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union
introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by
financial institutions of member countries; on 1
January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for
everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code: EUR
Exchange euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004),
rates: 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 55.046 million (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 79.2 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most
system: 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 AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 77.8 million (1997)
Television 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 51.4 million (1998)
Internet .de
country code:
Internet 11,859,131 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 200 (2001)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 50.616 million (2006)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 554 (2006)
Airports - total: 332
with paved over 3,047 m: 13
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54
1,524 to 2,437 m: 58
914 to 1,523 m: 72
under 914 m: 135 (2006)
Airports - total: 222
with unpaved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 33
under 914 m: 185 (2006)
Heliports: 32 (2006)
Pipelines: condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined
products 3,827 km (2006)
Railways: total: 47,201 km
standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified);
24 km 0.750-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: total: 231,581 km
paved: 231,581 km (including 12,200 km of expressways)
(2005)
Waterways: 7,467 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal
links North Sea and Black Sea (2005)
Merchant total: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/
marine: 13,091,194 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13,
container 273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/
cargo 25, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1)
registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and
Barbuda 858, Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda
21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman
Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13, Dominica 1, French
Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1, Gibraltar
108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2,
Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10,
Malaysia 2, Malta 64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2,
Netherlands 56, Netherlands Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama
35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka
5, Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006)
Ports and Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt,
terminals: Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven
Military
Military Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy
branches: (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force
(Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command
(Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service
(Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)
Military 18 years of age (conscripts serve a nine-month tour of
service age compulsory military service) (2004)
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 18,917,537
available for females age 18-49: 17,913,113 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 15,258,931
for military females age 18-49: 14,443,412 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 497,048
reaching females age 18-49: 470,537 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $35.063 billion (2003)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1.5% (2003)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - none
international:
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