Map of Germany | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 (now 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 reunification 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: Europe

Area
Total: 357,022 km²
Land: 348,672 km²
Water: 8,350 km²
Rank: 64
Comparative: three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 3,714 km
Border countries: (9) Austria 801 km; , Belgium 133 km; , Czech Republic 704 km; , Denmark 140 km; , France 418 km; , Luxembourg 128 km; , Netherlands 575 km; , Poland 467 km; , Switzerland 348 km

Coastline: 2,389 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

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
Mean elevation: 263 m
Lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m
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
Agricultural land: 48% (2011 est.)
Forest: 31.8% (2011 est.)
Other: 20.2% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 6,500 km² (2012)

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; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward


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Population
Distribution: most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia: 80,457,737 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 19
Growth rate: -0.17% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 208
Below poverty line: 16.7% (2015 est.)

Nationality
Noun: German(s)
Adjective: German

Ethnic groups:

Languages:

Religions: Roman Catholic 27.7%, Protestant 25.5%, Muslim 5.1%, Orthodox 1.9%, other Christian 1.1%, other .9%, none 37.8% (2018 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.83% (male 5,299,798 /female 5,024,184)
15-24 years: 9.98% (male 4,092,901 /female 3,933,997)
25-54 years: 39.87% (male 16,181,931 /female 15,896,528)
55-64 years: 14.96% (male 5,989,111 /female 6,047,449)
65 years and over: 22.36% (male 7,930,590 /female 10,061,248) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 52.1 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 19.9 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 32.1 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 3.1 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 47.4 years (2018 est.)
Male: 46.2 years
Female: 48.5 years
Rank: 3

Population growth rate: -0.17% (2018 est.)
Rank: 208

Birth rate: 8.6 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 213

Death rate: 11.8 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 19

Net migration rate: 1.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 56

Population distribution: most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia

Urbanization
Urban population: 77.4% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 3.557 million BERLIN (capital), 1.791 million Hamburg, 1.521 million Munich, 1.108 million Cologne (2019)

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 by 2022; 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.4 years (2015 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 3.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.1 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 202

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 80.9 years (2018 est.)
Male: 78.6 years
Female: 83.4 years
Rank: 37

Total fertility rate: 1.46 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 204

Contraceptive prevalence rate:

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 0% of population
Total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure: 11.1% (2016)

Physicians density: 4.21 physicians/1000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 8.3 beds/1000 population (2013)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 0.7% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 1% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 0.8% of population (2015 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2018 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 123
People living with hivaids: 87,000 (2018 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 46
Deaths note: <500 (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.3% (2016)
Rank: 79

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.8% of GDP (2016)
Rank: 72

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 17 years (2016)

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 Reich
Etymology: the Gauls (Celts) of Western Europe may have referred to the newly arriving Germanic tribes who settled in neighboring areas east of the Rhine during the first centuries B.C. as Germani, a term the Romans adopted as Germania; the native designation Deutsch comes from the Old High German diutisc meaning of the people

Government type: federal parliamentary 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: etymology: the origin of the name is unclear but may be related to the old West Slavic (Polabian) word 'berl' or 'birl,' meaning 'swamp'

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), while Bremen calls itself a Free Hanseatic City (Freie Hansestadt) and Hamburg considers itself a Free and Hanseatic City (Freie und Hansestadt)

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: German Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution
History: previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10-23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949
Amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage and enactment into law require two-thirds majority vote by both the Bundesrat (upper house) and the Bundestag (lower house) of Parliament; articles including those on basic human rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2017 (2018)

Legal system: civil law system

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

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a German citizen or a resident alien who has lived in Germany at least 8 years
Dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from government
Residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; age 16 for some state and municipal elections

