Map of Germany | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other members of the EU formed a common European currency, the euro, and the German government is now looking toward reform of the EU budget and enlargement of the Union into Central Europe.


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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: 51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 356,910 km²
Land: 349,520 km²
Water: 7,390 km²
Note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin, following formal unification on 3 October 1990
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 3,621 km
Border countries: (9) 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
Extremes lowest point: Freepsum Lake -2 m
Extremes highest point: Zugspitze 2,962 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 33%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 15%
Forests and woodland: 31%
Other: 20% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,750 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding

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


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Population: 82,087,361 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: German(s)
Adjective: German

Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 4.6% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)

Languages: German

Religions: Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15% (male 6,495,882; female 6,172,359)
15-64 years: 69% (male 28,687,267; female 27,526,698)
65 years and over: 16% (male 4,990,090; female 8,215,065) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 8.68 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.76 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.12 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 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; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal
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 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Air pollutants

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: 0.61 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 5.14 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.17 years
Male: 74.01 years
Female: 80.5 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (1999 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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99% (1977 est.)
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

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 even after parliament moves in 1999

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 powers formally relinquished rights 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 Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president upon the proposal 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 Land Parliaments; election last held 23 May 1994 (next to be held 23 May 1999); 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: Roman HERZOG elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote_52.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly_52.8%

Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) 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 45, CDU-led states 24

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht, half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat

Political parties and leaders

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, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, 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
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM
From the us embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53,170 Bonn
From the us mailing address: PSC 117, 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; mailing address:Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10,117 Berlin, PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 9,265; telephone:[49] (30) 238-5,174; FAX [49] (30) 238-6,290
From the us consulates general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Germany possesses the world's third most powerful economy, with its capitalist market system tempered by generous welfare benefits. On 1 January 1999, Germany and 10 other European Union countries launched the European Monetary Union (EMU) by permanently fixing their bilateral exchange rates and giving the new European Central Bank control over the zone's monetary policy. Germans expect to have the new European currency, the euro, in pocket by 2002. Domestic demand contributed to a moderate economic upswing in early 1998, although unemployment remains high. Job-creation measures have helped superficially, but structural rigidities_like high wages and costly benefits_make unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Although minimally affected by the Asian crisis in 1998, Germany revised its 1999 forecast downward at the beginning of the year to reflect anticipated effects from the global economic slowdown. Over the long term, Germany faces budgetary problems_lower tax revenues and higher pension outlays_as its population ages. Meanwhile, the German nation continues to wrestle with the integration of eastern Germany, whose adjustment may take decades to complete despite annual transfers from the west of roughly $100 billion a year.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.7% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.1%
Industry: 33.1%
Services: 65.8% (1998)

Agriculture products: western_potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry; eastern_wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; pork, beef, chickens, milk, hides

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: 5% (1998)

Labor force: 38.2 million (1998)
By occupation industry: 33.7%
By occupation agriculture: 2.7%
By occupation services: 63.6% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 10.6% (1998 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $977 billion
Expenditures: $1.024 trillion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1998 est.)

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: $510 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: machinery 31%, vehicles 17%, chemicals 13%, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles (1997)
Partners: EU 55.5% (France 10.7%, UK 8.5%, Italy 7.4%, Netherlands 7.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.8%), US 8.6%, Japan 2.3% (1997 est.)

Imports: $426 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: machinery 22%, vehicles 10%, chemicals 9%, foodstuffs 8%, textiles, metals (1997)
Partners: EU 54.3% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 8.5%, Italy 7.8%, UK 7.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.2%), US 7.7%, Japan 4.9% (1997)

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$1: 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994)
Note: on 1 January 1999, the European Union introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at the rate of 0.8597 euros per US$ and a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 515.058 billion kWh (1996)
By source fossil fuel: 66.23%
By source hydro: 3.5%
By source nuclear: 29.81%
By source other: 0.46% (1996)

Electricity consumption: 509.458 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity exports: 42.5 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity imports: 36.9 billion kWh (1996)

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: 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: the region which was formerly West 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; since the reunification of Germany, the telephone system of the eastern region has been upgraded and enjoys all of the advantages of the national system
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

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $32.8 billion (1998)
Percent of gdp: 1.5% (1998)

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: 618 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 319
With paved runways over 3047 m: 14
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 62
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 68
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 54
With paved runways under 914 m: 121 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 299
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 58
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 227 (1998 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 319
Over 3047 m: 14
2438 to 3047 m: 62
15-24 to 2437 m: 68
914 to 1523 m: 54
Under 914 m: 121 (1998 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 299
Over 3047 m: 2
2438 to 3047 m: 6
15-24 to 2437 m: 6
914 to 1523 m: 58
Under 914 m: 227 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 61 (1998 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,460 km (1997)

Railways: total:46,300 km including 18,866 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1996)
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

Roadways

Waterways: 7,467 km (1997; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea

Merchant marine
Total: 594 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,699,596 GRT/9,629,163 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 227, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 1, container 306, liquefied gas tanker 5, multifunction large-load carrier 5, oil tanker 7, passenger 3, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 14, short-sea passenger 7 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin and hashish, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs