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Compare Benin (2001) - Germany (2001)
Compare Benin (2001) z Germany (2001)
| Benin (2001) | Germany (2001) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" | 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, Thueringen |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
15.57% (male 6,635,328; female 6,289,994) 15-64 years: 67.82% (male 28,619,237; female 27,691,698) 65 years and over: 16.61% (male 5,336,664; female 8,456,615) (2001 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 613 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
322 over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 55 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 63 under 914 m: 124 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
291 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 53 under 914 m: 225 (2000 est.) |
| Area | total:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Montana |
| Background | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. | As Western Europe's richest and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country 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 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 formed a common European currency, the euro. |
| Birth rate | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
| Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Berlin |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
| Coastline | 121 km | 2,389 km |
| Constitution | December 1990 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
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 |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | deutsche mark (DEM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Germany at a fixed rate of 1.95583 deutsche marks per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
| Death rate | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1998 est.) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John C. KORNBLUM (was due to resign on 20 January 2001) embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (30) 238-5174 FAX: [49] (30) 238-6290 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8141 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (America Samoa) |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $274.6 million (1997) | - |
| Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. | Germany possesses the world's third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but structural market rigidities - including the substantial non-wage costs of hiring new workers - have made unemployment a long-term, not just a cyclical, problem. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy remains a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from western Germany amounting to roughly $70 billion. Growth picked up to 3% in 2000, largely due to recovering global demand; newly passed business and income tax cuts are expected to keep growth strong in 2001. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are transforming the German economy to meet the challenges of European economic integration and globalization in general. |
| Electricity - consumption | 510.2 million kWh (1999) | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (1999) | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production | 226 million kWh (1999) | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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 currently attempting to define mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power; 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
chief of state:
President Johannes RAU (since 1 July 1999) head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year 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 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall of 2002) election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly - 52.7% |
| Exports | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Exports - partners | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2.0% (1999) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
| Geography - note | no natural harbors | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
| Heliports | - | 59 (2000 est.) |
| Highways | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
total:
656,140 km paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
- |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US | 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 |
| Imports | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
| Imports - partners | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) | EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 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 | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2000) |
| Industries | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, 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 | 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, 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, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 123 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1993 est.) | 4,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
| Labor force | NA | 40.5 million (1999 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total:
3,618 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 135 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
| Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | German |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (656 seats usually, but 669 for the 1998 term; 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 representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by the fall of 2002); 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: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - SPD 40.9%, Alliance '90/Greens 6.7%, CDU/CSU 35.1%, FDP 6.2%, PDS 5.1%; seats by party - SPD 298, Alliance '90/Greens 47, CDU/CSU 245, FDP 43, PDS 36; Federal Council - current composition - votes by party - SPD-led states 26, CDU-led states 28, grand coalitions 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
| Map references | Africa | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total:
457 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,414,724 GRT/7,952,776 DWT ships by type: cargo 169, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 243, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 12, short-sea passenger 7 (2000 est.) |
| Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $32.8 billion (FY98) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | 1.5% (FY98) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 est.) |
males:
482,318 (2001 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
| Nationality | noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter | flooding |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) |
| Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Alliance '90/Greens [Renate KUENAST and Fritz KUHN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Wolfgang GERHARDT, chairman]; note - Wolfgang GERHARDT will probably be replaced by Guido WESTERWELLE in May 2001; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabi ZIMMER]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
| Population | 6,590,782
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 37.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | 0.27% (2001 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios | 620,000 (1997) | 77.8 million (1997) |
| Railways | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
total:
40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
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 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 and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: satellite earth stations - 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable connections; 2 HF radiotelephone communication centers; tropospheric scatter links |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,295 (1997) | 15.318 million (April 1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
| Total fertility rate | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.9% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | 7,500 km
note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999) |
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Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.