Germany (2001) | France (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 22 regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse, Franche-Comte, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Rhone-Alpes
note: metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including the "territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and is subdivided into 96 departments; see separate entries for the overseas departments (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) and the overseas territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon) |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 18.4% (male 5,717,761/female 5,440,060)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 19,784,749/female 19,752,432) 65 years and over: 16.4% (male 4,084,193/female 5,876,983) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | wheat, cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, wine grapes; beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 613 (2000 est.) | 478 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 283
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 95 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 65 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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.) |
total: 195
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 120 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 547,030 sq km
land: 545,630 sq km water: 1,400 sq km note: includes only metropolitan France; excludes the overseas administrative divisions |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly less than twice the size of Colorado |
Background | 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. | Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier parliamentary democracies. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy. |
Birth rate | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.15 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.005 trillion
expenditures: $1.08 trillion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Berlin | Paris |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | generally cool winters and mild summers, but mild winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean; occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind known as mistral |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 3,427 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | adopted by referendum 28 September 1958, effective 4 October 1958; amended concerning election of president in 1962; amended to comply with provisions of 1992 EC Maastricht Treaty, 1996 Amsterdam Treaty, 2000 Treaty of Nice; amended to tighten immigration laws in 1993; amended in 2000 to change the seven-year presidential term to a five-year term |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: French Republic
conventional short form: France local long form: Republique Francaise local short form: France |
Currency | 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 |
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Death rate | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.08 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependent areas | - | Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, New Caledonia, Tromelin Island, Wallis and Futuna
note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. LEACH
embassy: 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris Cedex 08 mailing address: PSC 116, APO AE 09777 telephone: [33] (1) 43-12-22-22 FAX: [33] (1) 42 66 97 83 consulate(s) general: Marseille, Strasbourg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean-David LEVITTE
chancery: 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 944-6000 FAX: [1] (202) 944-6166 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Madagascar claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial dispute between Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana; France asserts a territorial claim in Antarctica (Adelie Land); France and Vanuatu claim Matthew and Hunter Islands, east of New Caledonia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | ODA, $5.4 billion (2002) |
Economy - overview | 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. | France is in the midst of transition, from a well-to-do modern economy that has featured extensive government ownership and intervention to one that relies more on market mechanisms. The government has partially or fully privatized many large companies, banks, and insurers. It retains controlling stakes in several leading firms, including Air France, France Telecom, Renault, and Thales, and is dominant in some sectors, particularly power, public transport, and defense industries. The telecommunications sector is gradually being opened to competition. France's leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they maintain social equity by means of laws, tax policies, and social spending that reduce income disparity and the impact of free markets on public health and welfare. The government has lowered income taxes and introduced measures to boost employment and reform the pension system. In addition, it is focusing on the problems of the high cost of labor and labor market inflexibility resulting from the 35-hour workweek and restrictions on lay-offs. The tax burden remains one of the highest in Europe (43.8% of GDP in 2003). The lingering economic slowdown and inflexible budget items have pushed the budget deficit above the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP limit. Finance Minister Herve GAYMARD has promised that the 2005 deficit will fall below 3%. |
Electricity - consumption | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) | 414.7 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) | 79.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) | 3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) | 528.6 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Rhone River delta -2 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | some forest damage from acid rain; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from urban wastes, agricultural runoff |
Environment - international 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 |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) | Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities |
Exchange rates | 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) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Dominique DE VILLEPIN (since 31 May 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the suggestion of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (changed from seven-year term in October 2000); election last held 21 April and 5 May 2002 (next to be held, first round April 2007, second round May 2007); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly majority and appointed by the president election results: Jacques CHIRAC reelected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Jacques CHIRAC (RPR) 81.96%, Jean-Marie LE PEN (FN) 18.04% |
Exports | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 409,600 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages |
Exports - partners | 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) | Germany 15%, Spain 9.5%, UK 9.3%, Italy 9%, Belgium 7.2%, US 6.7% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the "Le drapeau tricolore" (French Tricolor), the origin of the flag dates to 1790 and the French Revolution; the design and/or colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Cote d'Ivoire, Luxembourg, and Netherlands; the official flag for all French dependent areas |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 24.3% services: 73% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 46 00 N, 2 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | largest West European nation |
