1994 Edition

Administrative divisions

16 states (laender, singular - land); Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringen

Agriculture

western: 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 eastern: accounts for about 10% of GDP (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

Airports

total: 590 usable: 583 with permanent-surface runways: 308 with runways over 3,659 m: 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 85 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 97

Area

total area: 356,910 sq km land area: 349,520 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990

Birth rate

11.04 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Budget

revenues: $918 billion expenditures: $972 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Capital

Berlin note: the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative functions and several ministries

Climate

temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

Coastline

2,389 km

Constitution

23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990

Currency

1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige

Death rate

10.89 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $37.3 billion, 2% of GDP (1993)

Digraph

GM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Immo STABREIT chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 298-4000

Economic aid

western-donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion eastern-donor: bilateral to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89) $4 billion

Electricity

capacity: 134,000,000 kW production: 580 billion kWh consumption per capita: 7,160 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries in the southeast and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Ethnic divisions

German 95.1%, Turkish 2.3%, Italians 0.7%, Greeks 0.4%, Poles 0.4%, other 1.1% (made up largely of people fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia)

Exchange rates

deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.7431 (January 1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992), 1.6595 (1991), 1.6157 (1990), 1.8800 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Dr. Richard von WEIZSACKER (since 1 July 1984); note - presidential elections were held on 23 May 1994; Roman HERZOG was the winner and will be inaugurated 1 July 1994 head of government: Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL (since 4 October 1982) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president upon the proposal of the chancellor

Exports

$392 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: manufactures 89.0% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.4%, raw materials 2.2%, fuels 1.3% (1922) partners: EC 51.3% (France 11.1%, Netherlands 8.3%, Italy 8.2%, UK 7.9%, Belgium-Luxembourg 7.5%), EFTA 13.3%, US 6.8%, Eastern Europe 5.0%, OPEC 3.3% (1993)

External debt

$NA

FAX

(202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and Wellington (America Samoa)

[49] (228) 339-2663 branch office: Berlin consulate(s) general: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart

Federal Assembly (Bundestag)

last held 2 December 1990 (next to be held by 16 October 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) CDU 268, CSU 51, SPD 239, FDP 79, PDS 17, Greens/Alliance '90 8; elected by direct popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or 3 direct mandates to gain representation

Federal Council (Bundesrat)

State governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on size and are required to vote as a block; current

composition

votes - (68 total) SPD-led states 37, CDU-led states 31

Fiscal year

calendar year

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow

Germany

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.331 trillion (1993) western: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.218 trillion (1993) eastern: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $112.7 billion (1993)

-1.2% (1993) western: -1.9% (1993) eastern: 7.1% (1993)

$16,500 (1993) western: $19,400 (1993) eastern: $6,300 (1993)

Highways

total: 625,600 km (1991 est.); western - 501,000 km (1990 est.); eastern - 124,600 km (1988 est.) paved: 543,200 km, including 10,814 km of expressways; western - 495,900 km, including 8,959 km of expressways; eastern - 47,300 km, including 1,855 km of expressways unpaved: 82,400 km; western - 5,000 km earth; eastern - 77,400 km gravel and earth

Illicit drugs

source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine for West European markets

Imports

$374.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: manufactures 74.9%, agricultural products 10.3%, fuels 7.4%, raw materials 5.5% (1992) partners: EC 49.7 (France 11.0%, Netherlands 9.2%, Italy 8.8%, UK 6.6%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.7%), EFTA 12.7%, US 5.9%, Japan 5.2%, Eastern Europe 4.8%, OPEC 2.6% (1993)

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

Industrial production

western: growth rate -7% (1993) eastern: growth rate $NA

Industries

western: among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics; food and beverages eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining

Infant mortality rate

6.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

western: 4.2% (1993) eastern: 8.9% (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

western: 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 eastern: 2,319 km (1988)

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

4,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)

Labor force

36.75 million by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)

Land boundaries

total 3,621 km, 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

Land use

arable land: 34% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 16% forest and woodland: 30% other: 19%

Languages

German

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 chamber (no official name for the two chambers as a whole)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.34 years male: 73.22 years female: 79.64 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1977 est.) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA%

Location

Central Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 20,253,482; fit for military service 17,506,468; reach military age (18) annually 418,124 (1994 est.)

