Map of Germany | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: 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.


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Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total area total: 356,910 km²
Land: 349,520 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana
Note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990

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

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, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel

Land use
Arable land: 34%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 16%
Forest and woodland: 30%
Other: 19%

Irrigated land: 4,800 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea


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Population: 81,337,541 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 0.26% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: 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 profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16% (female 6,518,108; male 6,857,577)
15-64 years: 68% (female 27,167,824; male 28,130,083)
65 years and over: 16% (female 8,127,938; male 4,536,011) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.26% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 10.98 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 10.83 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.46 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany
Current issues natural hazards: NA
Current issues international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.62 years
Male: 73.5 years
Female: 79.92 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
Total population: 99%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
Conventional short form: Germany
Local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Local short form: Deutschland

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Berlin
Note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries

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

Dependent areas

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 power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991

National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Roman HERZOG (since 1 July 1994)
Head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982)
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president upon the proposal of the chancellor

Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole)
Federal Assembly Bundestag: last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held by NA 1998); results - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%, Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans 1.9% ; seats - (662 total, but number can vary) CDU 244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; elected by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or 3 direct mandates to gain representation
Federal Council Bundesrat: State governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and are required to vote as a block; current composition:votes - (68 total) SPD-led states 37, CDU-led states 31

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG
In the us chancery: 4,645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-4,000
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 298-4,249
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 Charles E. REDMAN
From the us embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53,170 Bonn
From the us mailing address: Unit 21,701, Bonn; APO AE 9,080
From the us telephone: [49] (228) 3,391
From the us FAX: [49] (228) 339-2,663
From the us 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 symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, progress towards economic integration between eastern and western Germany is clearly visible, yet the eastern region almost certainly will remain dependent on subsidies funded by western Germany until well into the next century. The staggering $390 billion in western German assistance that the eastern states have received since 1990 - 40 times the amount in real terms of US Marshall Fund aid sent to West Germany after World War II - is just beginning to have an impact on the eastern German standard of living, which plummeted after unification. Assistance to the east continues to run at roughly $100 billion annually. Although the growth rate in the east was much greater than in the west in 1993-94, eastern GDP per capita nonetheless remains well below preunification levels; it will take 10-15 years for the eastern states to match western Germany's living standards. The economic recovery in the east is led by the construction industries which account for one-third of industrial output, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Eastern Germany's economy is changing from one anchored on manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy. Western Germany, with three times the per capita output of the eastern states, has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. The strong recovery in 1994 from recession began in the export sector and spread to the investment and consumption sectors in response to falling interest rates. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. It 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 activities, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate
Germany: 2.9% (1994 est.)
Western: 2.3% (1994 est.)
Eastern: 9.2% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products
Western: accounts for about 1% 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
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 food

Industries
Western: among world's largest and technologically advanced 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

Industrial production growth rate
Western Germany: 2.8% (1994)
Eastern Germany: $NA

Labor force: 36.75 million
By occupation industry: 41%
By occupation agriculture: 6%
By occupation other: 53% (1987)

Unemployment rate
Western: 8.2% (December 1994)
Eastern: 13.5% (December 1994)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $690 billion
Expenditures: $780 billion, including capital expenditures of $96.5 billion (1994)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $437 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodoties: manufactures 89.3% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.5%, raw materials 2.7%, fuels 1.3% (1993)
Partners: EC 47.9% (France 11.7%, Netherlands 7.4%, Italy 7.5%, UK 7.7%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%), EFTA 15.5%, US 7.7%, Eastern Europe 5.2%, OPEC 3.0% (1993)

Imports: $362 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodoties: manufactures 75.1%, agricultural products 10.0%, fuels 8.3%, raw materials 5.0% (1993)
Partners: EC 46.4% (France 11.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Italy 8.1%, UK 6.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.7%), EFTA 14.3%, US 7.3%, Japan 6.3%, Eastern Europe 5.1%, OPEC 2.6% (1993)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.5313 (January 1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 493 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 5,683 kWh (1993)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system
Western: 40,300,000 telephones; highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 1 INTELSAT earth station and 1 Intersputnik system
Eastern: 3,970,000 telephones; badly needs modernization

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $40 billion, 1.8% of GNP (1995)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 660
With paved runways over 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 64
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 68
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 53
With paved runways under 914 m: 381
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 62

Airports with paved runways
Over 3047 m: 13
2438 to 3047 m: 64
15-24 to 2437 m: 68
914 to 1523 m: 53
Under 914 m: 381

Airports with unpaved runways
Over 3047 m: 2
2438 to 3047 m: 8
15-24 to 2438 m: 9
914 to 1523 m: 62

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways
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)

Merchant marine
Total: 481 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,065,074 GRT/6,409,198 DWT
Ships by type: barge carrier 6, bulk 8, cargo 224, chemical tanker 16, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 5, container 158, liquefied gas tanker 13, oil tanker 10, passenger 3, railcar carrier 4, refrigerated cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 18, short-sea passenger 5
Note: the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine for West European markets