Germany (2001) | Trinidad and Tobago (2003) | |
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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 | 8 counties, 3 municipalities*, and 1 ward**; Arima*, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port-of-Spain*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando*, Tobago**, Victoria |
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: 22.2% (male 125,470; female 119,270)
15-64 years: 70% (male 402,137; female 370,600) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 38,928; female 47,804) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 613 (2000 est.) | 6 (2002) |
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: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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. | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean, thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. |
Birth rate | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$996 billion expenditures: $1.036 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.54 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (1998) |
Capital | Berlin | Port-of-Spain |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | 1 August 1976 |
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: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
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 |
Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) |
Death rate | 10.42 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.71 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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 Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
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 Marina Annette VALERE (as of February 2003)
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $24 million (1999 est.) |
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. | Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer the past four years has been the booming natural gas sector. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by solid growth in the oil sector, offset in part by domestic political uncertainty. |
Electricity - consumption | 495.181 billion kWh (1999) | 4.943 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 39.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 40.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 531.377 billion kWh (1999) | 5.315 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
63.29% hydro: 3.59% nuclear: 30.3% other: 2.82% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 99.8%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0.2% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Freepsum Lake -2 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 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 | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
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) | black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% |
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) | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.24 (2002), 6.23 (2001), 6.3 (2000), 6.3 (1999), 6.3 (1998) |
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 George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
Exports | $578 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers |
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) | US 56.9%, Jamaica 7.3%, France 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.936 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.07 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.2% industry: 30.4% services: 68.4% (1999) |
agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 43.2% services: 55.2% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 11 00 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt |
Heliports | 59 (2000 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: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis |
Imports | $505 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals |
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) | US 42%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.5%, UK 5%, Japan 4.5%, Brazil 4.3% (2002) |
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 | 31 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2000) | 2.6% (2002 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 | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 4.3% (2002 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 123 (2000) | 17 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 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 Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London |
Labor force | 40.5 million (1999 est.) | 564,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999) | construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 31% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese |
Legal system | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.61 years male: 74.47 years female: 80.92 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.59 years
male: 67.07 years female: 72.23 years (2003 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: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the outer edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,032 GRT/5,106 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Border Police, Coast Guard | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force (including Ground Force, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.8 billion (FY98) | $90 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY98) | 1.4% (1999) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
20,851,022 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 327,823 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,760,412 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 233,488 (2003 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) | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
German(s) adjective: German |
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
Natural hazards | flooding | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt |
Net migration rate | 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -10.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,500 km (1998) | condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2003) |
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] | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR] |
Population | 83,029,536 (July 2001 est.) | 1,104,209 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 21% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.27% (2001 est.) | -0.68% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Fortin, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain, Scarborough, Tembladora |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 767, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 2, FM 12, shortwave 0 (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 |
minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; common carrier railway service was discontinued in 1968 (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 38%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 1.7%, unaffiliated or other 26.3% | Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% |
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: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 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: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
Telephones - main lines in use | 45.2 million (1997)
note: 46.5 million main lines were installed by yearend 1998 |
252,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15.318 million (April 1999) | 17,411 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (1997) |
Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.78 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.9% (2000 est.) | 10.8% (2002) |
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) |
none |