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. |
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 references: | Europe | Area: | total: 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km | Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Montana | Land boundaries: | total: 3,621 km border countries: 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: | territorial sea: 12 nm 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: | lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 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: | arable land: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005) | Irrigated land: | 4,850 sq km (2003) | Total renewable water resources: | 188 cu km (2005) | Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%) per capita: 460 cu m/yr (2001) | Natural hazards: | flooding | 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 | Environment - 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 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | Geography - note: | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Population: | 82,329,758 (July 2009 est.) | Age structure: | 0-14 years: 13.7% (male 5,768,366/female 5,470,516) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 27,707,761/female 26,676,759) 65 years and over: 20.3% (male 7,004,805/female 9,701,551) (2009 est.) | Median age: | total: 43.8 years male: 42.6 years female: 45.2 years (2009 est.) | Population growth rate: | -0.053% (2009 est.) | Birth rate: | 8.18 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) | Death rate: | 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) | Net migration rate: | 2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) | Urbanization: | urban population: 74% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0.1% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.) | Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2009 est.) | Infant mortality rate: | total: 3.99 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.) | Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.26 years male: 76.26 years female: 82.42 years (2009 est.) | Total fertility rate: | 1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.) | HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2007 est.) | HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 53,000 (2007 est.) | HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 500 (2007 est.) | Nationality: | noun: German(s) adjective: German | Ethnic groups: | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) | Religions: | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% | Languages: | German | Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) | School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 16 years (2006) | Education expenditures: | 4.6% of GDP (2004) | People - note: | second most populous country in Europe after Russia |
Country name: | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany 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: | 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 | Administrative divisions: | 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, 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, Thuringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thuringen 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 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; West Germany and East Germany unified 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 Germany 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 Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004) 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 Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2009 (next scheduled for 23 May 2014); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held after 27 September 2009 (next to follow the legislative election to be held no later than 2013) election results: Horst KOEHLER reelected president; received 613 votes of the Federal Convention against 503 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL reelected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 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 are required to vote as a block) and the Federal Assembly 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) elections: Bundestag - last held on 27 September 2009 (next to be held no later than autumn 2013); 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 33.8%, SPD 23%, FDP 14.6%, Left 11.9%, Greens 10.7%, other 6%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 239, SPD 146, FDP 93, Left 76, Greens 68 | 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 [Claudia ROTH and Cem OZDEMIR]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Horst SEEHOFER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Sigmar GABRIEL] | Political pressure groups and leaders: | other: business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups | International organization participation: | ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco | Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Philip D. MURPHY embassy: Pariser Platz 2, 10117 Berlin; note - new embassy opened 4 July 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265, Clayallee 170, 14195 Berlin telephone: [49] (030) 2385174 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) 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 |
Economy - overview: | The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - began to contract in the second quarter of 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad took their toll on Germany's export-dependent economy. At just 1% in 2008, GDP growth is expected to be negative in 2009. Recent stimulus and lender relief efforts will make demands on Germany's federal budget and undercut plans to balance its budget by 2011. The reforms launched by the former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHOEDER, deemed necessary due to chronically high unemployment and low average growth, led to strong growth in 2007, while unemployment in 2008 fell below 8%, a new post-reunification low. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax cut Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit in 2007. