Statistical information Germany 1993

Germany in the World
top of pageBackground: Germany_first united in 1871_suffered defeats in successive world wars and was occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the beginning of the Cold War and increasing tension between the US and Soviet Union, two German states were formed in 1949:the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The newly democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EU and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War cleared the path for the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German re-unification in 1990. Germany has expended considerable funds; roughly $100 billion a year; in subsequent years working to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards, with mixed results. Unemployment which in the east is nearly double that in the west; has grown over the last several years, primarily as a result of structural problems like an inflexible labor market.
top of pageLocation: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland
Geographic coordinatesMap reference:
Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the WorldAreaTotal: 356,910 km²
Land: 349,520 km²
Land boundaries:
total 3,621 km, 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
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea:3 nm in North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of Baltic
Sea (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the Helgolander Bucht); 12 nm in remainder of Baltic Sea
Maritime claimsClimate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
ElevationNatural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel
Land useArable land: 34%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 16%
Forest and woodland: 30%
Other: 19%
Irrigated land: 4,800 km² (1989 est.) eastern mountains caused by air pollution and acid rain
Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 80,767,591 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 0.4% (1993 est.)
NationalityNoun: German(s)
Adjective: German
Ethnic groups:
German 95.1%, Turkish 2.3%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%,
Poles 0.4%, other 1.1% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)
Languages: German
Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 0.4% (1993 est.)
Birth rate: 11 births/1000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate: 4 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentAir pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 76 years
Male: 73 years
Female: 79 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: age 15 and over can read and write (1977 est.)
Total population: 99%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
Local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Local short form: Deutschland
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Berlin
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, Thuringen
Dependent areasIndependence:
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 power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991
National holiday: German Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Constitution: 23 May 1949, provisional constitution known as Basic Law
Legal system: civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: president, chancellor, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) consists of an upper chamber or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower chamber or Federal Diet (Bundestag)
Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation:
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australian Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS,
CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO,
G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR,
NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNHCR, UNTAC, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representationIn the us chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen RUHFUS
In the us chancery: 4,645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: (202) 298-4,000
In the us consulates general:Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
In the us consulates:Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and
Wellington (America Samoa)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Robert M. KIMMITT
From the us embassy: Deichmanns Avenue, 5,300 Bonn 2, Unit 21,701
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,080
From the us telephone: 49 (228) 3,391
From the us fax: 49 (228) 339-2,663 branch office: Berlin
From the us consulates general: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag description
: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, prospects seemed bright for a fairly rapid incorporation of East Germany into the highly successful West German economy. The Federal Republic, however, continues to experience difficulties in integrating and modernizing eastern as the Bundesbank set high interest rates to offset the inflationary effects of large government deficits and high wage settlements. Eastern Germany grew by 6.8% in 1992 but this was from a shrunken base. Despite government transfers to the east amounting to nearly $110 billion annually, a self-sustaining economy in the region is still some years away. The bright spots are eastern Germany's construction, transportation, telecommunications, and service sectors, which have experienced strong growth. Western Germany has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. It has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. Western Germany is relatively poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral. Western Germany's world-class companies manufacture technologically advanced goods. The region's economy is mature: services and manufacturing account for the dominant share of economic activity, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports. In recent years, manufacturing has accounted for about 31% of GDP, with other sectors contributing lesser amounts. Gross fixed investment in 1992 accounted for about 21.5% of GDP. GDP in the western region is now $20,000 per capita, or 85% of US per capita GDP. Eastern Germany's economy appears to be changing from one anchored on manufacturing into a more service-oriented economy. The German government, however, is intent on maintaining a manufacturing base in the east and is considering a policy for subsidizing industrial cores in the region. Eastern Germany's share of all-German GDP is only 7% and eastern productivity is just 30% that of the west even though eastern wages are at roughly 70% of western levels. The privatization agency for eastern Germany, Treuhand, has privatized more than four-fifths of the almost 12,000 firms under its control and will likely wind down operations in 1994. Private investment in the region