Germany
Federal Republic of GermanyBundesrepublik Deutschland
federal republicIndependence 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification)
Germany as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 138 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, 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.
Geography
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
20 fieldsLand useshare of 357,021 sq km
Location
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Climate
- temperate and marine;
- cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
- occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Natural resources
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%)
- per capita:
- 460 cu m/yr (2001)
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
People
22 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.06 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 (2008 est.)
Government
Federal republic; President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004); Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Bundestag, 614 seats, elected 18 September 2005seats by party
Percent of vote
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
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-Wuerttemberg, 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, Thueringen (Thuringia);
- note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen 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;
- unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990;
- all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
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
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 2004 (next scheduled for 23 May 2009);
- chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term;
- Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections to be held by autumn 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
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
- elections:
- Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009);
- 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 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%;
- seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2
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 OEZDEMIR];
- 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 [Franz MUENTEFERING]
Political pressure groups and leaders
other: business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
International organization participation
ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council (observer), 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, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, 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 William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
- 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
Economy
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth.
51 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2007 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007.
Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates.
The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions.
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. 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 pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit.
Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll.
Unemployment rate
9% 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% (2007 est.)
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 15 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
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
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone 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)
Transportation
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 48,215 km
- standard gauge:
- 47,962 km 1.435-m gauge (20,278 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)
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 (2006)
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 2, Portugal 18, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, Singapore 24, Slovakia 3, Spain 1, Spain 4, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 5, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 5) (2008)
Military
Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2008)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2008)
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.)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Germany.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/germany/2008.