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.


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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

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

Land boundaries
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
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 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
Permanent crops: 0.56%
Other: 66.19% (2011)

Irrigated land: 5,157 km² (2006)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 154 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: flooding

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


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Population: 81,147,265 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 17
Growth rate: -0.19% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 212
Below poverty line: 15.5% (2010 est.)

Nationality
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
15-24 years: 10.8% (male 4,457,412/female 4,267,366)
25-54 years: 42% (male 17,268,604/female 16,786,146)
55-64 years: 13.3% (male 5,354,690/female 5,469,884)
65 years and over: 20.9% (male 7,360,711/female 9,591,729) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 19.9 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 32.1 %
Potential support ratio: 3.1 (2013)

Median age
Male: 44.7 years
Female: 46.8 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.19% (2013 est.)
Rank: 212

Birth rate: 8.37 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 218

Death rate: 11.17 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 36

Net migration rate: 0.89 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 60

Population distribution

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

Major urban areas
Population: BERLIN (capital) 3.438 million; Hamburg 1.786 million; Munich 1.349 million; Cologne 1.001 million (2009)

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 signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.9

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 210
Male: 3.78 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.17 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 28
Male: 78.04 years
Female: 82.72 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 200

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 66.2%

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 3.69 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 8.3 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 126
People living with hivaids: 67,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 50
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 78

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 25.1% (2008)
Rank: 59

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.1% (2006)
Rank: 129

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 68

Literacy
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

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

Youth unemployment


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Country name
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
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-Wuerttemberg 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 (establishment of the German Empire); 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: previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10 to 23 August 1948 approved 12 May 1949 promulgated 23 May 1949 entered into force 24 May 1949; amended many times last in 2012 (2012)

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
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 Parliament (Bundestag) and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held on 19 February 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Parliament for a four-year term; Federal Parliament vote for Chancellor last held after 22 September 2013 (next to be held September 2017)
Election results: Joachim GAUCK elected president; received 991 votes of the Federal Convention against 126 for Beate KLARSFELD and 3 for Olaf ROSE; Angela MERKEL reelected chancellor; vote by Federal Parliament 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 Parliament or Bundestag (630 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 22 September 2013 (next to be held no later than autumn 2017); most all postwar German governments have been coalitions; 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 41.5% SPD 25.7% Left 8.6% Greens 8.4% FDP 4.8% other 11%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 311 SPD 192 Left 64 Greens 63

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: Federal Court of Justice judges selected by the Judges Election Committee which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federated States and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament; judges appointed by the president of Germany; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Federal Constitutional Court judges - one-half elected by the House of Representatives and one-half by the Senate; judges appointed for 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 68
Subordinate courts: Federal Administrative Court; Federal Finance Court; Federal Labor Court; Federal Social Court; each of the 16 German states or Land has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil criminal family) and specialized (administrative finance labor social) courts

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 2,300 M Street NW Washington DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-4,000
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 298-4,261
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Houston Los Angeles Miami New York San Francisco
From the us embassy: Clayallee 170 14,191 Berlin
From the us mailing address: Unit 5,090 Box 1000 DPO AE9,265
From the us telephone: [49] (30) 48,305-0
From the us FAX: [49] (30) 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: golden eagle

National anthem
Lyrics and music: August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN/Franz Joseph HAYDN

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. 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 6.5% in 2012. GDP contracted 5.1% in 2009 but grew by 4.2% in 2010 and 3.0% in 2011 before dipping to 0.7% in 2012 - a reflection of low investment spending due to crisis-induced uncertainty and the decreased demand for German exports from recession-stricken periphery countries. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's total budget deficit - including federal state and municipal - to 4.1% in 2010 but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduced the deficit to 0.8% in 2011. In 2012 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.1%. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016 though the target was already reached in 2012. By 2014 the federal government wants to balance its budget. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in May 2011 that eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down immediately and the remaining plants would close by 2022. Germany hopes to replace nuclear power with renewable energy. Before the shutdown of the eight reactors Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its electricity generating capacity and 46% of its base-load electricity production.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 6

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 164

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 28

Gross national saving:
Rank: 51

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 19.3%
Investment in fixed capital: 17.7%
Investment in inventories: -0.4%
Exports of goods and services: 51.9%
Imports of goods and services: -45.9%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 30.5%
Services: 68.6%: (2012 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: -0.2% (2012 est.)
Rank: 137

Labor force: 43.92 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 15
By occupation industry: 24.6%
By occupation services: 73.8%
Note: (2011)

Unemployment rate: 6% (2011 est.)
Rank: 54

Youth unemployment

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

Gini index

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

Distribution of family income gini index: 30 (1994)
Rank: 126

Budget
Expenditures: $1.532 trillion (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 0.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 46