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017)
Head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
Cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) recommended by the chancellor, appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by a Federal Convention consisting of all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equivalent number of delegates indirectly elected by the state parliaments; president serves a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 February 2017 (next to be held in February 2022); following the most recent Federal Parliament election, the party or coalition with the most representatives usually elects the chancellor (Angela Merkel since 2005) and appointed by the president to serve a renewable 4-year term; Federal Parliament vote for chancellor last held on 14 March 2018 (next to be held after the Bundestag elections in 2021)
Election results: Frank-Walter STEINMEIER elected president; Federal Convention vote count - Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (SPD) 931, Christopher BUTTERWEGGE (The Left) 128, Albrecht GLASER (Alternative for Germany AfD) 42, Alexander HOLD (BVB/FW) 25, Engelbert SONNEBORN (Pirates) 10; Angela MERKEL (CDU) reelected chancellor; Federal Parliament vote - 364 to 315

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges, including the court president, vice presidents, presiding judges, other judges and organized into 25 Senates subdivided into 12 civil panels, 5 criminal panels, and 8 special panels); Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (consists of 2 Senates each subdivided into 3 chambers, each with a chairman and 8 members)
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; 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 federated 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: Alliance '90/Greens [Annalena BAERBOCK and Robert HABECK]Alternative for Germany or AfD [Alexander GAULAND and Joerg MEUTHEN]Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Annegret KRAMP-KARRENBAUER]Christian Social Union or CSU [Markus SOEDER]Free Democratic Party or FDP [Christian LINDNER]The Left or Die Linke [Katja KIPPING and Bernd RIEXINGER]Social Democratic Party or SPD [Andrea NAHLES]

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-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
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: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard GRENELL (since 8 May 2018)
From the us telephone: [49] (30) 8,305-0
From the us embassy: Clayallee 170, 14,191 Berlin
From the us mailing address: Clayallee 170, 14,191 Berlin
From the us FAX: [49] (30) 8,305-1215
From the us consulate: Dusseldorf, 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: eagle; national colors: black, red, yellow

National anthem
Name: Das Lied der Deutschen (Song of the Germans)
Lyricsmusic: August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN/Franz Joseph HAYDN: note: adopted 1922; the anthem, also known as 'Deutschlandlied' (Song of Germany), was originally adopted for its connection to the March 1848 liberal revolution; following appropriation by the Nazis of the first verse, specifically the phrase, 'Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles' (Germany, Germany above all) to promote nationalism, it was banned after 1945; in 1952, its third verse was adopted by West Germany as its national anthem; in 1990, it became the national anthem for the reunited Germany

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. Germany benefits from a highly skilled labor force, but, like its Western European neighbors, faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and a large increase in 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 economic growth 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. The German Government introduced a minimum wage in 2015 that increased to $9.79 (8.84 euros) in January 2017.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 and in 2017 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.7%. 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.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 plans to replace nuclear power largely with renewable energy, which accounted for 29.5% of gross electricity consumption in 2016, up from 9% in 2000. 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.The German economy suffers from low levels of investment, and a government plan to invest 15 billion euros during 2016-18, largely in infrastructure, is intended to spur needed private investment. Domestic consumption, investment, and exports are likely to drive German GDP growth in 2018, and the country’s budget and trade surpluses are likely to remain high.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 5

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 128

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 27

Gross national saving:
Rank: 40

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 53.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 20.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.5% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 47.3% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -39.7% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 30.7% (2017 est.)
Services: 68.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; milk products; 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, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (2017 est.)
Rank: 95

Labor force: 45.9 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 14
By occupation agriculture: 1.4%
By occupation industry: 24.2%
By occupation services: 74.3% (2016)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 46

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 16.7% (2015 est.)