Map references

Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm in North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of Baltic Sea (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the Helgolander Bucht); 12 nm in remainder of Baltic Sea

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australian Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), 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, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNHCR, UNOMIG, UNOSOM, UNTAC, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Merchant marine

485 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,441 GRT/5,835,511 DWT, barge carrier 7, bulk 11, cargo 241, chemical tanker 20, combination bulk 6, combination ore/oil 5, container 132, liquefied gas tanker 16, oil tanker 7, passenger 3, railcar carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 20, short-sea passenger 5 note: the German register includes ships of the former East and West Germany

Names

conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland

National holiday

German Unity Day (Day of Unity), 3 October (1990)

Nationality

noun: German(s) adjective: German

Natural resources

iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel

Net migration rate

3.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea

Other political or pressure groups

expellee, refugee, and veterans groups

Overview

With the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, prospects seemed bright for a fairly rapid incorporation of East Germany into the highly successful West German economy. The Federal Republic, however, continues to experience difficulties in integrating and modernizing eastern Germany, and the tremendous costs of unification pushed western Germany into its deepest recession since World War II. The western German economy shrank by 1.9% in 1993 as the Bundesbank maintained high interest rates to offset the inflationary effects of large government deficits and high wage settlements. Eastern Germany grew by 7.1% in 1993 but this was from a shrunken base. Despite government transfers to the east amounting to nearly $110 billion annually, a self-sustaining economy in the region is still some years away. The bright spots are eastern Germany's construction, transportation, telecommunications, and service sectors, which have experienced strong growth. Western Germany has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. It has a highly urbanized and skilled population that 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

services and manufacturing account for the dominant share of economic activity, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports. In recent years, manufacturing has accounted for about 31% of GDP, with other sectors contributing lesser amounts. Gross fixed investment in 1993 accounted for about 20.5% of GDP. GDP in the western region is now $19,400 per capita, or 78% of US per capita GDP. Eastern Germany's economy appears to be changing from one anchored on manufacturing into a more service-oriented economy. The German government, however, is intent on maintaining a manufacturing base in the east and is considering a policy for subsidizing industrial cores in the region. Eastern Germany's share of all-German GDP is only 8% and eastern productivity is just 30% that of the west even though eastern wages are at roughly 70% of western levels. The privatization agency for eastern Germany, Treuhand, has privatized more than 90% of the 13,000 firms under its control and will likely wind down operations in 1994. Private investment in the region continues to be lackluster, resulting primarily from the deepening recession in western Germany and excessively high eastern wages. Eastern Germany has one of the world's largest reserves of low-grade lignite coal but little else in the way of mineral resources. The quality of statistics from eastern Germany is improving, yet many gaps remain; the federal government began producing all-German data for select economic statistics at the start of 1992. The most challenging economic problem is promoting eastern Germany's economic reconstruction - specifically, finding the right mix of fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and tax policies that will spur investment in eastern Germany - without destabilizing western Germany's economy or damaging relations with West European partners. The government hopes a "solidarity pact" among labor unions, business, state governments, and the SPD opposition will provide the right mix of wage restraints, investment incentives, and spending cuts to stimulate eastern recovery. Finally, the homogeneity of the German economic culture has been changed by the admission of large numbers of immigrants.

Pipelines

crude oil 3,644 km; petroleum products 3,946 km; natural gas 97,564 km (1988)

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut KOHL, chairman; Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL, chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Klaus KINKEL, chairman; Social Democratic Party (SPD), Rudolf SCHARPING, chairman; Alliance '90/Greens, Ludger VOLMER, Marianne BIRTHLER, co-chairmen; Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), Lothar BISKY, chairman; Republikaner, Franz SCHOENHUBER; National Democratic Party (NPD), Guenter DECKERT; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER

Population

81,087,506 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.36% (1994 est.)

Ports

coastal - Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Cuxhaven, Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Wilhelmshaven, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz; inland - 31 major on Rhine and Elbe rivers

Railroads

western: 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) eastern: 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 standard gauge double-track; 3,475 km overhead electrified (1988)

Religions

Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

western: highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of the country; fully adequate in all respects; 40,300,000 telephones; intensively developed, highly redundant cable and microwave radio relay networks, all completely automatic; broadcast stations - 80 AM, 470 FM, 225 (6,000 repeaters) TV; 6 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 12 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT antennas, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT antennas, EUTELSAT, and domestic systems; 2 HF radiocommunication centers; tropospheric links eastern: badly needs modernization; 3,970,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV (15 Soviet TV repeaters); 6,181,860 TVs; 6,700,000 radios; 1 satellite earth station operating in INTELSAT and Intersputnik systems

Terrain

lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Total fertility rate

1.47 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

federal republic

Unemployment rate

western: 8.1% (December 1993) eastern: 15.4% (December 1993)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard C. HOLBROOKE embassy: Deichmanns Avenue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: Unit 21701, Bonn; APO AE 09080 telephone: [49] (228) 3391