Taxes and other revenues: 45.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 24

Public debt: 80.1% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 27

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 42

Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (31 December 2010)
Rank: 115

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 3.94% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 169

Stock of narrow money: $1.777 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 5

Stock of broad money: $4.197 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 5

Stock of domestic credit: $4.188 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 5

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 11

Current account balance: $223.3 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 1

Exports: $1.516 trillion (2011 est.)
Rank: 4
Commodities: motor vehicles machinery chemicals computer and electronic products electrical equipment pharmaceuticals metals transport equipment foodstuffs textiles rubber and plastic products
Partners: France 10.1% UK 7.1% Netherlands 6.9% US 6.3% Austria 5.6% Italy 5.4% China 5.1% Switzerland 4.7% Belgium 4.3% Poland 4.1% (2012)

Imports: $1.295 trillion (2011 est.)
Rank: 4
Commodities: machinery data processing equipment vehicles chemicals oil and gas metals electric equipment pharmaceuticals foodstuffs agricultural products
Partners: Netherlands 14.1% France 7.5% China 6.7% Belgium 6.4% Italy 5.5% UK 4.9% Austria 4.4% Russia 4.4% Czech Republic 4.1% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $238.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 13

Debt external: $5.338 trillion (31 December 2011)
Rank: 4

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $1.222 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 5

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.651 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 3

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 575.6 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 549.1 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 7
Exports: 66.81 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 1
Imports: 46.27 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 2
Installed generating capacity: 153.2 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 7
Generation sources fossil fuels: 55% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 143
Generation sources nuclear: 23% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 6
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 3% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 128
Generation sources other renewable sources: 13% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 17

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 169,500 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 41
Crude oil exports: 14,260 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 56
Crude oil imports: 1.876 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 6
Crude oil proven reserves: 254.2 million bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 55

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 2.198 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 8
Products consumption: 2.4 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 9
Products exports: 376,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 19
Products imports: 758,100 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 9

Natural gas
Production: 12.3 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Production rank: 39
Consumption: 90.07 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 18.17 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 20
Imports: 87.96 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 4
Proven reserves: 125 billion m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 52

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 748.5 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 7

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 50.7 million (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 4
Mobile cellular: 107.7 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 11

Telephone system
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 (2011)

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 including multiple national radio networks regional radio networks and a large number of local radio stations (2008)

Internet
Country code: .de
Hosts: 20.043 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 6
Users: 65.125 million (2009)
Users rank: 5

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 102

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; service obligation 8-23 months or 12 years; women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 (2013)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 539 (2013)
Rank: 13
With paved runways over 3047 m: 14
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 49
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 60
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 70
With paved runways under 914 m: 125 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 35
With unpaved runways: 185 (2013)

Heliports: 23 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 37 km; gas 26,985 km; oil 2,826 km; refined products 4,479 km; water 8 km (2013)

Railways
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) (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 11
Paved: 645,000 km (includes 12,800 km of expressways)

Waterways: 7,467 km (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2012)
Rank: 19

Merchant marine
Rank: 24
By type: barge carrier 2 bulk carrier 6 cargo 51 carrier 1 chemical tanker 15 container 298 liquefied gas 6 passenger 4 passenger/cargo 24 petroleum tanker 10 refrigerated cargo 3 roll on/roll off 6 vehicle carrier 1
Foreign owned: 6 (Finland 3 Netherlands 1 Switzerland 2)
Registered in other countries: 3,420 (Antigua and Barbuda 1094 Australia 2 Bahamas 30 Bermuda 14 Brazil 6 Bulgaria 12 Burma 1 Cayman Islands 3 Cook Islands 1 Curacao 25 Cyprus 192 Denmark 9 Dominica 5 Estonia 1 France 1 Gibraltar 123 Hong Kong 10 Isle of Man 56 Jamaica 10 Liberia 1185 Luxembourg 9 Malta 135 Marshall Islands 248 Morocco 1 Netherlands 86 NZ 2 Panama 24 Papua New Guinea 1 Philippines 2 Portugal 14 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 Singapore 32 Slovakia 3 Spain 4 Sri Lanka 8 Sweden 3 UK 59 US 5 Venezuela 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals
River port: Bremen (Weser); Bremerhaven (Geeste); Duisburg Karlsruhe Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine); Brunsbuttel Hamburg (Elbe); Lubeck (Wakenitz)
Oilgas terminal: Brunsbuttel Canal terminals
Container port: Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,915,487) Hamburg (9,014,165)(2011)


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 5,683 (2012)

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