Germany

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

• 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;
• hazardous waste disposal

0-14 years:

16% (male 6,652,245; female 6,315,479)

15-64 years:

68% (male 28,649,361; female 27,498,980)

65 years and over:

16% (male 4,772,547; female 8,183,153) (July 1997 est.)

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:

0.58 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

total population:

76.81 years

male:

73.64 years

female:

80.16 years (1997 est.)

noun :

German(s)

adjective:

German

conventional long form:

Federal Republic of Germany

conventional short form:

Germany

local long form :

Bundesrepublik Deutschland

local short form:

Deutschland

• 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

• civil law system with indigenous concepts;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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

elections:

• president elected by the Federal Convention including members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of members elected by the Land Parliaments for a five-year term;
• election last held 23 May 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
• chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
• election last held 16 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1998)

election results:

• Roman HERZOG elected president;
• percent of Federal Convention vote - NA;
• Dr. Helmut KOHL reelected chancellor;
• percent of Federal Assembly - NA

• Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Helmut KOHL, chairman];
• Christian Social Union or CSU [Theo WAIGEL, chairman];
• Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman];
• Social Democratic Party or SPD [Oskar LAFONTAINE, chairman];
• Alliance '90/Greens [Gunda ROESTEL, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons];
• Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY, chairman];
• Republikaner [Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman];
• National Democratic Party or NPD [Ellen-Doris SCHERER];
• Communist Party or DKP [Rolf PRIEMER and Heinz STEHR, cochairpersons]

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG

chancery :

4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 298-4000

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James D. BINDENAGEL

embassy :

Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn

mailing address:

APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn

telephone:

[49] (228) 3391

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

western:

• potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage;
• cattle, pigs, poultry;
• eastern: wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit;
• pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides

total value:

$430.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)

commodities:

manufactures 74.2%, agricultural products 9.9%, fuels 6.4%, raw materials 5.9%, other 3.6% (1995)

partners :

EU 55.5% (France 10.8%, Netherlands 8.6%, Italy 8.4%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%, UK 6.4%, Austria 3.9%), Eastern Europe 8.7%, other West European countries 7.2%, US 6.8%, Japan 5.3%, NICs 5.3%, China 2.4%, OPEC 1.7%, other 7.1% (1995)

• 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 is being rapidly modernized and integrated with that of the western part

domestic:

• the region which was formerly West 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 and includes roaming service to many foreign countries;
• since the reunification of Germany, the telephone system of the eastern region has been upgraded and enjoys many of the advantages of the national system

international:

• satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region);
• 6 submarine cable connections;
• 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers;
• tropospheric scatter links

total:

43,966 km

standard gauge :

• 43,531 km 1.435-m;
• 40,355 km are owned by Deutsche Bahn AG (DB);
• 17,015 km of the DB system are electrified and 16,941 km are double- or more-tracked

narrow gauge:

• 389 km 1.000-m gauge (DB operates 146 km of 1.000-m gauge);
• 7 km 0.900-m gauge;
• 39 km 0.750-m gauge

note : in addition to the DB system there are 54 privately-owned industrial or excursion railways, ranging in route length from 2 km to 632 km, with a total length of 3,465 km (1995)

total:

639,800 km

paved:

504,800 km (including 11,013 km of expressways)

unpaved :

135,000 km all-weather, graveled (1993 est.)

• 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)

• source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors;
• transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin and hashish, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs GHANA