Compare Belgium (2005) - Germany (2008)

Compare Belgium (2005) z Germany (2008)

	Belgium (2005)	Germany (2008)

Administrative divisions	10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch: provincies, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions; Dutch: gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Brussels* (Bruxelles), Flanders, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia, West-Vlaanderen note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities	16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)
Age structure	0-14 years: 16.9% (male 892,995/female 855,177) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 3,435,282/female 3,373,917) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 745,178/female 1,061,839) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 13.9% (male 5,894,724/female 5,590,373) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 27,811,357/female 26,790,222) 65 years and over: 19.8% (male 6,771,972/female 9,542,348) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk	potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports	43 (2004 est.)	550 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 25 over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.)	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: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 16 (2004 est.)	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)
Area	total: 30,528 sq km land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km	total: 357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative	about the size of Maryland	slightly smaller than Montana
Background	Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.	As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Birth rate	10.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	8.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $173.7 billion expenditures: $174.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.56 billion (2004 est.)	revenues: $1.465 trillion expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.)
Capital	Brussels	name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Climate	temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy	temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Coastline	66.5 km	2,389 km
Constitution	7 February 1831; amended many times; revised 14 July 1993 to create a federal state	23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie local short form: Belgique/Belgie	conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Death rate	10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.71 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$28.3 billion (1999 est.)	$4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Tom C. KOROLOGOS embassy: Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710 telephone: [32] (2) 508-2111 FAX: [32] (2) 511-2725	chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr. embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy is being built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Franciskus VAN DAELE chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York	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
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $1.072 billion (2002)	ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Economy - overview	This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. Public debt is nearly 100% of GDP. On the positive side, the government has succeeded in balancing its budget, and income distribution is relatively equal. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. Economic growth in 2001-03 dropped sharply because of the global economic slowdown, with moderate recovery in 2004.	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.
Electricity - consumption	78.82 billion kWh (2002)	545.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	9.1 billion kWh (2002)	61.43 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	16.7 billion kWh (2002)	56.86 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	76.58 billion kWh (2002)	579.4 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: North Sea 0 m highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m	lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Environment - current issues	the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) have slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges	emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%	German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)	euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament note: government coalition - VLD, MR, PS, SP.A-Spirit	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
Exports	450,000 bbl/day (2001)	518,700 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners	Germany 19.9%, France 17.2%, Netherlands 11.8%, UK 8.6%, US 6.5%, Italy 5.2% (2004)	France 9.5%, US 8.7%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, Austria 5.6%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.7% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France	three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1.3% industry: 25.7% services: 73% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 0.9% industry: 29.6% services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $30,600 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2.6% (2004 est.)	2.6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	50 50 N, 4 00 E	51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography - note	crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO	strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	28 (2007)
Highways	total: 149,028 km paved: 116,540 km (including 1,729 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,488 km (2002)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 23% (1996)	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
Illicit drugs	growing producer of synthetic drugs; transit point for US-bound ecstasy; source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine, heroin, hashish, and marijuana entering Western Europe; despite a strengthening of legislation, the country remains vulnerable to money laundering related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol, and tobacco	source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center
Imports	1.042 million bbl/day (2001)	2.953 million bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners	Germany 18.4%, Netherlands 17%, France 12.5%, UK 6.8%, Ireland 6.3%, US 5.5% (2004)	Netherlands 11.8%, France 8.5%, Belgium 7.2%, China 5.9%, UK 5.7%, Italy 5.6%, US 5.3%, Austria 4.3% (2006)
Independence	4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne)	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
Industrial production growth rate	3.5% (2004 est.)	2.1% (2007 est.)
Industries	engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum	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
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.9% (2004 est.)	2% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	40 sq km (includes Luxembourg) (1998 est.)	4,850 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council)	Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Labor force	4.75 million (2004 est.)	43.63 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 2.8% industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999)
Land boundaries	total: 1,385 km border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km	total: 3,621 km border countries: 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: 23.28% permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% note: includes Luxembourg (2001)	arable land: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)
Languages	Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)	German
Legal system	civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	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 Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held no later than May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - SP.A-Spirit 15.5%, VLD 15.4%, CD & V 12.7%, PS 12.8%, MR 12.1%, VB 9.4%, CDH 5.6%; seats by party - SP.A-Spirit 7, VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5, VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note - there are also 31 indirectly elected senators); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD 15.4%, SP.A-Spirit 14.9%, CD & V 13.3%, PS 13.0%, VB 11.6%, MR 11.4%, CDH 5.5%, Ecolo 3.1%; seats by party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit 23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8 Ecolo 4, other 2 note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments each with its own legislative assembly	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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.62 years male: 75.44 years female: 81.94 years (2005 est.)	total population: 78.95 years male: 75.96 years female: 82.11 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands	Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Map references	Europe	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit continental shelf: median line with neighbors	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,146,301 GRT/1,588,184 DWT by type: bulk carrier 15, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, container 8, liquefied gas 17, petroleum tanker 9 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 4, France 4, Greece 4) registered in other countries: 101 (2005)	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)
Military branches	Land, Naval, and Air Components (2005)	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 expenditures - dollar figure	$3.999 billion (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.3% (2003)	1.5% (2005 est.)
National holiday	21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I	Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Nationality	noun: Belgian(s) adjective: Belgian	noun: German(s) adjective: German
Natural hazards	flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes	flooding
Natural resources	construction materials, silica sand, carbonates	coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note	-	second most populous country in Europe after Russia
Pipelines	gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004)	condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Flemish parties: Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD & V [Jo VANDEURZEN]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Bart SOMERS]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA]; New Flemish Alliance or NVA [Bart DE WEVER]; Socialist Party.Alternative or SP.A [Caroline GENNEZ]; Spirit [Geert LAMBERT] (new party now associated with SP.A); Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Frank VANHECKE] Francophone parties: Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK, Claude BROUIR]; Humanist and Democratic Center of CDH [Joelle MILQUET]; National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; Reformist Movement or MR [Didier REYNDERS]; Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; other minor parties	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	Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants	business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
Population	10,364,388 (July 2005 est.)	82,400,996 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	4% (1989 est.)	11% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.15% (2005 est.)	-0.033% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Liege, Oostende, Zeebrugge	-
Radio broadcast stations	FM 79, AM 7, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 3,521 km standard gauge: 3,521 km 1.435-m gauge (2,927 km electrified) (2004)	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)
Religions	Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%	Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.966 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network international: country code - 32; 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	5,120,400 (2002)	54.2 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	8,135,500 (2002)	84.3 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	25 (plus 10 repeaters) (1997)	373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast	lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Total fertility rate	1.64 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	12% (first half, 2004)	9.1% 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.)
Waterways	2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003)	7,467 km note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2006)

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