Heliports | 59 (2000 est.) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
656,140 km paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
total: 893,100 km
paved: 893,100 km (including 12,000 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1995) |
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 | transshipment point for and consumer of South American cocaine, Southwest Asian heroin, and European synthetics |
Imports | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 2.281 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals |
Imports - partners | 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) | Germany 19.2%, Belgium 9.9%, Italy 8.8%, Spain 7.4%, UK 7%, Netherlands 6.7%, US 5.1% (2004) |
Independence | 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 | 486 (unified by Clovis) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2000) | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | 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 | machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics; textiles, food processing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BDEAC, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FZ, 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, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 123 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 20,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) | Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (judges are appointed by the president from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (three members appointed by the president, three appointed by the president of the National Assembly, and three appointed by the president of the Senate); Council of State or Conseil d'Etat |
Labor force | 40.5 million (1999 est.) | 27.7 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) | agriculture 4.1%, industry 24.4%, services 71.5% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 2,889 km
border countries: Andorra 56.6 km, Belgium 620 km, Germany 451 km, Italy 488 km, Luxembourg 73 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Spain 623 km, Switzerland 573 km |
Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 33.53%
permanent crops: 2.07% other: 64.4% (2001) |
Languages | German | French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) |
Legal system | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (321 seats - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve nine-year terms; elected by thirds every three years); note - between now and 2010, 25 new seats will be added to the Senate for a total of 346 seats - 326 for metropolitan France and overseas departments, 2 for New Caledonia, 2 for Mayotte, 1 for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 3 for overseas territories, and 12 for French nationals abroad; members will be indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve six-year terms, with one-half the seats being renewed every three years; and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (577 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a single-member majority system to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held September 2007); National Assembly - last held 8-16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 156, PS 97, UDF 33, PCF 23, RDSE 15, other 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 355, PS 140, UDF 29, PCF 21, Radical Party 7, Greens 3, other 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.6 years
male: 75.96 years female: 83.42 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1977 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (does not apply to the Mediterranean) continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 703,639 GRT/889,705 DWT
by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 30, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 6 (Sweden 5, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 139 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard | Army (includes Marines, Foreign Legion, Army Light Aviation), Navy (includes naval air), Air Force (includes Air Defense), National Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.8 billion (FY98) | $45,238.1 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY98) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
482,318 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French |
Natural hazards | flooding | flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorospar, gypsum, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) | gas 14,232 km; oil 3,024 km; refined products 4,889 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Citizen and Republican Movement or MCR [Jean Pierre CHEVENEMENT]; Democratic and European Social Rally or RDSE (mainly Radical Republican and Socialist Parties, and PRG) [Jacques PELLETIER]; French Communist Party or PCF [Marie-George BUFFET]; Left Radical Party or PRG (previously Radical Socialist Party or PRS and the Left Radical Movement or MRG) [Jean-Michel BAYLET]; Movement for France or MPF [Philippe DE VILLIERS]; National Front or NF [Jean-Marie LE PEN]; Rally for France or RPF [Charles PASQUA]; Socialist Party or PS [Francois HOLLANDE]; Greens [Yann WEHRLING, national secretary]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Francois BAYROU]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (including RPR, DL, and a part of UDF) [Nicolas SARKOZY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | historically-Communist labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail) or CGT, approximately 700,000 members (claimed); left-leaning labor union (Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail) or CFDT, approximately 889,000 members (claimed); independent labor union (Confederation Generale du Travail - Force Ouvriere) or FO, 300,000 members (est.); independent white-collar union (Confederation Generale des Cadres) or CGC, 196,000 members (claimed); employers' union (Mouvement des Entreprises de France) or MEDEF, 750,000 companies as members (claimed) |
Population | 83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) | 60,656,178 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 6.5% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.27% (2001 est.) | 0.37% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Bordeaux, Calais, Dunkerque, La Pallice, Le Havre, Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 41, FM about 3,500 (this figure is an approximation and includes many repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 77.8 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 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 |
total: 29,519 km
standard gauge: 29,352 km 1.435-m gauge (14,481 km electrified) narrow gauge: 167 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% | Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: highly developed
domestic: extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system international: country code - 33; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (with total of 5 antennas - 2 for Indian Ocean and 3 for Atlantic Ocean), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region); HF radiotelephone communications with more than 20 countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
33,905,400 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15.318 million (April 1999) | 41,683,100 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 584 (plus 9,676 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north and west; remainder is mountainous, especially Pyrenees in south, Alps in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.9% (2000 est.) | 10.1% (2004 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) |
8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2000) |