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:

0.7 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2006 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

former:

German Empire, German Republic, German Reich

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

• 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 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 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 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009)

election results:

• Horst KOEHLER elected president;
• received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
• Angela MERKEL elected chancellor;
• vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions

• Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH 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 (Linkspartei. was Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY];
• Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]

AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.

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) 2385 174

FAX:

[49] (030) 8305-1215

consulate(s) general:

Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

agriculture:

2.8%

industry:

33.4%

services:

63.8% (1999)

lowest 10%:

3.6%

highest 10%:

25.1% (1997)

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:

47,201 km

standard gauge:

46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2005)

total:

231,581 km

paved:

231,581 km (including 12,200 km of expressways) (2005)

males age 18-49:

18,917,537

females age 18-49:

17,913,113 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

15,258,931

females age 18-49:

14,443,412 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

497,048

females age 18-49:

470,537 (2005 est.)

• 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