1982 Edition

Area

108,262 km2; 43% arable, 15% meadows and pasture, 27% forested, 15% other

248,640 km2 (including West Berlin); 33% cultivated, 23% meadows and pastures, 13% waste or urban, 29% forested, 2% inland water

Coastline

901 km (including islands)

1,488 km (approx.)

Land boundaries

2,309 km WATER

4,232 km WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

3 nm

3 nm (fishing 200 nm)

Ethnic divisions

99.7% German, 0.3% Slavic and other

99% Germanic, 1% other

Labor force

8.7 million; 38.0% industry; 3.2% handicrafts; 7.1% construction; 8.6% agriculture; 7.4% transport and communications; 10.3% commerce; 20.1% services; 3.2% other Organized labor: 87.7% of total labor force

27.199 million (1979); 36.4% in manufacturing, 6.6% construction, 37.4% services, 9.7% government, 5.6% agriculture, 0.5% other; 3.8% unemployed July 1980

Language

German, small Sorb (West Slavic) minority

German

Literacy

99%

99%

Nationality

noun—German(s); adjective—German

noun—German(s); adjective—German

Organized labor

33.7% of total labor force; 40.1% of wage and salary earners

Population

16,738,000, including East Berlin (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.0%

61,697,000, including West Berlin (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.0%

Religion

53% Protestant, 8% Roman Catholic, 39% unaffiliated or other; less than 5% of Protestants and about 25% of Roman Catholics actively participate

48.9% Protestant, 44.7% Roman Catholic, 6.4% other (as of 1975)

Branches

legislative—Volkskammer (elected directly); executive—Chairman of Council of State, Chairman of Council of Ministers, Cabinet (approved by Volkskammer); judiciary—Supreme Court; entire structure dominated by Socialist Unity (Communist) Party

Capital

East Berlin (not officially recognized by US, UK, and France, which together with the USSR have special rights and responsibilities in Berlin)

Bonn

Communists

2.1 million party members

about 40,000 members and supporters

Elections

national every five years; prepared by an electoral commission of the National Front; ballot supposed to be secret and voters permitted to strike names off ballot; more candidates than offices available; parliamentary elections held 14 June 1981, and local elections held 20 May 1979 Political parties and leaders: Socialist Unity (Communist) Party (SED), headed by General Secretary Erich Honecker, dominates the regime; four token parties (Christian Democratic Union, National Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party, and Democratic Peasant's Party) and an amalgam of special interest organizations participate with the SED in National Front

next national election scheduled for fall of 1984 Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Helmut Kohl, Franz Josef Strauss, Gerhard Stoltenberg, Ernst Albrecht, Richard von Weizsäcker; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Willy Brandt, Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski, Herbert Wehner, Helmut Schmidt; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Otto Graf Lambsdorff, Wolfgang Mischnick; National Democratic Party (NPD), Martin Mussgnug; Communist Party (DKP), Herbert Mies Voting strength (1980 election): 42.9% SPD, 44.5% CDU/CSU, 10.6% FDP, 2.0% splinter groups of left and right (no parliamentary representation)

Government leaders

Chairman, Council of State, Erich HONECKER (Head of State); Chairman, Council of Ministers, Willi STOPH (Premier)

President Karl CARSTENS, elected 23 May 1979 for a five-year term, took office 1 July 1979; Chancellor Helmut SCHMIDT leads coalition of Social Democrats and Free Democrats

Legal system

civil law system modified by Communist legal theory; new constitution adopted 1974; court system parallels administrative divisions; no judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at Universities of Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, and Jena; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; more stringent penal code adopted 1968, amended in 1974 and 1979

civil law system with indigenous concepts; constitution adopted 1949; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Branches: bicameral parliament—Bundesrat (upper house), Bundestag (lower house); President (titular head of state), Chancellor (executive head of government); independent judiciary

Member of

CEMA, IAEA, ICES, ILO, IMCO, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

ADB, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECSC, EIB, ELDO, EMA, ESRO, EURATOM, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

National holiday

Foundation of German Democratic Republic, 7 October

Official name

German Democratic Republic

Federal Republic of Germany

Other political or pressure groups

expellee, refugee, and veterans groups

Other special interest groups

Free German Youth, Free German Trade Union Federation, Democratic Women's Federation of Germany, German Cultural Federation (all Communist dominated)

Political subdivisions

(excluding East Berlin) 14 districts (Bezirke), 218 counties (Kreise), 7,600 communities (Gemeinden)

10 Laender (states); Western sectors of Berlin are ultimately controlled by US, UK, and France which, together with the USSR, have special rights and responsibilities in Berlin

Suffrage

all citizens age 18 and over

universal over age 18

Type

Communist state

federal republic

Voting strength

1981 parliamentary elections and 1979 local elections; over 99% voted the regime slate