continues to be lackluster, resulting primarily from the deepening recession in western Germany and excessively high eastern wages. Eastern Germany has one of the world's largest reserves of low-grade lignite coal but little else in the way of mineral resources. The quality of statistics from eastern Germany is improving, yet many gaps remain; the federal government began producing all-German data for select economic statistics at the start of 1992. The most challenging economic problem is promoting eastern Germany's economic reconstruction - specifically, finding the right mix of fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and tax policies that will spur investment in eastern Germany - without destabilizing western Germany's economy or damaging relations with West European partners. The government hopes a "solidarity pact" among labor unions, business, state governments, and the SPD opposition will provide the right mix of wage restraints, investment incentives, and spending cuts to stimulate eastern recovery. Finally, the homogeneity of the German economic culture has been changed by the admission of large numbers of immigrants. Germany: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.398 trillion (1992) western: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.294 trillion (1992) eastern: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $104 billion (1992) Germany: 1.5% (1992) western: 0.9% (1992) eastern: 8% (1992) Germany: $17,400 (1992) eastern: $6,500 (1992) western: 4% (1992) eastern: NA% western: 7.1% (1992) eastern: 13.5% (December 1992) western (federal, state, local): revenues $684 billion; expenditures $704 billion, including capital expenditures $NA (1990) eastern: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture productsIndustriesIndustrial production growth rateLabor force: 36.75 million
By occupation industry: 41%
By occupation agriculture: 6%
By occupation other: 53% (1987)
Unemployment rateYouth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetTaxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal yearCalendar year western: 31,443 km total; 27,421 km government owned, 1.435-meter standard gauge (12,491 km double track, 11,501 km electrified); 4,022 km nongovernment owned, including 3,598 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (214 km electrified) and 424 km 1.000-meter gauge (186 km electrified) eastern: 14,025 km total; 13,750 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 275 km 1.000-meter or other narrow gauge; 3,830 (est.) km 1.435-meter standard gauge double-track; 3,475 km overhead electrified (1988) western: 466,305 km total; 169,568 km primary, includes 6,435 km autobahn, 32,460 km national highways (Bundesstrassen), 65,425 km state highways (Landesstrassen), 65,248 km county roads (Kreisstrassen); 296,737 km of secondary communal roads (Gemeindestrassen) eastern: 124,604 km total; 47,203 km concrete, asphalt, stone block, of which 1,855 km are autobahn and limited access roads, 11,326 km are trunk roads, and 34,022 km are regional roads; 77,401 km municipal roads (1988) western: 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe;
Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea eastern: 2,319 km (1988)
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $378.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: manufactures 86.6% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 4.9%, raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.3%
Partners:EC 54.3% (France 12.9%, Netherlands 8.3%, Italy 9.3%, UK 7.7%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7.4%), other Western Europe 17.0%, US 6.4%, Eastern Europe 5.6%, OPEC 3.4% (1992)
Imports: $354.5 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: manufactures 68.5%, agricultural products 12.0%, fuels 9.7%, raw materials 7.1%
Partners:EC 52.0 (France 12.0%, Netherlands 9.6%, Italy 9.2%, UK 6.8%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7.0%), other Western Europe 15.2%, US 6.6%, Eastern Europe 5.5%, OPEC 2.4% (1992)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt externalStock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.6158 (January 1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990), 1.8800 (1989), 1.7562 (1988)
top of pageElectricityProduction: 134,000,000 kW capacity; 580,000 million kWh produced, 7,160 kWh per capita (1992) western: among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics; food and beverages eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining western: accounts for about 2% of GDP (including fishing and forestry; diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle, pigs, poultry; net importer of food; fish catch of 202,000 metric tons in 1987 eastern: accounts for about 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry; principal crops - wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net importer of
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp:exchange rate conversion - $42.4 billion, 2.2% of
GDP (1992)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 499
With permanentsurface runways: 271
With runways over 3659 m: 5
With runways 2440-3659 m: 59
With runways 1220-2439 m: 67 western: highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; 40,300,000 telephones; intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic; broadcast stations - 80 AM, 470 FM, 225 (6,000 repeaters) TV; 6 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 12 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT antennas, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT antennas,
EUTELSAT and domestic systems; 2 HF radiocommunication centers; tropospheric links eastern:badly needs modernization; 3,970,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV (15 Soviet TV repeaters); 6,181,860 TVs; 6,700,000 radios; 1 satellite earth station operating in INTELSAT and
Intersputnik systems
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterwaysMerchant marine:
565 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,928,759
GRT/6,292,193 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 3 passenger, 303 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo, 134 container, 28 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 railcar carrier, 7 barge carrier, 9 oil tanker, 21 chemical tanker, 17 liquefied gas tanker, 5 combination ore/oil, 6 combination bulk, 12 bulk; note - the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany; during 1991 the fleet underwent major restructuring as surplus ships were sold off
Ports and terminalsGermany - Transnational issues 1993
top of pageDisputes international: none
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors western: donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion eastern: donor - $4.0 billion extended bilaterally to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89)