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Compare Eritrea (2006) - Germany (2008)

Compare Eritrea (2006) z Germany (2008)

 Eritrea (2006)Germany (2008)
 EritreaGermany
Administrative divisions 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea) 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: 44% (male 1,059,458/female 1,046,955)


15-64 years: 52.5% (male 1,244,153/female 1,268,189)


65 years and over: 3.5% (male 82,112/female 86,127) (2006 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 sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry
Airports 17 (2006) 550 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2006)
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: 13


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 2 (2006)
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: 121,320 sq km


land: 121,320 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 Pennsylvania slightly smaller than Montana
Background Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. 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 34.33 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 8.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $248.8 million


expenditures: $409.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
revenues: $1.465 trillion


expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.)
Capital name: Asmara (Asmera)


geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 53 E


time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Coastline 2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km) 2,389 km
Constitution a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990
Country name conventional long form: State of Eritrea


conventional short form: Eritrea


local long form: Hagere Ertra


local short form: Ertra


former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
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 9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 10.71 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $311 million (2000 est.) $4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI


embassy: 179 Alaa Street, Asmara


mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara


telephone: [291] (1) 120004


FAX: [291] (1) 127584
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 GHIRMAI Ghebremariam


chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991


FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304


consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)
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 Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing have prevented demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimed technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; in 2005 Eritrea began severely restricting the operations of the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitoring the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000; Sudan sustains over 110,000 Eritrean refugees and accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups none
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)
Economic aid - recipient $77 million (1999) -
Economy - overview Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002-05. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, as well as the willingness to open its economy to private enterprise so that the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth. 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 251.9 million kWh (2003) 545.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 61.43 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) 56.86 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 270.9 million kWh (2003) 579.4 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m


highest point: Soira 3,018 m
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m


highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare 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, Endangered Species


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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 Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Exchange rates nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 14.5 (2005), 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002), 11.31 (2001) euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly


head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly


cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated)


election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
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 NA bbl/day 518,700 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
Exports - partners Italy 39.3%, US 14.9%, Belarus 7.3%, Germany 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005) 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 red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 10.2%


industry: 25.4%


services: 64.3% (2005 est.)
agriculture: 0.9%


industry: 29.6%


services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2% (2005 est.) 2.6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 39 00 E 51 00 N, 9 00 E
Geography - note strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
Heliports - 28 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.2%


highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
Illicit drugs - 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 NA bbl/day 2.953 million bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners Germany 22.2%, Italy 20.3%, France 15.9%, US 12.8%, Ireland 8.2% (2005) 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 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) 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% (2007 est.)
Industries food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial 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: 46.3 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 52.22 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 40.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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) 15% (2005 est.) 2% (2007 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO 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 210 sq km (2003) 4,850 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Labor force NA 43.63 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 80%


industry and services: 20%
agriculture: 2.8%


industry: 33.4%


services: 63.8% (1999)
Land boundaries total: 1,626 km


border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 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: 4.78%


permanent crops: 0.03%


other: 95.19% (2005)
arable land: 33.13%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 66.27% (2005)
Languages Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages German
Legal system primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law 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 (150 seats; term limits not established)


elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
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: 59.03 years


male: 57.44 years


female: 60.66 years (2006 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: 58.6%


male: 69.9%


female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99% (2003 est.)
Location Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan 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: 12 nm territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine total: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,506 GRT/23,649 DWT


by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2006)
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 Army, Navy, Air Force 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 $220.1 million (2005 est.) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 17.7% (2005 est.) 1.5% (2005 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 24 May (1993) Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Nationality noun: Eritrean(s)


adjective: Eritrean
noun: German(s)


adjective: German
Natural hazards frequent droughts; locust swarms flooding
Natural resources gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
People - note - second most populous country in Europe after Russia
Pipelines - condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it 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 Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
Population 4,786,994 (July 2006 est.) 82,400,996 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 50% (2004 est.) 11% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 2.47% (2006 est.) -0.033% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Railways total: 306 km


narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2005)
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 Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant 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: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 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 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: inadequate


domestic: inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002)


international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
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 37,700 (2005) 54.2 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 40,400 (2005) 84.3 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Total fertility rate 5.08 children born/woman (2006 est.) 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 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 - 7,467 km


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