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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 powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991

National holiday:

Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution:

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

Legal system:

civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)

head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)

cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor

elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next scheduled for 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections to be held by autumn 2009)

election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)

elections: Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election

election results: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2

Judicial branch:

Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Erwin HUBER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups

International organization participation:

ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH

chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000

FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.

embassy: Pariser Platz 2, 10117 Berlin; note - new embassy opened 4 July 2008

mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265

telephone: [49] (030) 2375174

FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215

consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

Flag description:

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

Economy Germany

Economy - overview:

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$2.81 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$3.322 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$34,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 0.8%

industry: 29%

services: 70.1% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

43.51 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 2.8%

industry: 33.4%

services: 63.8% (1999)

Unemployment rate:

8.4%

note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

11% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3.2%

highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

28 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.3% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

18.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $1.476 trillion

expenditures: $1.473 trillion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

63.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry

Industries:

among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:

2.1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

579.4 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 61.8%

hydro: 4.2%

nuclear: 29.9%

other: 4.1% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

545.5 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

61.43 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

56.86 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

141,700 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - consumption:

2.618 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

518,700 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

2.953 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

367.2 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

19.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

96.84 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

9.42 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

86.99 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

246.5 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$185 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$1.334 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles

Exports - partners:

France 9.6%, US 8.6%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, Austria 5.6%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.7% (2006)

Imports:

$1.089 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals

Imports - partners:

Netherlands 11.9%, France 8.6%, Belgium 7.3%, China 6%, UK 5.7%, Italy 5.7%, US 4.7%, Austria 4.3% (2006)

Economic aid - donor:

ODA, $10.44 billion (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$136.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$811 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$1.123 trillion (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$1.221 trillion (2005)

Currency (code):

euro (EUR)

Currency code:

EUR

Exchange rates:

euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications Germany

Telephones - main lines in use:

54.2 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

84.3 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part

domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries

international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)

Radios:

77.8 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:

51.4 million (1998)

Internet country code:

.de

Internet hosts:

16.494 million (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

200 (2001)

Internet users:

38.6 million (2006)

Transportation Germany

Airports:

550 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 331

over 3,047 m: 14

2,438 to 3,047 m: 52

1,524 to 2,437 m: 58

914 to 1,523 m: 72

under 914 m: 135 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 219

2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 34

under 914 m: 181 (2007)

Heliports:

28 (2007)

Pipelines:

condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 48,215 km

standard gauge: 47,962 km 1.435-m gauge (20,278 km electrified)

narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 231,500 km

paved: 231,500 km (includes 12,400 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways:

7,467 km

note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 382 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,085,484 GRT/14,261,476 DWT

by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 50, chemical tanker 11, container 269, liquefied gas 5, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 3

foreign-owned: 7 (China 2, Finland 4, Ireland 1)

registered in other countries: 2,716 (Antigua and Barbuda 891, Australia 2, Bahamas 40, Belgium 1, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 17, Cyprus 197, Denmark 12, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 2, France 1, Georgia 2, Gibraltar 117, Hong Kong 10, Isle of Man 61, Italy 1, Jamaica 1, Liberia 728, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 67, Marshall Islands 214, Morocco 1, Netherlands 70, Netherlands Antilles 48, Norway 2, NZ 1, Panama 38, Portugal 22, Russia 2, Singapore 18, Spain 9, Sri Lanka 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 3, Sweden 4, Turkey 1, UK 71, US 6) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Bremen, Bremerhaven, Duisburg, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Lubeck, Rostock, Wilhemshaven

Military Germany

Military branches:

Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age (conscripts serve a 9-month tour of compulsory military service) (2004)