1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity
Coastline
2,389 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Montana
Disputes
the boundaries of Germany were set by the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany signed 12 September 1990 in Moscow by the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union; this treaty entered into force on 15 March 1991; a subsequent treaty between Germany and Poland, reaffirming the German-Polish boundary, was signed on 14 November 1990 and is set to be ratified in 1991; the US Government is seeking to settle the property claims of US nationals against the former GDR
Environment
air and water pollution; ground water, lakes, and air quality in eastern Germany are especially bad; significant deforestation in the eastern mountains caused by air pollution and acid rain
Land boundaries
3,790 km total; Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czechoslovakia 815 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Land use
arable land 34%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 16%; forest and woodland 30%; other 19%; includes irrigated 1%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of Baltic Sea--3 nm (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the Helgolander Bucht); remainder of Baltic Sea--12 nm
Natural resources
iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel
Note
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Terrain
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Total area
356,910 km2; land area: 349,520 km2; comprises the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990
People and Society
Birth rate
11 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
primarily German; small Danish and Slavic minorities
Infant mortality rate
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
36,750,000; industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)
Language
German
Life expectancy at birth
73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
Literacy
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
Nationality
noun--German(s); adjective--German
Net migration rate
4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
47% of labor force (1986 est.)
Population
79,548,498 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
Religion
Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%
Total fertility rate
1.4 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
16 states (lander, singular--land); Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringen
Capital
Berlin; note--the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions
Communists
West--about 40,000 members and supporters; East--284,000 party members (December 1990)
Constitution
23 May 1949, provisional constitution known as Basic Law
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Jeurgen RUHFUS; Chancery at 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 298-4000; there are German Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York, and Consulates in Miami and New Orleans; US--Ambassador-designate Robert M. KIMMITT; Embassy at Deichmanns Avenue, 5300 Bonn 2 (mailing address is APO New York 09080); telephone [49] (228) 3391; there is a US Branch Office in Berlin and US Consulates General in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Elections
Federal Diet--last held 2 December 1990 (next to be held by December 1994); results--CDU 36.7%, SPD 33.5%, FDP 11.0%, CSU 7.1%, Green Party (West Germany) 3.9%, PDS 2.4%, Republikaner 2.1%, Alliance 90/Green Party (East Germany) 1.2%, other 2.1%; seats--(662 total, 656 statutory with special rules to allow for slight expansion) CDU 268, SPD 239, FDP 79, CSU 51, PDS 17, Alliance 90/Green Party (East Germany) 8; note--special rules for this election allowed former East German parties to win seats if they received at least 5% of vote in eastern Germany
Executive branch
president, chancellor, Cabinet
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
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 power rights formally relinquished 15 March 1991
Judicial branch
Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)
Leaders
Chief of State--President Dr. Richard von WEIZSACKER (since 1 July 1984); Head of Government--Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982)
Legal system
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral parliament (no official name for the two chambers as a whole) consists of an upper chamber or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower chamber or Federal Diet (Bundestag)
Long-form name
Federal Republic of Germany
Member of
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNHCR, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
3 October 1990, German Unity Day
Other political or pressure groups
expellee, refugee, and veterans groups
Political parties and leaders
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Otto Count LAMBSDORFF, chairman; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Bjoern ENGHOLM, chairman; Green Party--Volmer LUDGER, Christine WEISKE, co-chairmen (after the 2 December 1990 election the East and West German Green Parties united); Alliance 90 includes three parties--New Forum, Jens REICH, Sebastian PFLUGBEIL, spokespersons; Democracy Now, Konrad WEISS, spokesperson; and Initiative, Peace, and Human Rights Party, Gerd POPPE; Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS, formerly the East German Communist Party), Gregor GYSI, chairman; Republikaner, Franz SCHONHUBER; National Democratic Party (NPD), Martin MUSSGNUG; Communist Party (DKP), Herbert MIES
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
federal republic
Economy
Agriculture
West--accounts for about 2% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle, pigs, poultry; net importer of food; fish catch of 202,000 metric tons in 1987; East--accounts for about 10% of GNP (including fishing and forestry); principal crops--wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net importer of food; fish catch of 193,600 metric tons in 1987
Budget
West--revenues $539 billion; expenditures $563 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.5 billion (1988); East--revenues $147.0 billion; expenditures $153.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Currency
deutsche mark (plural--marks); 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige
Economic aid
West--donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion; East--donor--$4.0 billion extended bilaterally to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-88)
Electricity
133,000,000 kW capacity; 580,000 million kWh produced, 7,390 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
deutsche marks (DM) per US$1--1.5100 (January 1991), 1.6157 (1990), 1.8800 (1989), 1.7562 (1988), 1.7974 (1987), 2.1715 (1986), 2.9440 (1985)
Exports
West--$324.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--manufactures 86.6% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 4.9%, raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.3%; partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 9%, Italy 9%, UK 9%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 18%, US 10%, Eastern Europe 4%, OPEC 3% (1987); East--$32.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--machinery and transport equipment 47%, fuels and metals 16%, consumer goods 16%, chemical products and building materials 13%, semimanufactured goods and processed foodstuffs 8%; partners--USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, FRG, Hungary, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Romania, EC, US (1989)
External debt
West--$500 million (June 1988); East--$20.6 billion (1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$1,157.2 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 1.7% (1990)
Imports
West--$247.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--manufactures 68.5%, agricultural products 12.0%, fuels 9.7%, raw materials 7.1%; partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 11%, Italy 10%, UK 7%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 15%, US 6%, Japan 6%, Eastern Europe 5%, OPEC 3% (1987); East--$30.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--fuels and metals 40%, machinery and transport equipment 29%, chemical products and building materials 9%; partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 65%, FRG 12.7%, EC 6.0%, US 0.3% (1989)
Industrial production
growth rates, West--3.3% (1988); East--2.7% (1989 est.)
