World Facts Index > Germany > Berlin, Bonn, Cologne, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Flensburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Heidelberg, Kiel, Leipzig, Lubeck, Munich, Nuremberg
 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 of Germany
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Location:
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Central Europe, bordering
the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland,
south of Denmark |
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Coordinates:
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51 00 N, 9 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 357,021 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km |
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Area comparative:
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slightly smaller than
Montana |
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Land boundaries:
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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 |
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Coastline:
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2,389 km |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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temperate and marine; cool,
cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
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Terrain:
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lowlands in north, uplands
in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
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Natural resources:
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iron ore, coal, potash,
timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
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Natural hazards:
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flooding |
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Environment current issues:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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strategic location on North
European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
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More Geography
Population of Germany
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Population:
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82,369,552 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858)
65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) |
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Median age:
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42.6 years |
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Growth rate:
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-0.02% |
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Infant mortality:
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4.12 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.8 years
male: 75.81 years
female: 81.96 years |
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Fertility rate:
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1.39 children born/woman |
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Nationality:
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noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
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Ethnic groups:
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German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1%
(made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
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Religions:
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Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim
3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
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Languages:
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German |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 99%
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Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Federal
Republic of Germany
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
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Government type:
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federal republic |
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Capital:
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Berlin |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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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 |
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National holiday:
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Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
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Constitution:
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23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became
constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
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Legal system:
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civil law system with indigenous concepts;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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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). |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal
Assembly or Bundestag (613 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 representation; members 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: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held
September 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. |
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Judicial branch:
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Federal Constitutional Court or
Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the
Bundesrat) |
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. 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.
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GDP:
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$2.807 trillion (2007 est.) |
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GDP growth rate:
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0.9% |
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GDP per capita:
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$34,100 |
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GDP composition by sector:
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agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.6%
services: 69.5% |
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Inflation rate:
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2% |
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Labor force:
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43.32 million |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services
63.8% |
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Unemployment:
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11.7% |
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Budget:
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revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion |
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Electricity production by source:
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fossil fuel: 61.8%
hydro: 4.2%
other: 4.1%
nuclear: 29.9% |
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Industries:
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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; tourism |
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Agriculture:
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potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets,
fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
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Exports:
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machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and
manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
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Export partners:
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France 10.1%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands
6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% |
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Imports:
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machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs,
textiles, metals |
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Import partners:
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France 8.8%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.5%, UK 6.3%, China
6.2%, Italy 5.8%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4.1% |
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Currency:
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euro (EUR)
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 |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |