Map of Germany | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia) Germany is 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. In January 2011 Germany assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term.


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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: 357,022 km²
Rank: 63
Land: 348,672 km²
Water: 8,350 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 3,790 km
Border countries: (9) Austria 784 km; Belgium 167 km; Czech Republic 815 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
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Extremes lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
Extremes highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

Natural resources: coal lignite natural gas iron ore copper nickel uranium potash salt construction materials timber arable land

Land use
Arable land: 33.13%
Permanent crops: 0.6%
Other: 66.27% (2005)

Irrigated land: 4,850 km² (2008)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 188 km³ (2005)

Natural hazards: flooding

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


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Population: 81,471,834 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 16
Growth rate: -0.208% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 211
Below poverty line: 15.5% (2010 est.)

Nationality
Noun: German
Adjective: German

Ethnic groups: German 91.5% Turkish 2.4% other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek Italian Polish Russian Serbo-Croatian Spanish)

Languages: German

Religions: Protestant 34% Roman Catholic 34% Muslim 3.7% unaffiliated or other 28.3%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.3%
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 27,227,487/female 26,617,915)
65 years and over: 20.6% (male 7,217,163/female 9,557,634) (2011 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 44.9 years
Male: 43.7 years
Female: 46 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.208% (2011 est.)
Rank: 211

Birth rate: 8.3 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 218

Death rate: 10.92 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 39

Net migration rate: 0.54 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 62

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 74% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas

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 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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.055 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.54 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 208
Male: 3.84 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.21 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.07 years
Rank: 27
Male: 77.82 years
Female: 82.44 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 197

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 3.531 physicians/1000 population (2008)
Rank: 28

Hospital bed density: 8.17 beds/1000 population (2008)
Rank: 7

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 127
People living with hivaids: 67,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 50
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 79

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 12.9% (2003)
Rank: 45

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.1% (2005)
Rank: 119

Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 82

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 16 years (2006)

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
Former: German Empire German Republic German Reich

Government type: federal republic

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 divisions: 16 states (Laender singular - Land); Baden-Wurttemberg Bayern (Bavaria) Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hessen (Hesse) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) Saarland Sachsen (Saxony) Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) Schleswig-Holstein Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern Sachsen and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten singular - Freistaat)

Dependent areas

Independence: 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK US USSR and France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK US and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)

National holiday: Unity Day 3 October (1990)

Constitution: 23 May 1949 known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Christian WULFF
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 Assembly including all members of the Federal Diet and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held on 30 June 2010 (next to be held by June 2015); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Diet for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held after 27 September 2009 (next to follow the legislative election to be held no later than 2013)
Election results: Christian WULFF elected president; received 625 votes of the Federal Assembly against 494 for GAUCK and 121 abstentions; Angela MERKEL reelected chancellor; vote by Federal Diet 323 to 285 with four abstentions

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments sit in the Council; each has three to six votes in proportion to population and is required to vote as a block) and the Federal Diet or Bundestag (622 seats; members elected by popular vote for a four-year term under a system of personalized proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition)
Elections: Bundestag - last held on 27 September 2009 (next to be held no later than autumn 2013); 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: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 33.8% SPD 23% FDP 14.6% Left 11.9% Greens 10.7% other 6%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 239 SPD 146 FDP 93 Left 76 Greens 68

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat); Federal Court of Justice; Federal Administrative Court

Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Cem OZDEMIR]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Horst SEEHOFER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Philipp Roesler]; Left Party or Die Linke [Klaus ERNST and Gesine LOETZSCH]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Sigmar GABRIEL]

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Arctic Council (observer) Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CBSS CDB CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EMU ESA EU FAO FATF G-20 G-5 G-7 G-8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC MIGA NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA Schengen Convention SECI (observer) SICA (observer) UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNMIL UNMISS UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Niels Peter Georg AMMON
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 consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Houston Los Angeles Miami New York San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Philip D. MURPHY
From the us embassy: Pariser Platz 2 14,191 Berlin; note - new embassy opened 4 July 2008
From the us mailing address: PSC 120 Box 1000 APO AE 9,265 Clayallee 170 14,195 Berlin
From the us telephone: [49] (030) 2,385,174
From the us fax: [49] (030) 8,305-1215
From the us consulate general: Duesseldorf Frankfurt am Main Hamburg Leipzig Munich

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top) red and gold; these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field

National symbols: black eagle

National anthem
Name: 'Lied der Deutschen'
Lyricsmusic: August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBE/Franz Joseph HAYDN
Note: adopted 1922 restored 1990; the anthem also known as 'Deutschlandlied' (Song of Germany) was abolished in 1945 because of the Nazi's use of the first verse specifically the phrase 'Deutschland Deutschland uber alles' (Germany Germany above all) to promote nationalism; since restoration in 1990 only the third verse is sung

National heritage


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Economy overview: The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery vehicles chemicals and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its western European neighbors Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy - where unemployment can exceed 20% in some municipalities - continues to be a costly long-term process with annual transfers from west to east amounting in 2008 alone to roughly $12 billion. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005) deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment. These advances as well as a government subsidized reduced working hour scheme help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II - and its decrease to 7.4% in 2010. GDP contracted 4.7% in 2009 but grew by 3.6% in 2010. In its annual projection for 2011 the Federal Government expects the upswing to continue with GDP forecast to grow this year at a real rate of 2.3%. The recovery was attributable primarily to rebounding manufacturing orders and exports - increasingly outside the Euro Zone. Domestic demand however is becoming more significant driver of Germany's economic expansion. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's budget deficit to 3.3% in 2010. The Bundesbank expects the deficit to drop to about 2.5% in 2011 below the EU's 3% limit. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 6
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 110

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 33
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.9%
Industry: 27.8%
Services: 71.3% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: potatoes wheat barley sugar beets fruit cabbages; 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 production growth rate: 10.8% (2010 est.)
Rank: 21

Labor force: 43.49 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 14
By occupation agriculture: 2.4%
By occupation industry: 29.7%
By occupation services: 67.8% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 7.7% (2009 est.)
Rank: 71
Note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Agency estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8%

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 15.5% (2010 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.6%
Highest 10: 24% (2000)

Distribution of family income gini index: 30 (1994)
Rank: 130

Budget
Revenues: $1.427 trillion
Expenditures: $1.535 trillion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -3.3% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 104

Taxes and other revenues: 43% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 32

Public debt: 73.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 16

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.3% (2009 est.)
Rank: 29

Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (31 December 2009)
Rank: 115
Note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 4.96% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 163

Stock of narrow money: $1.729 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 5
Note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders

Stock of broad money: $4.323 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 5

Stock of domestic credit: $5.019 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 5

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 9

Current account balance: $188.6 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 2

Exports: $1.161 trillion (2009 est.)
Rank: 3
Commodities: machinery vehicles chemicals metals and manufactures foodstuffs textiles
Partners: France 10.1% US 6.7% UK 6.6% Netherlands 6.6% Italy 6.3% Austria 5.7% Belgium 5.2% China 4.7% Switzerland 4.5% (2009)

Imports: $972.5 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 4
Commodities: machinery vehicles chemicals foodstuffs textiles metals
Partners: Netherlands 13% France 8.2% Belgium 7.2% China 6.8% Italy 5.6% UK 4.7% Austria 4.4% US 4.2% Switzerland 4.1% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $180.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 12

Debt external: $4.713 trillion (30 June 2010)
Rank: 5

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $999.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 5

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.358 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 4

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 556.4 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 544.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 54.13 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 12.28 billion kWh (2009 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 12.65 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 35
Consumption: 99.5 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 7
Exports: 16.19 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 14
Imports: 99.63 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 2
Proven reserves: 175.6 billion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 48

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 45.6 million (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 3
Mobile cellular: 105 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 9

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 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)

Broadcast media: a mixture of publicly-operated and privately-owned TV and radio stations; national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately-owned national and regional TV stations; more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV; hundreds of radio stations broadcasting including multiple national radio networks regional radio networks and a large number of local radio stations (2008)

Internet
Country code: .de
Hosts: 21.729 million (2010)
Hosts rank: 4
Users: 65.125 million (2009)
Users rank: 5

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 95

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription ended 1 July 2011; 1-2 year service obligation; women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 (2011)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 549 (2010)
Rank: 13
With paved runways total: 330
With paved runways over 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 53
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 59
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 70
With paved runways under 914 m: 135 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 219
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 33
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 184 (2010)

Heliports: 25 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 24,688 km; oil 3,687 km; refined products 4,875 km (2010)

Railways
Total: 41,981 km
Rank: 6
Standard gauge: 41,722 km 1.435-m gauge (20,053 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 220 km 1.000-m gauge (75 km electrified); 39 km 0.750-m gauge (24 km electrified) (2009)

Roadways
Total: 644,480 km
Rank: 11
Paved: 644,480 km (includes 12,800 km of expressways)
Note: includes local roads (2010)

Waterways: 7,467 km (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2010)
Rank: 19

Merchant marine
Total: 421
Rank: 25
By type: barge carrier 2 bulk carrier 7 cargo 44 carrier 1 chemical tanker 15 container 293 liquefied gas 7 passenger 4 passenger/cargo 27 petroleum tanker 10 refrigerated cargo 1 roll on/roll off 9 vehicle carrier 1
Foreign owned: 10 (China 2 Finland 5 Greece 1 Sweden 1 Switzerland 1)
Registered in other countries: 3,287 (Antigua and Barbuda 1050 Australia 2 Bahamas 39 Belize 1 Bermuda 15 Brazil 6 Bulgaria 25 Burma 1 Cayman Islands 6 China 1 Cook Islands 1 Cyprus 189 Denmark 10 Dominica 2 Estonia 1 France 1 Georgia 4 Gibraltar 125 Hong Kong 10 Isle of Man 56 Italy 1 Jamaica 10 Liberia 1049 Luxembourg 9 Malta 127 Marshall Islands 247 Morocco 2 Netherlands 92 former Netherlands Antilles 32 NZ 2 Panama 27 Portugal 13 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 Singapore 30 Slovakia 4 Spain 5 Sri Lanka 5 Sweden 3 Turkey 1 UK 77 US 3 Venezuela 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Bremen Bremerhaven Duisburg Hamburg Karlsruhe Lubeck Neuss-Dusseldorf Rostock Wilhemshaven
Oil terminals: Brunsbuttel Canal 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 and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin Latin American cocaine and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center