Agriculture

food deficit area; main crops—potatoes, rye, wheat, barley, oats, industrial crops; shortages in grain, vegetables, vegetable oil, beef; caloric intake, 3,000 calories per day per capita (1971)

main crops—grains, potatoes, sugar beets; 75% self-sufficient; food shortages—fats and oils, pulses, tropical products; caloric intake, 2,980 calories per day per capita (1975-76)

Aid

donor—(1970-79) bilateral economic aid commitments (ODA and OOF), $21 billion

Budget

(1980) expenditures $118.7 billion, revenues $103.5 billion, deficit $15.2 billion

Crude steel

50 to 60 million metric tons capacity; 43.8 million metric tons produced (1980), 710 kg per capita

Electric power

20,965,000 kW capacity (1981); 101.8 billion kWh produced (1981), 6,080 kWh per capita

89,000,000 kW capacity (1980); 368.731 million kWh produced (1980), 6,010 kWh per capita

Exports

$17.3 billion, est. (f.o.b., 1979)

$193 billion (f.o.b., 1980); manufactures 90.0% (machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.3%, fuels 3.4%, raw materials 1.3%

Fiscal year

same as calendar year; economic data reported for calendar years except for caloric intake, which is reported for the consumption year 1 July-30 June

calendar year

Fish catch

244,237 metric tons (1980)

Fishing

catch 287,000 metric tons, $167 million (1980); exports $256 million, imports $802 million (1980)

GNP

$135.4 billion (1980, 1980 dollars), $8,089 per capita; 1980 growth rate 2.6%

$821 billion (1980), $3,330 per capita (1980); 55% private consumption, 22% investment, 20% government consumption; net foreign balance 0%, inventory change 1% (distribution based on current price series)

Imports

$19.2 billion, est. (f.o.b., 1979)

$188 billion (c.i.f., 1980); manufactures 61.2%, fuels 21.9%, agricultural products 12.9%, raw materials 4.0%

Major industries

metal fabrication, chemicals, light industry, brown coal, and shipbuilding

among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, ships, vehicles, machine tools

Major trade partners

$36,500 million (1979); 68% Communist countries, 32% non-Communist countries

(1980) EC 47.1% (France 12.0%, Netherlands 10.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7.5%, Italy 8.2%, UK 6.6%); other Europe 18.4%; OPEC 8.7%; Communist 5.9%; US 6.8%

Monetary conversion rate

3.11 DME=US$1 for trade data (1980 rate)

DM 1.82 (West German marks)=US$1 (1980 average)

Shortages

coking coal, coke, crude oil, rolled steel products, nonferrous metals Crude steel: 7.308 million metric tons produced (1980), approx. 436 kg per capita

fats and oils, sugar, cotton, wool, rubber, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, nonferrous metals, sulfur

Airfields

466 total, 432 usable; 221 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways over 3,659 m, 32 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 41 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

208 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in and 2 leased out

Freight carried

rail—302.5 million metric tons, 54.4 billion metric ton/km (1979); highway—730.2 million metric tons, 21.6 billion metric ton/km (1979); waterway—14.8 million metric tons, 1.9 billion metric ton/km (excluding international transit traffic) (1979)

Highways

117,500 km total; 47,500 km concrete, asphalt, stone block, of which 1,744 km are autobahn and limited access roads; over 70,000 km asphalt treated, gravel, crushed stone, and earth (1979)

479,600 km total; 171,600 km classified, includes 153,160 km cement-concrete, bituminous, or stone block (includes 7,400 km of autobahnen); 8,240 km gravel, crushed stone, improved earth; in addition, 308,000 km of unclassified roads of various surface types (community roads)

Inland waterways

2,302 km (1979)

5,222 km of which almost 70% usable by craft of 990 metric ton capacity or larger

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,200 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas 650 km

crude oil, 2,071 km; refined products, 3,240 km; natural gas, 95,414 km

Ports

4 major (Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz), 13 minor; principal inland waterway ports are E. Berlin, Riesa, Magdeburg, and Eisenhuttenstadt (1979)

10 major, 11 minor

Railroads

14,164 km total; 13,874 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 290 km meter (1.00 m) or other narrow gauge, 3,360 km double track standard gauge (1.435 m); 1,621 km overhead electrified (1979)

32,555 km total; 28,533 km government owned, standard gauge (1.435 m), 12,491 km double track; 11,140 km electrified; 4,022 km nongovernment owned; 3,598 km standard gauge (1.435 m); 214 km electrified; 424 km meter gauge (1.00 m); 186 km electrified

Telecommunications

highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; 26.6 million telephones (43.4 per 100 popl.); 90 AM, 370 FM, and 5,510 TV stations; 6 submarine coaxial cables; 2 satellite stations with total of 6 antennas

Military budget

(announced) for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, 10.2 billion marks; 6.2% of total budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1982, $19.12 billion; about 18% of the proposed central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 4,319,000; 3,470,000 fit for military service; 138,000 reach military age (18) annually

males 15-49, 16,350,000; 13,670,000 fit for military service; 528,000 reach military age (18) annually

Personnel

paramilitary field force was integrated into the Confederal Armed Forces with the Senegalese military troops