Judicial branch: Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht, half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Union or CDU
[Helmut KOHL, chairman]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Theo WAIGEL,
chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman];
Social Democratic Party or SPD [Oskar LAFONTAINE, chairman]; Alliance
'90/Greens [Gunda ROESTEL, Juergen TRITTIN, cochairpersons]; Party of
Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY, chairman]; Republikaner
[Rolf SCHLIERER, chairman]; National Democratic Party or NPD
[Ellen-Doris SCHERER]; Communist Party or DKP [Rolf PRIEMER and Heinz
STEHR, cochairpersons]
Political pressure groups and leaders: employers' organizations, expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB,
Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN,
EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM
(guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the 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): Wellington (American Samoa)
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James D. BINDENAGEL embassy : Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn telephone: [49] (228) 3391 FAX: [49] (228) 339-2663 branch office : Berlin consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
Economy
Economy - overview: Germany, the world's third-most powerful economy, is gearing up for the European Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. One key economic priority is meeting the Maastricht criteria for entry into EMU, a goal complicated by record unemployment and stagnating growth. The government has implemented an austerity budget in its attempt to get the deficit down to 3% of GDP as required by Maastricht, but further cuts probably will be necessary and there is little consensus among the parties or elites about next steps toward that end. In recent years business and political leaders have become increasingly concerned about Germany's apparent decline in attractiveness as a business location. They cite the increasing preference of German companies to locate new manufacturing facilities - long the strength of the postwar economy - in foreign countries, including the US, rather than in Germany, so they can be closer to their markets and avoid Germany's high taxes and labor costs. At the same time, Germany faces its own unique problem of bringing its eastern area up to scratch after 45 years of communist rule. Despite substantial progress toward economic integration, the eastern states will continue to rely on the annual subsidy of approximately $100 billion from the western part into the next century. Assistance from the west helped the east to average nearly 8% annual economic growth in 1992-95, even though the overall German economy had averaged less than 2% growth; growth in the east, however, tumbled to 2% in 1996, with unemployment a particularly severe problem.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.7 trillion (western: purchasing power parity - $1.56 trillion; eastern: purchasing power parity - $142 billion) (1996 est.)