Industries
West--among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics; food and beverages; East--metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
West--3.0% (1989); East--0.8% (1989)
Overview
The newly unified German economy presents a starkly contrasting picture. Western Germany has an advanced market economy and is a leading exporter. It experienced faster-than-projected real growth largely because of demand in eastern Germany for western German goods. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population which enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. Western Germany is relatively poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral. Western Germany's world-class companies manufacture technologically advanced goods. The region's economy is mature: manufacturing and service industries account for the dominant share of economic activity, and raw materials and semimanufactured products constitute a large proportion of imports. In 1989 manufacturing accounted for 31% of GDP, with other sectors contributing lesser amounts. In recent years, gross fixed investment has accounted for about 21% of GDP. In 1990 GDP in the western region was an estimated $16,300 per capita. In contrast, eastern Germany's obsolete command economy, once dominated by smokestack heavy industries, has been undergoing a wrenching change to a market economy. Industrial production in early 1991 is down 50% from the same period last year, due largely to the slump in domestic demand for eastern German-made goods and the ongoing economic restructuring. The FRG's legal, social welfare, and economic systems have been extended to the east, but economic restructuring--privatizing industry, establishing clear property rights, clarifying responsibility for environmental clean-up, and removing Communist-era holdovers from management--is proceeding slowly so far, deterring outside investors. The region is one of the world's largest producers of low-grade lignite coal, but has few other resources. The quality of statistics from eastern Germany remains poor; Bonn is still trying to bring statistics for the region in line with West German practices. The most challenging economic problem of a united Germany is the reconstruction of eastern Germany's economy--specifically, finding the right mix of fiscal, regulatory, monetary, and tax policies that will spur investment in the east without derailing western Germany's healthy economy or damaging relations with Western partners. The biggest danger is that soaring unemployment in eastern Germany, which could climb to the 30 to 40% range, could touch off labor disputes or renewed mass relocation to western Germany and erode investor confidence in eastern Germany. Overall economic activity grew an estimated 4.6% in western Germany in 1990, while dropping roughly 15% in eastern Germany. Per capita GDP in the eastern region was approximately $8,700 in 1990.
Unemployment rate
West--7.1% (1990); East--1% (1989); 3% (first half, 1990)
Communications
Airports
655 total, 647 usable; 312 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 86 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 95 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
239 major transport aircraft
Highways
West--466,305 km total; 169,568 km primary, includes 6,435 km autobahn, 32,460 km national highways (Bundesstrassen), 65,425 km state highways (Landesstrassen), 65,248 km county roads (Kreisstrassen); 296,737 km of secondary communal roads (Gemeindestrassen); East--124,604 km total; 47,203 km concrete, asphalt, stone block, of which 1,855 km are autobahn and limited access roads, 11,326 are trunk roads, and 34,022 are regional roads; 77,401 municipal roads (1988)
Inland waterways
West--5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea; East--2,319 km (1988)
Merchant marine
598 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,029,615 GRT/6,391,875 DWT; includes 3 passenger, 5 short-sea passenger, 315 cargo, 11 refrigerated cargo, 126 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 33 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 railcar carrier, 6 barge carrier, 11 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 27 chemical tanker, 21 liquefied gas tanker, 5 combination ore/oil, 14 combination bulk, 15 bulk; note--the German register includes ships of the former East Germany and West Germany; during 1991 the fleet is expected to undergo major restructuring as now-surplus ships are sold off
Pipelines
crude oil 3,644 km, refined products 3,946 km, natural gas 97,564 km (1988)
Ports
maritime--Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Cuxhaven, Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Wilhelmshaven, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz; inland--31 major
Railroads
West--31,443 km total; 27,421 km government owned, 1.435-meter standard gauge (12,491 km double track, 11,501 km electrified); 4,022 km nongovernment owned, including 3,598 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (214 km electrified) and 424 km 1.000-meter gauge (186 km electrified); East--14,025 km total; 13,750 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 275 km 1.000-meter or other narrow gauge; 3,830 (est.) km 1.435-meter double-track standard gauge; 3,475 km overhead electrified (1988)
Telecommunications
West--highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; 41,740,000 telephones; stations--70 AM, 205 (370 relays) FM, 300 (6,422 relays) TV; 6 submarine coaxial cables; earth stations operating in INTELSAT (12 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and domestic systems; East--3,970,000 telephones; stations--23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV (15 Soviet TV relays); 6,181,860 TVs; 6,700,000 radios; at least 1 earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Federal Border Police
Defense expenditures
$47.1 billion, 4.7% of GDP (1990) _%_
Manpower availability
--males 15-49, 20,219,289; 17,557,807 fit for military service; 415,108 reach military age (18) annually