Background: As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic political and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country 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 2002 Germany and 11 other EU countries introduced a common European currency the euro.

Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N 9 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 357,021 km²
Water: 7,798 km²
Land: 349,223 km²
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 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: iron ore coal potash timber lignite uranium copper natural gas salt nickel arable land

Land use
Arable land: 33.88%
Permanent crops: 0.65%
Other: 65.47% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 4,850 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding

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

Population: 83,251,851 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 0.26% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: German
Adjective: German

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

Languages: German

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 6,568,699; female 6,227,148)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 28,606,964; female 27,695,539)
65 years and over: 17% (male 5,546,140; female 8,607,361) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.26% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 8.99 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 10.36 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.99 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, 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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.65 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.78 years
Female: 81.09 years (2002 est.)
Male: 74.64 years

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 37,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 600 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99% (1977 est.)
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
Conventional short form: Germany
Local short form: Deutschland
Former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Berlin

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

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: Unity Day 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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)
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 state parliaments; election last held 23 May 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006)
Head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)
Cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
Election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote NA%

Legislative branch
Elections: Federal Assembly - last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006); 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 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA

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

Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE chairman]; the Greens [leader NA]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabriele ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER chairman]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BDEAC BIS CBSS CCC CDB CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE EIB EMU ESA EU FAO G- 5 G- 7 G- 8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU MONUC NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOVIC UNOMIG UPU WADB (nonregional) WEU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-4,249
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-8,140
In the us chancery: 4,645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS
From the us embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10,117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
From the us mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 9,265
From the us telephone: [49] (030) 8,305-0
From the us fax: [49] (030) 238-6,290
From the us consulates general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

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

Economy overview: Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy turned in a relatively weak performance throughout much of the 1990s. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term problem with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population combined with high unemployment has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Business and income tax cuts introduced in 2001 did not spare Germany from the impact of the downturn in international trade and domestic demand faltered as unemployment began to rise. Growth in 2002 again fell short of 1%. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization particularly if labor market rigidities are addressed. In the short run however the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures has brought the deficit close to the EU's 3% debt limit.

Real gdp growth rate: 0.4% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1%
Industry: 31%
Services: 68% (2002 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: -2.1% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 41.9 million (2001)
By occupation industry: 33%
By occupation agriculture: 3%
By occupation services: 64% (1999)

Unemployment rate: 9.8% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4%
Highest 10: 25% (1997)

Distribution of family income gini index: 30 (1994)

Budget
Revenues: $802 billion
Expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.3% (2002 est.)

Exports: $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: machinery vehicles chemicals metals and manufactures foodstuffs textiles
Partners: France 11.1% US 10.6% UK 8.4% Netherlands 6.2% Austria 5.1%; Belgium 4.9% Spain 4.5% Switzerland 4.3% (2001) (2001)

Imports: $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: machinery vehicles chemicals foodstuffs textiles metals
Partners: France 9.4% Netherlands 8.4% US 8.3% UK 6.9% Italy 6.5% Belgium 5.2% Japan 4.1% Austria 3.8% (2001)

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002) 1.1175 (2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999) 1.7597 (1998) 1.7341 (1997)

Electricity
Production: 537.33 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 63%
Production by source hydro: 4%
Production by source other: 3% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 30%
Consumption: 501.72 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 42.5 billion kWh (2000)
Imports: 44.5 billion kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 50.9 million (March 2001)
Mobile cellular: 55.3 million (June 2001)

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: 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)

Internet
Country code: .de
Service providers isps: 200 (2001)
Users: 32.1 million (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $38.8 billion (2002)
Percent of gdp: 1.38% (2002)

Airports: 625 (2001)
With paved runways total: 328
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 54
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 69
With paved runways under 914 m: 131 (2002)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 63
With unpaved runways total: 223
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 189 (2002)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 31
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2

Heliports: 40 (2002)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,240 km (2001)

Railways
Total: 44,000 km (including at least 20,300 km electrified); most routes are double- or multiple-track
Note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the track it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own approximately 3,000 to 4,000 km of track (2001 est.)

Waterways
Note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999)

Merchant marine
Total: 388 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,758,942 GRT/7,132,525 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 132, chemical tanker 10, container 219, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 7
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 1, Finland 5, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3, Switzerland 1 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: none

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