Germany
Federal Republic of GermanyBundesrepublik Deutschland
federal republic
Germany as the 2013 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 167 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 (after Russia), 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 357,022 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:
- 32.3 cu km/yr (16%/84%/0%)
- per capita:
- 391.4 cu m/yr (2007)
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 and Society
35 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2013 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2013 est.)
Male · female
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years:
- 0.98 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.76 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
Government
Federal republic; President Joachim GAUCK (since 23 March 2012); Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Bundestag, 630 seats, elected 22 September 2013seats 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 (Hesse), 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 (establishment of the German Empire);
- divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 following World War II;
- Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones;
- German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
- West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990;
- all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991;
- notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire);
- 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)
Constitution
- previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution);
- latest drafted 10 to 23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949;
- amended many times, last in 2012 (2012)
International law organization participation
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Joachim GAUCK (since 23 March 2012)
- 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; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)
- elections:
- president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments;
- election last held on 19 February 2012 (next to be held by June 2017);
- chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Parliament for a four-year term;
- Federal Parliament vote for Chancellor last held after 22 September 2013 (next to be held September 2017)
- election results:
- Joachim GAUCK elected president;
- received 991 votes of the Federal Convention against 126 for Beate KLARSFELD and 3 for Olaf ROSE;
- Angela MERKEL reelected chancellor;
- vote by Federal Parliament 323 to 285 with four abstentions
Legislative branch
bicameral legislature consists of the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments sit in the Council; each has three to six votes in proportion to population and is required to vote as a block) and the Federal Parliament or Bundestag (630 seats; members elected by popular vote for a four-year term under a system of personalized proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition)
- elections:
- Bundestag - last held on 22 September 2013 (next to be held no later than autumn 2017);
- most all postwar German governments have been coalitions;
- 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 41.5%, SPD 25.7%, Left 8.6%, Greens 8.4%, FDP 4.8%, other 11%;
- seats by party - CDU/CSU 311, SPD 192, Left 64, Greens 63
Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
- Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges including the court president, vice-presidents, presiding judges, and other judges, and organized into 25 Senates subdivided into 12 civil panels, 5 criminal panels, and 8 special panels; Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (consists of 2 Senates each subdivided into 3 chambers, each with a chairman and 8 members)
- judge selection and term of office:
- Federal Court of Justice judges selected by the Judges Election Committee, which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federated States and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament;
- judges appointed by the president of Germany;
- judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65;
- Federal Constitutional Court judges - one-half elected by the House of Representatives and one-half by the Senate;
- judges appointed for 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 68
- subordinate courts:
- Federal Administrative Court;
- Federal Finance Court;
- Federal Labor Court;
- Federal Social Court;
- each of the 16 German states or Land has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil, criminal, family) and specialized (administrative, finance, labor, social) courts
Political parties and leaders
- Alliance '90/Greens [Cem OEZDEMIR]
- Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]
- Christian Social Union or CSU [Horst SEEHOFER]
- Free Democratic Party or FDP [Philipp ROESLER]
- Left Party or Die Linke [Katia KIPPING and Bernd RIEXINGER]
- Social Democratic Party or SPD [Sigmar GABRIEL]
Political pressure groups and leaders
business associations and employers' organizations; trade unions; religious, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
International organization participation
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Niels Peter Georg AMMON (since 9 August 2011)
- chancery:
- 2300 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 298-4000
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 298-4261
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador John B. EMERSON (since 7 August 2013)
- embassy:
- Clayallee 170, 14191 Berlin
- mailing address:
- Unit 5090, Box 1000, DPO AE09265
- telephone:
- [49] (30) 48305-0
- FAX:
- [49] (30) 8305-1215
- consulate(s) general:
- Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Flag description
- three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold;
- these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field
Economy
41 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2012 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
By end use% of GDP
Economy - overview
The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its Western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth.
Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth in 2006 and 2007 and falling unemployment.
These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II - and its decrease to 6.5% in 2012. GDP contracted 5.1% in 2009 but grew by 4.2% in 2010, and 3.0% in 2011, before dipping to 0.7% in 2012 - a reflection of low investment spending due to crisis-induced uncertainty and the decreased demand for German exports from recession-stricken periphery countries.
Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's total budget deficit - including federal, state, and municipal - to 4.1% in 2010, but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduced the deficit to 0.8% in 2011.
In 2012 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.1%. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016 though the target was already reached in 2012. By 2014, the federal government wants to balance its budget.
Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in May 2011 that eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down immediately and the remaining plants would close by 2022. Germany hopes to replace nuclear power with renewable energy.
Before the shutdown of the eight reactors, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its electricity generating capacity and 46% of its base-load electricity production.
Gross national saving
24.3% of GDP (2012 est.) · 24.4% of GDP (2011 est.) · 23.6% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 51
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
Distribution of family income - Gini index
27 (2006) · 30 (1994) country comparison to the world: 126
Public debt
81% of GDP (2012 est.) · 80.1% of GDP (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 27 note: general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises the sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government and social security funds; the series are presented as a percentage of GDP and in millions of euro; GDP used as a denominator is the gross domestic product at current market prices; data expressed in national currency are converted into euro using end-of-year exchange rates provided by the European Central Bank
Central bank discount rate
1.5% (31 December 2012) · 1.75% (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 115 note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Commercial bank prime lending rate
3.07% (31 December 2012 est.) · 3.94% (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 169
Stock of narrow money
$2.025 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $1.777 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Stock of broad money
$4.281 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $4.197 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Stock of domestic credit
$4.277 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $4.188 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Current account balance
$238.5 billion (2012 est.) · $223.3 billion (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Exports - commodities
motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products
Imports - commodities
machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural products
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$248.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $238.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 13
Debt - external
$5.719 trillion (31 December 2012) · $5.338 trillion (31 December 2011) country comparison to the world: 4
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$1.307 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $1.222 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$1.788 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $1.651 trillion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 3
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.78 (2012 est.) · 0.72 (2011 est.) · 0.76 (2010 est.) · 0.72 (2009 est.) · 0.68 (2008 est.)
Energy
23 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 153.2 million kW(2010 est.)
Electricity - from fossil fuels
55% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 143
Electricity - from nuclear fuels
23% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants
3% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 128
Electricity - from other renewable sources
13% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 17
Crude oil - proved reserves
254.2 million bbl (1 January 2013 es) country comparison to the world: 55
Natural gas - proved reserves
125 billion cu m (1 January 2013 es) country comparison to the world: 52
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy
748.5 million Mt (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 7
Communications
7 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 (2011)
Broadcast media
- a mixture of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations;
- national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately owned national and regional TV stations;
- more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV;
- hundreds of radio stations including multiple national radio networks, regional radio networks, and a large number of local radio stations (2008)
Transportation
10 fieldsMerchant marine, 427 ships by type
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Pipelines
- condensate 37 km;
- gas 26,985 km;
- oil 2,826 km;
- refined products 4,479 km;
- water 8 km (2013)
Railways
- total:
- 41,981 km
country comparison to the world: 6
- standard gauge:
- 41,722 km 1.435-m gauge (20,053 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 220 km 1.000-m gauge (75 km electrified); 39 km 0.750-m gauge (24 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways
- total:
- 645,000 km
country comparison to the world: 11
- paved:
- 645,000 km (includes 12,800 km of expressways)
note: includes local roads (2010)
Waterways
7,467 km (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2012) country comparison to the world: 19
Ports and terminals
- major seaport(s):
- Baltic Sea - Rostock; North Sea - Wilhemshaven
- river port(s):
- Bremen (Weser);
- Bremerhaven (Geeste);
- Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine);
- Brunsbuttel, Hamburg (Elbe);
- Lubeck (Wakenitz)
- oil/gas terminal(s):
- Brunsbuttel Canal terminals
- container port(s):
- Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,915,487), Hamburg (9,014,165)(2011)
Military
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Services (Streitkraeftbasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw) (2013)
Military service age and obligation
- 17-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
- conscription ended 1 July 2011;
- service obligation 8-23 months or 12 years;
- women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 (2013)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 18,529,299
- females age 16-49:
- 17,888,543 (2010 est.)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsRefugees and internally displaced persons
- refugees (country of origin):
- 113,809 (Serbia);
- 90,773 (Turkey);
- 49,829 (Iraq);
- 40,204 (Russia);
- 31,746 (Afghanistan);
- 23,799 (Vietnam);
- 23,460 (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- 21,629 (Iran);
- 20,059 (Ukraine);
- 18,165 (Syria);
- 11,819 (Lebanon);
- 11,672 (Sri Lanka);
- 6,575 (Azerbaijan);
- 6,175 (Macedonia);
- 5,206 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2012)
- stateless persons:
- 5,683 (2012)
Illicit 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 2013. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/germany/2013.