*Germany, Geography
Note:
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the
Baltic Sea
*Germany, People
Population:
80,767,591 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.4% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
11 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
11 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
76 years
male:
73 years
female:
79 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
German(s)
adjective:
German
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)
Religions:
Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or other 18%
Languages:
German
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1977 est.)
total population:
99%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Labor force:
36.75 million
by occupation:
industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53% (1987)
*Germany, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form:
Germany
local long form:
Bundesrepublik Deutschland
local short form:
Deutschland
Digraph:
GM
Type:
federal republic
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
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, Thuringen
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
Constitution:
23 May 1949, provisional constitution known as Basic Law
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative
acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
German Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
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); Green Party, Ludger VOLMER,
Christine WEISKE, co-chairmen (after the 2 December 1990 election the East
and West German Green Parties united); Alliance 90 united to form one party
in September 1991, Petra MORAWE, chairwoman; Party of Democratic Socialism
(PDS), Gregor GYSI, chairman; Republikaner, Franz SCHOENHUBER; National
Democratic Party (NPD), Walter BACHMANN; Communist Party (DKP), Rolf PRIEMER
Other political or pressure groups:
expellee, refugee, and veterans groups
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
*Germany, Government
Elections:
Federal Diet: last held 2 December 1990 (next to be held 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, 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
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)
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)
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, UNTAC, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Juergen RUHFUS
chancery:
4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
(202) 298-4000
consulates general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York,
San Francisco, Seattle
consulates:
Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands) and Wellington (America
Samoa)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert M. KIMMITT
embassy:
Deichmanns Avenue, 5300 Bonn 2, Unit 21701
mailing address:
APO AE 09080
telephone:
[49] (228) 3391
FAX:
[49] (228) 339-2663
branch office:
Berlin
consulates general:
Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
*Germany, Economy
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 have sunk western Germany deeper into
recession. The western German economy grew by less than 1% in 1992 as the
Bundesbank set high interest rates to offset the inflationary effects of
large government deficits and high wage settlements. Eastern Germany grew by
6.8% in 1992 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 1992
accounted for about 21.5% of GDP. GDP in the western region is now $20,000
per capita, or 85% 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 7% 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
four-fifths of the almost 12,000 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.
National product:
Germany:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.398 trillion (1992)
western:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.294 trillion (1992)
eastern:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $104 billion (1992)