Gini index

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 145

Budget
Revenues: 1.665 trillion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 1.619 trillion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 25

Taxes and other revenues: 45% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 22

Public debt:
Rank: 61

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 92

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 154

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 187

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 4

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 4

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 4

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 6

Current account balance:
Rank: 1

Exports:
Rank: 3
Partners: US 8.8%, France 8.2%, China 6.8%, Netherlands 6.7%, UK 6.6%, Italy 5.1%, Austria 4.9%, Poland 4.7%, Switzerland 4.2% (2017)
Commodities: motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products

Imports:
Rank: 3
Commodities: machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural products
Partners: Netherlands 13.8%, China 7%, France 6.6%, Belgium 5.9%, Italy 5.4%, Poland 5.4%, Czechia 4.8%, US 4.5%, Austria 4.3%, Switzerland 4.2% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 13

Debt external:
Rank: 4

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 5

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 3

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2016)
Production: 612.8 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 7
Consumption: 536.5 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 6
Exports: 78.86 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 1
Imports: 28.34 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 5
Installed generating capacity: 208.5 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 6
Generation sources fossil fuels: 41% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 166
Generation sources nuclear: 5% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 21
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 137
Generation sources other renewable sources: 52% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 4

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 41,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 56
Crude oil exports: 6,569 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 63
Crude oil imports: 1.836 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 6
Crude oil proven reserves: 129.6 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 65

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 2.158 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 9
Products consumption: 2.46 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products consumption rank: 9
Products exports: 494,000 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports rank: 17
Products imports: 883,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports rank: 9

Natural gas
Production: 7.9 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 45
Consumption: 93.36 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 34.61 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 11
Imports: 119.5 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 1
Proven reserves: 39.5 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 64

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 847.6 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 6

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 44.4 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 55 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 4
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 106 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 16

Telephone system
General assessment: one of the worlds 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; universal 3G available infrastructure and LTE networks; penetration in broadband and mobile sectors average for region (2018)
Domestic: 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; 55 per 100 for fixed-line and 132 per 100 for mobile-cellular (2018)
International: country code - 49; landing points for SeaMeWe-3, TAT-14, AC-1, CONTACT-3, Fehmarn Balt, C-Lion1, GC1, GlobalConnect-KPN, and Germany-Denmark 2 & 3 - submarine cables to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia; as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2019)

Broadcast media: a mixture of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; 70 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

Internet
Country code: .de
Users total: 72,365,643
Users percent of population: 89.6% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 8

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 33.217 million
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 41 (2017 est.)
Rank: 4


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 84

Military and security forces: Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), includes air defense), Joint Support Service (Streitkraeftebasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw), Cyber and Information Space Command (Kommando Cyber- und Informationsraum, Kdo CIR) (2019)

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
Number of registered air carriers: 20 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1113 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 115,540,886 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,985,007,915
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: D (2016)

Airports: 539 (2013)
Rank: 13
With paved runways total: 318 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 14 (2017)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 49 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 60 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 70 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 125 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 221 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 35 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 185 (2013)

Heliports: 23 (2013)

Pipelines: 37 km condensate, 26,985 km gas, 2,400 km oil, 4,479 km refined products, 8 km water (2013)

Railways
Total: 33,590 km (2017)
Standard gauge: 33,331 km
Note: 1.000-m gauge (79 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 220 km: 15 km 0.900-m gauge, 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2015)
Rank: 7

Roadways
Total: 625,000 km (2017)
Paved: 625,000 km
Note: (includes 12,996 km of expressways) (2017): note: includes local roads
Rank: 12

Waterways: 7,467 km
Note: (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2012)
Rank: 18

Merchant marine
Total: 629
By type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 107, general cargo 92, oil tanker 36, other 393 (2018)
Rank: 33

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Baltic Sea - Rostock
Oil terminal: Brunsbuttel Canal terminals
Container port: Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,510,000), Hamburg (8,860,000) (2017)
LNG terminal: Hamburg
River port: Bremen (Weser): North Sea - Wilhelmshaven Bremerhaven (Geeste) Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine) Brunsbuttel, Hamburg (Elbe) Lubeck (Wakenitz)


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 532,065 (Syria), 136,463 (Iraq), 126,018 (Afghanistan), 55,334 (Eritrea), 41,150 (Iran), 24,036 (Turkey), 23,581 (Somalia), 9,155 (Serbia and Kosovo), 8,119 (Russia), 7,454 (Pakistan), 6,453 (Nigeria) (2018)
Stateless persons: 14,779 (2018)

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