Compare Benin (2005) - Germany (2003)

Compare Benin (2005) z Germany (2003)

	Benin (2005)	Germany (2003)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	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: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 14.9% (male 6,312,614; female 5,988,681) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 28,213,316; female 27,240,648) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 5,842,457; female 8,800,610) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)	potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports	5 (2004 est.)	551 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 328 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54 1,524 to 2,437 m: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 69 under 914 m: 131 (2002)
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 (2004 est.)	total: 223 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 189 (2002)
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	Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged.	As Europe's largest economy 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, 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 2002, Germany and 11 other EU countries introduced a common European currency, the euro.
Birth rate	41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	8.6 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $869.4 million expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $802 billion expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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	-	euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Death rate	13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$NA
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70	chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel R. COATS embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in 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 Cyrille Segbe OGUIN chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996	chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang Friedrich ISCHINGER chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-8140 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international	two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones	none
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient	$342.6 million (2000)	-
Economy - overview	The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise.	Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy has turned in a weak performance throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Growth in 2002 and 2003 fell short of 1%. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.
Electricity - consumption	565.2 million kWh (2002)	506.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	43.9 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	300 million kWh (2002)	44 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	285.2 million kWh (2002)	544.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 61.8% hydro: 4.2% nuclear: 29.9% other: 4.1% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 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 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)	euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999), 1.76 (1998)
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 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 SOGLO (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 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGLO 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 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7%
Exports	NA	404,300 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners	China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004)	France 10.7%, US 10.3%, UK 8.4%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.1%, Austria 5.1%, Belgium 4.8%, Spain 4.6%, Switzerland 4.2% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side	three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $2.16 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 36.3% industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 1% industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $26,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5% (2004 est.)	0.2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Heliports	-	40 (2002)
Highways	total: 6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)	total: 230,735 km paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 25.1% (1997)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure	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	NA	3.081 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners	China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)	France 9.5%, Netherlands 8.2%, US 7.7%, UK 6.5%, Italy 6.4%, Belgium 5.2%, Austria 4%, China 4% (2002)
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	8.3% (2001 est.)	-2.1% (2002 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)	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: 85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 4.23 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2004 est.)	1.3% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	200 (2001)
Irrigated land	120 sq km (1998 est.)	4,850 sq km (1998 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 (1996)	41.9 million (2001)
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: 3,621 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: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)	arable land: 33.88% permanent crops: 0.65% other: 65.47% (1998 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 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31	bicameral Parliament or parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (603 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 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 22 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006); 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 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Alliance '90/Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Alliance '90/Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 52.66 years male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.)	total population: 78.42 years male: 75.46 years female: 81.55 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, 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	-	total: 337 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,036,397 GRT/7,334,067 DWT ships by type: cargo 94, chemical tanker 15, container 203, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 5, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Chile 1, Finland 5, Iceland 1, Netherlands 3, Switzerland 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$96.5 million (2004)	$38.8 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.4% (2004)	1.38% (2002)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 20,509,838 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 17,399,936 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 472,946 (2003 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 from December to March	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 (2005 est.)	2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 325 km; gas 25,289 km; oil 3,743 km; refined products 3,827 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; 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]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and four small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU] note: approximately 20 additional minor parties	Alliance '90/Greens [Angelika BEER and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Gerhard SCHROEDER, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups
Population	7,460,025 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 2005 est.)	82,398,326 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.82% (2005 est.)	0.04% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	Cotonou	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 (2000)	AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)	total: 45,514 km (21,000 km electrified) standard gauge: 45,276 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified) narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2002)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%	Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 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: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia	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: 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	66,500 (2003)	50.9 million (March 2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular	236,200 (2003)	55.3 million (June 2001)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	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	5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA	9.8% (2002 est.)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)	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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