Cape Verde (2005) | Germany (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 17 municipalities (concelhos, singular - concelho); Boa Vista, Brava, Maio, Mosteiros, Paul, Praia, Porto Novo, Ribeira Grande, Sal, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, Sao Domingos, Sao Filipe, Sao Miguel, Sao Nicolau, Sao Vicente, Tarrafal | 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: 39% (male 82,249/female 80,752)
15-64 years: 54.3% (male 110,119/female 116,816) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 10,599/female 17,689) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 6,568,699; female 6,227,148)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 28,606,964; female 27,695,539) 65 years and over: 17% (male 5,546,140; female 8,607,361) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, coffee, peanuts; fish | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 7
note: 3 airports are reported to be nonoperational (2004 est.) |
625 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 (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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 223
over 3,047 m: 2 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: 4,033 sq km
land: 4,033 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents. | 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 | 25.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $260.6 million
expenditures: $305.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Praia | Berlin |
Climate | temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
Coastline | 965 km | 2,389 km |
Constitution | new constitution came into force 25 September 1992; underwent a major revision on 23 November 1995, substantially increasing the powers of the president, and a further revision in 1999, to create the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica) | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cape Verde
conventional short form: Cape Verde local long form: Republica de Cabo Verde local short form: Cabo Verde |
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); deutsche mark (DEM)
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 | 6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $325 million (2002) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON
embassy: Rua Abilio m. Macedo 81, Praia mailing address: C. P. 201, Praia telephone: [238] 261 56 16, 261 56 17 FAX: [238] 261 13 55 |
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] (030) 8305-0 FAX: [49] (030) 238-6290 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jose BRITO
chancery: 3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 965-6820 FAX: [1] (202) 965-1207 consulate(s) general: Boston |
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 | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $136 million (1999) | - |
Economy - overview | This island economy suffers from a poor natural resource base, including serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term drought. The economy is service-oriented, with commerce, transport, tourism, and public services accounting for 72% of GDP. Although nearly 70% of the population lives in rural areas, the share of agriculture in GDP in 2004 was only 12%, of which fishing accounted for 1.5%. About 82% of food must be imported. The fishing potential, mostly lobster and tuna, is not fully exploited. Cape Verde annually runs a high trade deficit, financed by foreign aid and remittances from emigrants; remittances supplement GDP by more than 20%. Economic reforms are aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment to diversify the economy. Future prospects depend heavily on the maintenance of aid flows, the encouragement of tourism, remittances, and the momentum of the government's development program. | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy turned in a relatively weak performance throughout much of the 1990s. 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. Business and income tax cuts introduced in 2001 did not spare Germany from the impact of the downturn in international trade, and domestic demand faltered as unemployment began to rise. Growth in 2002 again 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 addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures has brought the deficit close to the EU's 3% debt limit. |
Electricity - consumption | 40.06 million kWh (2002) | 501.72 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 42.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 44.5 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 43.08 million kWh (2002) | 537.33 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 63%
hydro: 4% nuclear: 30% other: 3% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island) |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; deforestation due to demand for wood used as fuel; desertification; environmental damage has threatened several species of birds and reptiles; illegal beach sand extraction; overfishing | 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, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
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 | Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1% | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) |
Exchange rates | Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 88.808 (2004), 97.703 (2003), 117.168 (2002), 123.228 (2001), 119.687 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Pedro PIRES (since 22 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Maria Pereira NEVES (since 1 February 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 11 and 25 February 2001 (next to be held February 2006); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the president election results: Pedro PIRES elected president; percent of vote - Pedro PIRES (PAICV) 49.43%, Carlos VIEGA (MPD) 49.42%; note - the election was won by only twelve votes |
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 NA% |
Exports | NA | $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | Portugal 59.4%, US 17.2%, UK 11.4% (2004) | France 11.1%, US 10.6%, UK 8.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, Austria 5.1%; Belgium 4.9%, Spain 4.5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2001) (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of light blue (top, double width), white (with a horizontal red stripe in the middle third), and light blue; a circle of 10 yellow five-pointed stars is centered on the hoist end of the red stripe and extends into the upper and lower blue bands | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.184 trillion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 21.9% services: 66% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2004 est.) | 0.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 24 00 W | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location 500 km from west coast of Africa near major north-south sea routes; important communications station; important sea and air refueling site | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | - | 40 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,350 km
