Germany

federal republicIndependence 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification)

Germany as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 144 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBerlin

LocationCentral Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland

Populationas each edition published it

81.09 million July 1994 est. · 62.17m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.36% 1994 est. · 0.4% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 41.3 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 76 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.47 children per woman 1994 est. · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $17,400 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.5% in 1993

Geography

Central Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland

25 fields

Coastline

2,389km

Land boundaries

3,621km

total · 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

Irrigated land

4,800sq km

(1989 est.)

Location

Central Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland

Map references

Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

continental shelf

200-m depth or to depth of exploitation

exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

territorial sea

3 nm in North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of Baltic Sea (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the Helgolander Bucht); 12 nm in remainder of Baltic Sea

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

arable land

34%

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

16%

forest and woodland

30%

other

19%

current issues

emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries in the southeast 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

international agreements

party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Note

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

People

21 fields

Population

81,087,506

(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.36% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth

11.04Death

10.89Net migration

3.39

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%

Labor force

36.75million

Literacy

15and over can read and write

age · (1977 est.)

Infant mortality rate

6.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

76.34 years

male

73.22 years

female

79.64 years (1994 est.)

noun

German(s)

adjective

German

total population

99%

male

NA%

female

NA%

by occupation

industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)

Government

Federal republic

38 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

36.7%

CDU 36.7%SPD 33.5%FDP 11.0%CSU 7.1%Green Party (West Germany) 3.9%PDS 2.4%Republikaner 2.1%Alliance 90/Green Party (East Germany) 1.2%other 2.1%

conventional long form

Federal Republic of Germany

conventional short form

Germany

local long form

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

local short form

Deutschland

note

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

16 states (laender, singular - land); Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringen

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

chief of state

President Dr. Richard von WEIZSACKER (since 1 July 1984);
note - presidential elections were held on 23 May 1994;
Roman HERZOG was the winner and will be inaugurated 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 2 December 1990 (next to be held by 16 October 1994);
results - CDU 36.7%, SPD 33.5%, FDP 11.0%, CSU 7.1%, Green Party (West Germany) 3.9%, PDS 2.4%, Republikaner 2.1%, Alliance 90/Green Party (East Germany) 1.2%, other 2.1%;
seats - (662 total) CDU 268, CSU 51, SPD 239, FDP 79, PDS 17, Greens/Alliance '90 8;
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, Ludger VOLMER, Marianne BIRTHLER, co-chairmen;
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman;
Republikaner, Franz SCHOENHUBER;
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, Australian Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNHCR, UNOMIG, UNOSOM, UNTAC, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador Immo STABREIT

chancery

4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone

(202) 298-4000

FAX

(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)

chief of mission

Ambassador Richard C. HOLBROOKE

embassy

Deichmanns Avenue 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

With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, prospects | seemed bright for a fairly rapid incorporation of East Germany into | the highly successful West German economy.

38 fields

Overview

With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, prospects seemed bright for a fairly rapid incorporation of East Germany into the highly successful West German economy. The Federal Republic, however, continues to experience difficulties in integrating and modernizing eastern Germany, and the tremendous costs of unification pushed western Germany into its deepest recession since World War II. The western German economy shrank by 1.9% in 1993 as the Bundesbank maintained high interest rates to offset the inflationary effects of large government deficits and high wage settlements. Eastern Germany grew by 7.1% in 1993 but this was from a shrunken base. Despite government transfers to the east amounting to nearly $110 billion annually, a self-sustaining economy in the region is still some years away. The bright spots are eastern Germany's construction, transportation, telecommunications, and service sectors, which have experienced strong growth. Western Germany has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. It has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. Western Germany 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 activity, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports. In recent years, manufacturing has accounted for about 31% of GDP, with other sectors contributing lesser amounts. Gross fixed investment in 1993 accounted for about 20.5% of GDP. GDP in the western region is now $19,400 per capita, or 78% of US per capita GDP. Eastern Germany's economy appears to be changing from one anchored on manufacturing into a more service-oriented economy. The German government, however, is intent on maintaining a manufacturing base in the east and is considering a policy for subsidizing industrial cores in the region. Eastern Germany's share of all-German GDP is only 8% and eastern productivity is just 30% that of the west even though eastern wages are at roughly 70% of western levels. The privatization agency for eastern Germany, Treuhand, has privatized more than 90% of the 13,000 firms under its control and will likely wind down operations in 1994. Private investment in the region continues to be lackluster, resulting primarily from the deepening recession in western Germany and excessively high eastern wages. Eastern Germany has one of the world's largest reserves of low-grade lignite coal but little else in the way of mineral resources. The quality of statistics from eastern Germany is improving, yet many gaps remain; the federal government began producing all-German data for select economic statistics at the start of 1992. The most challenging economic problem is promoting eastern Germany's economic reconstruction - specifically, finding the right mix of fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and tax policies that will spur investment in eastern Germany - without destabilizing western Germany's economy or damaging relations with West European partners. The government hopes a "solidarity pact" among labor unions, business, state governments, and the SPD opposition will provide the right mix of wage restraints, investment incentives, and spending cuts to stimulate eastern recovery. Finally, the homogeneity of the German economic culture has been changed by the admission of large numbers of immigrants.

