Germany

• temperate and marine;
• cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
• occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

• 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

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:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

noun:

German(s)

adjective:

German

definition:

age 15 and over can read and write

total population:

99% (1997 est.)

male:

NA%

female:

NA%

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

• 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat);
• Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen*

• 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 powers formally relinquished rights 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 Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)

head of government:

Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998); Vice Chancellor Joschka FISCHER (since 17 October 1998)

cabinet:

Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor

elections:

• president elected for a five-year 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 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009);
• chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
• election last held 22 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006)

election results:

• Horst KOEHLER elected president;
• received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
• Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor;
• percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7%

• Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER];
• Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL];
• Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman];
• Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman];
• Left Party or PDS/WASG [Oskar LAFONTAINE and Gregor GYSI];
• Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY];
• Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING]

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER

chancery:

4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 298-8140

FAX:

[1] (202) 298-4249

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Daniel R. COATS

embassy:

• Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin;
• note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin;
• ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008

mailing address:

PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265

telephone:

[49] (030) 8305-0

FAX:

[49] (030) 8305-1215

consulate(s) general:

Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

lowest 10%:

3.6%

highest 10%:

25.1% (1997)

• 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

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)

total:

46,142 km (20,100 km electrified)

standard gauge:

45,928 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2004)

total:

230,735 km

paved:

230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways)

unpaved:

0 km (1999)

total:

332 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT

by type:

cargo 69, chemical tanker 13, container 208, liquefied gas 3, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4

foreign-owned:

5 (Finland 2, Netherlands 1, Switzerland 1, UAE 1)

registered in other countries:

2,289 (2005)

• 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