paved: 932 km unpaved: 418 km (2000) |
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 |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 25% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs moving from Latin America and Asia destined for Western Europe; the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center | 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 | $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, industrial products, transport equipment, fuels | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | Portugal 41.8%, US 12.3%, Netherlands 8.4%, Spain 5.2%, Italy 4.2%, Brazil 4% (2004) | France 9.4%, Netherlands 8.4%, US 8.3%, UK 6.9%, Italy 6.5%, Belgium 5.2%, Japan 4.1%, Austria 3.8% (2001) |
Independence | 5 July 1975 (from Portugal) | 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 | NA | -2.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, fish processing, shoes and garments, salt mining, ship repair | 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: 47.77 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 42.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2004 est.) | 1.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 200 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Supremo Tribunal de Justia | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | NA | 41.9 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | industry 33%, agriculture 3%, services 64% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 9.68%
permanent crops: 0.5% other: 89.82% (2001) |
arable land: 33.88%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 65.47% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) | German |
Legal system | derived from the legal system of Portugal | 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 Assembleia Nacional (72 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held December 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PAICV 47.3%, MPD 39.8%, ADM 6%, other 6.9%; seats by party - PAICV 40, MPD 30, ADM 2 |
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%, Greens 8.6%, FDP 7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Greens 55, FDP 47, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.45 years
male: 67.13 years female: 73.86 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.78 years
male: 74.64 years female: 81.09 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.6% male: 85.8% female: 69.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 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: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,395 GRT/6,614 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
total: 388 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,758,942 GRT/7,132,525 DWT
ships by type: cargo 132, chemical tanker 10, container 219, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 7, 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 | People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARP): Army, Coast Guard (includes maritime air wing) | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $14.1 million (2004) | $38.8 billion (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2004) | 1.38% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 20,854,329 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 17,734,977 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 482,318 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 5 July (1975) | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Cape Verdean(s)
adjective: Cape Verdean |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
Natural hazards | prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active | flooding |
Natural resources | salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
Net migration rate | -11.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 3.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,240 km (2001) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for Independence of Cape Verde or PAICV [Jose Maria Pereira NEVES, chairman]; Democratic Alliance for Change or ADM [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO] (a coalition of PCD, PTS, and UCID); Democratic Christian Party or PDC [Manuel RODRIGUES, chairman]; Democratic Renovation Party or PRD [Jacinto SANTOS, president]; Movement for Democracy or MPD [Agostinho LOPES, president]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Dr. Eurico MONTEIRO, president]; Party of Work and Solidarity or PTS [Isaias RODRIGUES, president]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Joao ALEM, president] | 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]; the Greens [leader NA]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Gabriele 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 | 418,224 (July 2005 est.) | 83,251,851 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (2000) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.67% (2005 est.) | 0.26% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mindelo, Praia, Tarrafal | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 22 (and 12 low power repeaters), shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 77.8 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 44,000 km (including at least 20,300 km electrified); most routes are double- or multiple-track
note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the track it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own approximately 3,000 to 4,000 km of track (2001 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs); Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene) | 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: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: effective system, extensive modernization from 1996-2000 following partial privatization in 1995
domestic: major service provider is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT); fiber optic ring, completed in 2001, links all islands providing Internet access and ISDN services; cellular service introduced in 1998 international: country code - 238; 2 coaxial submarine cables; HF radiotelephone to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 71,700 (2003) | 50.9 million (March 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 53,300 (2003) | 55.3 million (June 2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (and 7 repeaters) (2002) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | 3.48 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (2000 est.) | 9.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 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) |