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Geography
Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between
the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
Area
- comparative: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic
646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands
577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline:
2,389 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth
of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm foehn wind
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in
south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Freepsum Lake -2 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium,
copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land
Land use: arable land: 34%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 65% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 4,850 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen
Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Government
Country
name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Government type: federal republic
Capital:
Berlin
Administrative divisions: 16 states (Laender, singular - Land);
Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg,
Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein,
Thueringen
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
National holiday: Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Constitution: 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution
of the united German people 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
- chief of
state: President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999)
- 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 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected
by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year
term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held
22 September 2002)
- head of
government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)
- cabinet:
Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the chancellor
- election
results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal
Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor;
percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7%
Legislative branch
- bicameral
Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or
Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 666 for the 1998 term; note
- the number of seats will be reduced to 598 for 2002 elections;
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 representation; members
serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat
(69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes;
each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required
to vote as a block)
- elections:
Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held
22 September 2002); 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: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%,
Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%;
seats by party - SPD 294, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245,
FDP 43, PDS 37; Federal Council - current composition - NA
Judicial branch
- Federal
Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges
are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Alliance
'90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union
or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER,
chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman];
Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gregor GYSI]; Social Democratic
Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman]
Political
pressure groups and leaders: All Poland Trade Union Alliance or
OPZZ (trade union); Roman Catholic Church; Solidarity (trade union)
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia
Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB,
EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional),
WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic
representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISHINGER
consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa)
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
Diplomatic
representation from the US:
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
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265
telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0
FAX: [49] (030) 238-6290
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig,
Munich
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red,
and gold
Economy
Economy
- overview: Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy
turned in a relatively weak performance throughout much of the 1990s.
The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy
continues to be a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers
from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing
population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security
outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural
rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on
laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis
- have made unemployment a chronic problem. Business and income
tax cuts introduced in 2001 did not spare Germany from the impact
of the downturn in international trade, and domestic demand faltered
as unemployment began to rise. The government expects growth to
gain pace in the second half of 2002, but to fall short of 1% for
the year again. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets
are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the
long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization,
particularly if labor market rigidities are addressed.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.174 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,200 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 1%
industry: 28%
services: 71% (2000)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (2001)
Labor force: 41.9 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services
63.8% (1999)
Unemployment rate: 9.4% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001 est.)
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
Industrial production growth rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
537.328 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 63.08%
hydro: 3.65%
other: 3.27% (2000)
nuclear: 30%
Electricity - consumption:
501.716 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports:
42.5 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports:
44.5 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products:
potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs,
poultry
Exports:
$560.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs,
textiles
Exports - partners:
EU 56% (France 11%, UK 8%, Italy 8%, Netherlands 6%, Belgium/Luxembourg
5%), US 10%, Japan 2% (2000)
Imports:
$472.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners:
EU 52% (France 10%, Netherlands 9%, Italy 7%, UK 7%, Belgium/Luxembourg
5%), US 9%, Japan 5% (2000)
Debt - external:
$NA
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Currency:
euro (EUR); deutsche mark (DEM)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced
the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions
of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole
currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code:
EUR; DEM
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854
(2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January
1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
(figures
reproduced from The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
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