Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS,
CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO,
G- 5, G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNITAR, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (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)
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN embassy: Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: Unit 21701, Bonn; APO AE 09080 telephone: [49] (228) 3391 FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663 branch office: Berlin consulate(s) general: Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
@Germany:Economy
Overview: Five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, progress towards economic integration between eastern and western Germany is clearly visible, yet the eastern region almost certainly will remain dependent on subsidies funded by western Germany until well into the next century. The staggering $390 billion in western German assistance that the eastern states have received since 1990 - 40 times the amount in real terms of US Marshall Fund aid sent to West Germany after World War II - is just beginning to have an impact on the eastern German standard of living, which plummeted after unification. Assistance to the east continues to run at roughly $100 billion annually. Although the growth rate in the east was much greater than in the west in 1993-94, eastern GDP per capita nonetheless remains well below preunification levels; it will take 10-15 years for the eastern states to match western Germany's living standards. The economic recovery in the east is led by the construction industries which account for one-third of industrial output, with growth increasingly supported by the service sectors and light manufacturing industries. Eastern Germany's economy is changing from one anchored on manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy. Western Germany, with three times the per capita output of the eastern states, has an advanced market economy and is a world leader in exports. The strong recovery in 1994 from recession began in the export sector and spread to the investment and consumption sectors in response to falling interest rates. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population that enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and comprehensive social welfare benefits. It 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 activities, and raw materials and semimanufactured goods constitute a large portion of imports.
National product:
Germany: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.3446 trillion (1994 est.)
western: GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.2363 trillion (1994 est.)
eastern: GDP - purchasing power parity - $108.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
Germany: 2.9% (1994 est.)
western: 2.3% (1994 est.)
eastern: 9.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
Germany: $16,580 (1994 est.)
western: $19,660 (1994 est.)
eastern: $5,950 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
western: 3% (1994)
eastern: 3.2% (1994 est.)