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy - where unemployment still exceeds 30% in some municipalities - continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. While corporate restructuring and growing capital markets have set strong foundations to help Germany meet the longer-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, Germany's export-oriented economy has proved a disadvantage in the context of weak global demand. | GDP (purchasing power parity): | $2.925 trillion (2008 est.) $2.887 trillion (2007 est.) $2.817 trillion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars | GDP (official exchange rate): | $3.673 trillion (2008 est.) | GDP - real growth rate: | 1.3% (2008 est.) 2.5% (2007 est.) 3.2% (2006 est.) | GDP - per capita (PPP): | $35,500 (2008 est.) $35,000 (2007 est.) $34,200 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars | GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.9% industry: 30.1% services: 69.1% (2008 est.) | Labor force: | 43.6 million (2008 est.) | Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 2.4% industry: 29.7% services: 67.8% (2005) | Unemployment rate: | 7.8% (2008 est.) 9% (2007 est.) note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% | Population below poverty line: | 11% (2001 est.) | Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 22.1% (2000) | Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 27 (2006) 30 (1994) | Investment (gross fixed): | 19.2% of GDP (2008 est.) | Budget: | revenues: $1.591 trillion expenditures: $1.591 trillion (2008 est.) | Public debt: | 66% of GDP (2008 est.) 65.8% of GDP (2004 est.) | Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.7% (2008 est.) 2.3% (2007 est.) | Central bank discount rate: | 3% (31 December 2008) 5% (31 December 2007) note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area | Commercial bank prime lending rate: | 5.97% (31 December 2008) 5.96% (31 December 2007) | Stock of money: | $NA note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi money circulating within their own borders | Stock of quasi money: | $NA | Stock of domestic credit: | $5.019 trillion (31 December 2008) $4.457 trillion (31 December 2007) | Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA (31 December 2008) $2.106 trillion (31 December 2007) $1.638 trillion (31 December 2006) | 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: | 0.1% (2008 est.) | Electricity - production: | 593.4 billion kWh (2007 est.) | Electricity - consumption: | 547.3 billion kWh (2007 est.) | Electricity - exports: | 61.7 billion kWh (2008 est.) | Electricity - imports: | 41.67 billion kWh (2008 est.) | Oil - production: | 150,800 bbl/day (2008 est.) | Oil - consumption: | 2.569 million bbl/day (2008 est.) | Oil - exports: | 582,900 bbl/day (2008 est.) | Oil - imports: | 2.777 million bbl/day (2008 est.) | Oil - proved reserves: | 276 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) | Natural gas - production: | 16.36 billion cu m (2008 est.) | Natural gas - consumption: | 95.79 billion cu m (2008 est.) | Natural gas - exports: | 12.68 billion cu m (2008) | Natural gas - imports: | 91.99 billion cu m (2008 est.) | Natural gas - proved reserves: | 175.6 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) | Current account balance: | $243.6 billion (2008 est.) $263.1 billion (2007 est.) | Exports: | $1.498 trillion (2008 est.) $1.35 trillion (2007 est.) | Exports - commodities: | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | Exports - partners: | France 9.7%, US 7.1%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 6.6%, Italy 6.4%, Austria 5.4%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.4%, Poland 4% (2008) | Imports: | $1.232 trillion (2008 est.) $1.079 trillion (2007 est.) | Imports - commodities: | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | Imports - partners: | Netherlands 12.5%, France 8.3%, Belgium 7.5%, China 6.2%, Italy 5.7%, UK 5.4%, Austria 4.3%, Russia 4.2%, US 4.2% (2008) | Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $138 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $136.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | Debt - external: | $5.158 trillion (31 December 2008) $5.155 trillion (31 December 2007) | Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $1.027 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) $1.002 trillion (31 December 2007 est.) | Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $1.407 trillion (31 December 2008 est.) $1.249 trillion (31 December 2007 est.) | Exchange rates: | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004) |
Telephones - main lines in use: | 51.5 million (2008) | Telephones - mobile cellular: | 107.245 million (2008) | 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: 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 (2001) | Radio broadcast stations: | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) | Television broadcast stations: | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | Internet country code: | .de | Internet hosts: | 23.796 million (2009) | Internet users: | 61.973 million (2008) |
Airports: | 550 (2009) | Airports - with paved runways: | total: 330 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 52 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2009) | Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 220 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 184 (2009) | Heliports: | 25 (2009) | Pipelines: | gas 24,364 km; oil 3,379 km; refined products 3,843 km (2008) | Railways: | total: 41,896 km standard gauge: 41,641 km 1.435-m gauge (20,053 km electrified) narrow gauge: 75 km 1.000-m gauge (75 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (24 km electrified) (2008) | Roadways: | total: 644,480 km paved: 644,480 km (includes 12,400 km of expressways) note: includes local roads (2006) | Waterways: | 7,467 km note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2008) | Merchant marine: | total: 393 by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 43, chemical tanker 13, container 284, liquefied gas 5, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 27, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 11 (China 2, Cyprus 2, Denmark 1, Finland 4, Netherlands 1, Sweden 1) registered in other countries: 2,998 (Antigua and Barbuda 941, Australia 2, Bahamas 44, Bermuda 22, Brazil 6, Bulgaria 63, Burma 1, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 15, Cyprus 189, Denmark 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, Finland 1, France 1, Georgia 2, Gibraltar 129, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 1, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 4, Liberia 849, Luxembourg 5, Malaysia 1, Malta 91, Marshall Islands 235, Mongolia 4, Morocco 2, Netherlands 75, Netherlands Antilles 43, Norway 1, NZ 1, Panama 44, Portugal 20, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, Singapore 24, Slovakia 3, Spain 5, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 5, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 5) (2008) | Ports and terminals: | Bremen, Bremerhaven, Duisburg, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Lubeck, Rostock, Wilhemshaven |
Military branches: | Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Services (Streitkraeftbasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2009) | Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age (conscripts serve a 9-month tour of compulsory military service) (2004) | Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 19,594,118 females age 16-49: 18,543,955 (2008 est.) | Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 15,747,493 females age 16-49: 14,899,416 (2009 est.) | Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | male: 431,508 female: 409,111 (2009 est.) | Military expenditures: | 1.5% of GDP (2005 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; major financial center |
This page was last updated on 31 December 2009 |
