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.

Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N 9 00 E

Area
Rank: 63
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Coastline: 2,389 km

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

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

Irrigated land: 4,850 km² (2003)

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

Population: 81,305,856 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 16
Growth rate: -0.2% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 208
Below poverty line: 15.5% (2010 est.)

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%

Population growth rate: -0.2% (2012 est.)
Rank: 208

Birth rate: 8.33 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 218

Death rate: 11.04 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 37

Net migration rate: 0.71 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 59

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

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 209

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 28

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 202

Physicians density: 3.531 physicians/1000 population (2008)

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

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
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: 79

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

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

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

Government type: federal republic

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)

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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 (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)

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 OEZDEMIR]; 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 [Katia KIPPING and Bernd RIEXINGER]; 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 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 UNSC (temporary) UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

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

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 3.7% in 2010 and 3.0% in 2011 before dipping to 0.9% in 2012 - a reflection of the worsening euro-zone financial crisis and the financial burden it places on Germany as well as falling demand for German exports. 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 but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduce the deficit to 1.7% in 2011 and the government estimates it had a balanced budget in 2012. 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. 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: 166

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 26

Agriculture products: potatoes wheat barley sugar beets fruit cabbages; cattle pigs poultry

Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 26

Labor force: 44.01 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 14

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (2011 est.)
Rank: 69

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

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

Budget
Surplus or deficit: 0% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 39

Taxes and other revenues: 44.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 32

Public debt: 80.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 27

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 35

Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (31 December 2010)
Rank: 117

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: 12

Current account balance: $204.3 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 1

Exports: $1.547 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

Imports: $1.333 trillion (2011 est.)
Rank: 4
Commodities: machinery data processing equipment vehicles chemicals oil and gas metals electric equipment pharmaceuticals foodstuffs agricultural products

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $216.5 billion (2010 est.)
Rank: 12

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

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $899.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 6

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.405 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 4

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 558 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 9
Consumption: 549.1 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 57.92 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 3
Imports: 42.96 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 5
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: 146
Generation sources nuclear: 23% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 7
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 3% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 130
Generation sources other renewable sources: 13% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 16

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 165,300 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 41
Crude oil exports: 2,200 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 63
Crude oil imports: 1.961 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 7
Crude oil proven reserves: 276 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 57

Refined petroleum
Products production: 2.348 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products production rank: 9
Products consumption: 2.4 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 10
Products exports: 467,900 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products exports rank: 16
Products imports: 696,400 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products imports rank: 10

Natural gas
Production: 11.9 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 40
Consumption: 78.99 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 11
Exports: 19.74 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 16
Imports: 87.57 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 5
Proven reserves: 175.6 billion m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 48

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 793.7 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 7

Telephones
Main lines in use: 51.8 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 4
Mobile cellular: 108.7 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 10

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

Military expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 97

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 (2004)

Airports: 541 (2012)
Rank: 13

Heliports: 22 (2012)

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

Railways
Rank: 6

Roadways
Rank: 11

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

Ports and terminals: Bremen Bremerhaven Duisburg Hamburg Karlsruhe Lubeck Neuss-Dusseldorf Rostock Wilhemshaven

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; major financial center