Germany

Geography

Location: Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Map references: Europe

Area:
total area: 356,910 sq km
land area: 349,520 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990

Land boundaries: total 3,621 km, 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

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel

Land use:
arable land: 34%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 16%
forest and woodland: 30%
other: 19%

Irrigated land: 4,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes

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

People

Population: 81,337,541 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (female 6,518,108; male 6,857,577)
15-64 years: 68% (female 27,167,824; male 28,130,083)
65 years and over: 16% (female 8,127,938; male 4,536,011) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.26% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 10.98 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 10.83 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.5 years
female: 79.92 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German

Ethnic divisions: German 95.1%, Turkish 2.3%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 1.1% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)

Religions: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%

Languages: German

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
total population: 99%

Labor force: 36.75 million
by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)

Government

Names:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
local short form: Deutschland

Digraph: GM

Type: federal republic

Capital: Berlin
note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries

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 power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991

National holiday: German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 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 Roman HERZOG (since 1 July 1994)
head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president upon the proposal of the chancellor

Legislative branch: bicameral chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole)
Federal Assembly (Bundestag): last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held by NA 1998); results - CDU 34.2%, SPD 36.4%, Alliance 90/Greens 7.3%, CSU 7.3%, FDP 6.9%, PDS 4.4%, Republicans 1.9% ; seats - (662 total, but number can vary) CDU 244, SPD 252, Alliance 90/Greens 49, CSU 50, FDP 47, PDS 30; elected by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or 3 direct mandates to gain representation
Federal Council (Bundesrat): State governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and are required to vote as a block; current composition: votes - (68 total) SPD-led states 37, CDU-led states 31

Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL, chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Klaus KINKEL, chairman; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Rudolf SCHARPING, chairman; Alliance '90/Greens, Krista SAGER, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons; Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman; Republikaner, Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman; National Democratic Party (NPD), Guenter DECKERT; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER

Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and veterans groups

Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000
FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
consulate(s): Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and Wellington (America Samoa)

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN
embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn
mailing address: Unit 21701, Bonn; APO AE 09080
telephone: [49] (228) 3391
FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663
branch office: Berlin
consulate(s) general: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow

Economy

Overview: Five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, progress towards economic integration between eastern and western Germany is clearly visible, yet the eastern region almost certainly will remain dependent on subsidies funded by western Germany until well into the next century. The staggering $390 billion in western German assistance that the eastern states have received since 1990 - 40 times the amount in real terms of US Marshall Fund aid sent to West Germany after World War II - is just beginning to have an impact on the eastern German standard of living, which plummeted after unification. Assistance to the east continues to run at roughly $100 billion annually. Although the growth rate in the east was much greater than in the west in 1993-94, eastern GDP per capita nonetheless remains well below preunification levels; it will take 10-15 years for the eastern states to match western Germany's living standards. The economic recovery in the east is led by the construction industries which account for one-third of industrial output, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Eastern Germany's economy is changing from one anchored on manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy. Western Germany, with three times the per capita output of the eastern states, has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. The strong recovery in 1994 from recession began in the export sector and spread to the investment and consumption sectors in response to falling interest rates. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. It is relatively poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral. Western Germany's world-class companies manufacture technologically advanced goods. The region's economy is mature: services and manufacturing account for the dominant share of economic activities, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports.

National product:
Germany: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.3446 trillion (1994 est.)
western: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2363 trillion (1994 est.)
eastern: GDP - purchasing power parity - $108.3 billion (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate:
Germany: 2.9% (1994 est.)
western: 2.3% (1994 est.)
eastern: 9.2% (1994 est.)

National product per capita:
Germany: $16,580 (1994 est.)
western: $19,660 (1994 est.)
eastern: $5,950 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
western: 3% (1994)
eastern: 3.2% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate:
western: 8.2% (December 1994)
eastern: 13.5% (December 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $690 billion
expenditures: $780 billion, including capital expenditures of $96.5 billion (1994)

Exports: $437 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: manufactures 89.3% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.5%, raw materials 2.7%, fuels 1.3% (1993)
partners: EC 47.9% (France 11.7%, Netherlands 7.4%, Italy 7.5%, UK 7.7%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%), EFTA 15.5%, US 7.7%, Eastern Europe 5.2%, OPEC 3.0% (1993)

Imports: $362 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: manufactures 75.1%, agricultural products 10.0%, fuels 8.3%, raw materials 5.0% (1993)
partners: EC 46.4% (France 11.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Italy 8.1%, UK 6.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 5.7%), EFTA 14.3%, US 7.3%, Japan 6.3%, Eastern Europe 5.1%, OPEC 2.6% (1993)

External debt: $NA

Industrial production:
western: growth rate 2.8% (1994)
eastern: growth rate $NA

Electricity:
capacity: 115,430,000 kW
production: 493 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,683 kWh (1993)

Industries:
western: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics; food and beverages
eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining

Agriculture:
western: accounts for about 1% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle, pigs, poultry; net importer of food
eastern: accounts for about 10% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); principal crops - wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net importer of food

Illicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine for West European markets

Economic aid:
western-donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion
eastern-donor: bilateral to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89) $4 billion

Currency: 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige

Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.5313 (January 1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railroads:
total: 43,457 km
standard gauge: 43,190 km (electrified 16,694 km)
narrow gauge: 267 km (1994)

Highways:
total: 636,282 km
paved: 501,282 km (10,955 km of autobahn)
unpaved: 135,000 km (1991)

Inland waterways:
western: 5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea
eastern: 2,319 km (1988)

Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)

Ports: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Lubeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart

Merchant marine:
total: 481 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,065,074 GRT/6,409,198 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 6, bulk 8, cargo 224, chemical tanker 16, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 5, container 158, liquefied gas tanker 13, oil tanker 10, passenger 3, railcar carrier 4, refrigerated cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 18, short-sea passenger 5
note: the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany

Airports:
total: 660
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 13
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 64
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 53
with paved runways under 914 m: 381
with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 62

Communications

Telephone system:
western: 40,300,000 telephones; highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic
local: very modern
intercity: domestic satellite, microwave radio relay, and cable systems
international: 12 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean), 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean), and 1 EUTELSAT earth station; 2 HF radiocommunication centers; tropospheric scatter links
eastern: 3,970,000 telephones; badly needs modernization
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 1 INTELSAT earth station and 1 Intersputnik system

Radio:
western: NA
broadcast stations: AM 80, FM 470, shortwave 0
radios: NA
eastern: NA
broadcast stations: AM 23, FM 17, shortwave 0
radios: 67 million

Television:
broadcast stations: 246 (repeaters 6,000); note - there are 15 Russian repeaters in eastern Germany
televisions: 25 million in western Germany, 6 million in eastern Germany

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Border Police, Coast Guard

Manpower availability: males 15-49 20,274,127; males fit for military service 17,472,940; males reach military age (18) annually 428,082 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $40 billion, 1.8% of GNP (1995)