Germany

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.331 trillion (1993)

western

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.218 trillion (1993)

eastern

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $112.7 billion (1993)

Germany

-1.2% (1993)

western

-1.9% (1993)

eastern

7.1% (1993)

Germany

$16,500 (1993)

western

$19,400 (1993)

eastern

$6,300 (1993)

western

4.2% (1993)

eastern

8.9% (1993 est.)

western

8.1% (December 1993)

eastern

15.4% (December 1993)

revenues

$918 billion

expenditures

$972 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Exports

$392 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

manufactures 89.0% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.4%, raw materials 2.2%, fuels 1.3% (1922)

partners

EC 51.3% (France 11.1%, Netherlands 8.3%, Italy 8.2%, UK 7.9%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7.5%), EFTA 13.3%, US 6.8%, Eastern Europe 5.0%, OPEC 3.3% (1993)

Imports

$374.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

manufactures 74.9%, agricultural products 10.3%, fuels 7.4%, raw materials 5.5% (1992)

partners

EC 49.7 (France 11.0%, Netherlands 9.2%, Italy 8.8%, UK 6.6%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.7%), EFTA 12.7%, US 5.9%, Japan 5.2%, Eastern Europe 4.8%, OPEC 2.6% (1993)

External debt

$NA

western

growth rate -7% (1993)

eastern

growth rate $NA

capacity

134,000,000 kW

production

580 billion kWh

consumption per capita

7,160 kWh (1992)

western

among world's largest 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

western

accounts for about 2% 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

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 - 1.7431 (January 1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990), 1.8800 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

19 fields

western

31,443 km total;
27,421 km government owned, 1.435-meter standard gauge (12,491 km double track, 11,501 km electrified);
4,022 km nongovernment owned, including 3,598 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (214 km electrified) and 424 km 1.000-meter gauge (186 km electrified)

eastern

14,025 km total;
13,750 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 275 km 1.000-meter or other narrow gauge;
3,830 (est.) km 1.435-meter standard gauge double-track;
3,475 km overhead electrified (1988)

total

625,600 km (1991 est.);
western - 501,000 km (1990 est.);
eastern - 124,600 km (1988 est.)

paved

543,200 km, including 10,814 km of expressways;
western - 495,900 km, including 8,959 km of expressways;
eastern - 47,300 km, including 1,855 km of expressways

unpaved

82,400 km;
western - 5,000 km earth;
eastern - 77,400 km gravel and earth

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

coastal - Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Cuxhaven, Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Wilhelmshaven, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz;
inland - 31 major on Rhine and Elbe rivers

Merchant marine

485 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,441 GRT/5,835,511 DWT, barge carrier 7, bulk 11, cargo 241, chemical tanker 20, combination bulk 6, combination ore/oil 5, container 132, liquefied gas tanker 16, oil tanker 7, passenger 3, railcar carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 20, short-sea passenger 5

note

the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany

total

590

usable

583

with permanent-surface runways

308

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

western

highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country;
fully adequate in all respects;
40,300,000 telephones;
intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic;
broadcast stations - 80 AM, 470 FM, 225 (6,000 repeaters) TV;
6 submarine coaxial cables;
satellite earth stations - 12 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT antennas, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT antennas, EUTELSAT, and domestic systems;
2 HF radiocommunication centers;
tropospheric links

eastern

badly needs modernization;
3,970,000 telephones;
broadcast stations - 23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV (15 Soviet TV repeaters);
6,181,860 TVs;
6,700,000 radios;
1 satellite earth station operating in INTELSAT and Intersputnik systems

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force

3 fields

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 20,253,482;
fit for military service 17,506,468;
reach military age (18) annually 418,124 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $37.3 billion, 2% of GDP (1993)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Germany.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/germany/1994.

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