Germany (2002) | Bulgaria (2004) | |
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 | 28 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast); Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Khaskovo, Kurdzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Razgrad, Ruse, Shumen, Silistra, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofiya, Sofiya-Grad, Stara Zagora, Turgovishte, Varna, Veliko Turnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Yambol |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 553,801; female 526,856)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 2,533,784; female 2,615,968) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 535,954; female 751,610) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | vegetables, fruits, tobacco, livestock, wine, wheat, barley, sunflowers, sugar beets |
Airports | 625 (2001) | 212 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 128
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 92 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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) |
total: 85
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 72 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 110,910 sq km
land: 110,550 sq km water: 360 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | 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. | The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Northern Bulgaria attained autonomy in 1878 and all of Bulgaria became independent in 1908. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria held its first multiparty election since World War II and began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU. The country joined NATO in 2004. |
Birth rate | 8.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $8.121 billion
expenditures: $8.121 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Berlin | Sofia |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | temperate; cold, damp winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 354 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | adopted 12 July 1991 |
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 Bulgaria
conventional short form: Bulgaria |
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 |
lev (BGL) |
Death rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.25 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $12.05 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James William PARDEW
embassy: 16 Kozyak Street, Sofia 1407 mailing address: American Embassy Sofia, Department of State, 5740 Sofia Place, Washington, DC 20521-5740 telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100 FAX: [359] (2) 937-5230 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Elena B. POPTODOROVA
chancery: 1621 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-0174 FAX: [1] (202) 234-7973 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $300 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Bulgaria, a former communist country striving to enter the European Union, has experienced macroeconomic stability and strong growth since a major economic downturn in 1996 led to the fall of the then socialist government. As a result, the government became committed to economic reform and responsible fiscal planning. A $300 million stand-by agreement negotiated with the IMF at the end of 2001 has supported government efforts to overcome high rates of poverty and unemployment. |
Electricity - consumption | 501.72 billion kWh (2000) | 32.52 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 42.5 billion kWh (2000) | 6.79 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 44.5 billion kWh (2000) | 830 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 537.33 billion kWh (2000) | 41.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 63%
hydro: 4% nuclear: 30% other: 3% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Musala 2,925 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 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 | air pollution from industrial emissions; rivers polluted from raw sewage, heavy metals, detergents; deforestation; forest damage from air pollution and resulting acid rain; soil contamination from heavy metals from metallurgical plants and industrial wastes |
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-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) | Bulgarian 83.9%, Turk 9.4%, Roma 4.7%, other 2% (including Macedonian, Armenian, Tatar, Circassian) (2001) |
Exchange rates | 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) | leva per US dollar - 1.7327 (2003), 2.077 (2002), 2.1847 (2001), 2.1233 (2000), 1.8364 (1999)
note: on 5 July 1999, the lev was redenominated; the post-5 July 1999 lev is equal to 1,000 of the pre-5 July 1999 lev |
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 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% |
chief of state: President Georgi PURVANOV (since 22 January 2002); Vice President Angel MARIN (since 22 January 2002)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers Nikolay VASILEV (since 24 July 2001), Lidiya SHULEVA (since 24 July 2001), and Plamen PANAYOTOV (since 17 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 11 November and 18 November 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); chairman of the Council of Ministers (prime minister) nominated by the president and elected by the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly election results: Georgi PURVANOV elected president; percent of vote - Georgi PURVANOV 54.13%, Petar STOYANOV 45.87% |
Exports | $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | clothing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels |
Exports - partners | 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) | Italy 14.1%, Germany 10.9%, Greece 10.5%, Turkey 9.2%, France 5.1%, US 4.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red; the national emblem formerly on the hoist side of the white stripe has been removed - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the dates 681 (first Bulgarian state established) and 1944 (liberation from Nazi control) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.184 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $57.13 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 11.4%
industry: 30% services: 58.6% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 4.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 43 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | strategic location near Turkish Straits; controls key land routes from Europe to Middle East and Asia |
Heliports | 40 (2002) | 1 (2003 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: 37,286 km
paved: 35,049 km (including 324 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,237 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 25% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 4.5%
highest 10%: 22.8% (1997) |
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 European transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and, to a lesser degree, South American cocaine for the European market; limited producer of precursor chemicals; some money laundering of drug-related proceeds through financial institutions |
Imports | $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | fuels, minerals, and raw materials; machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; food, textiles |
Imports - partners | 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) | Germany 14.4%, Russia 12.6%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, France 5.7% (2003) |
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 | 3 March 1878 (as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire); 22 September 1908 (complete independence from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.1% (2002 est.) | 6.3% (2003 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 | electricity, gas and water; food, beverages and tobacco; machinery and equipment, base metals, chemical products, coke, refined petroleum, nuclear fuel |
Infant mortality rate | 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 21.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.3% (2002 est.) | 2.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) | 8,000 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 Administrative Court; Supreme Court of Cassation; Constitutional Court (12 justices appointed or elected for nine-year terms); Supreme Judicial Council (consists of the chairmen of the two Supreme Courts, the Chief Prosecutor, and 22 other members; responsible for appointing the justices, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates in the justice system; members of the Supreme Judicial Council elected for five-year terms, 11 elected by the National Assembly and 11 by bodies of the judiciary) |
Labor force | 41.9 million (2001) | 3.333 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33%, agriculture 3%, services 64% (1999) | agriculture 26%, industry 31%, services 43% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 1,808 km
border countries: Greece 494 km, Macedonia 148 km, Romania 608 km, Serbia and Montenegro 318 km, Turkey 240 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.88%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 65.47% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 40.02%
permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.06% (2001) |
Languages | German | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown |
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 and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Narodno Sobranie (240 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NMS2 42.74%, UDF 18.18%, CfB 17.15%, MRF 7.45%; seats by party - NMS2 120, UDF 51, CfB 48, MRF 21; note - seating as of January 2005 - NMS2 98, CfB 49, UtDF 28, MRF 20, UDF 14, New Time 13, BANU 11, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.78 years
male: 74.64 years female: 81.09 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.75 years
male: 68.14 years female: 75.59 years (2004 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: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania and Turkey |
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 |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 757,972 GRT/1,115,238 DWT
by type: bulk 37, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, container 2, petroleum tanker 3, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $38.8 billion (2002) | $356 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.38% (2002) | 2.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 20,854,329 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,829,203 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 17,734,977 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,530,657 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 482,318 (2002 est.) | males: 52,811 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Liberation Day, 3 March (1878) |
Nationality | noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
noun: Bulgarian(s)
adjective: Bulgarian |
Natural hazards | flooding | earthquakes, landslides |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,240 km (2001) | gas 2,425 km; oil 339 km; refined products 156 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Bulgarian Agrarian National Union-People's Union or BANU [Anastasia MOZER]; Bulgarian Socialist Party or BSP [Sergei STANISHEV]; Coalition for Bulgaria or CfB (coalition of parties dominated by BSP) [Sergei STANISHEV]; Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria or DSB [Ivan KOSTOV]; Movement for Rights and Freedoms or MRF [Ahmed DOGAN]; National Movement for Simeon II or NMS2 [Simeon SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA]; New Time [Emil KOSHLUKOV]; Union of Democratic Forces or UDF [Nadezhda MIKHAYLOVA]; Union of Free Democrats or UFD [Stefan SOFIYANSKI]; United Democratic Forces or UtDF (a coalition of center-right parties dominated by DSB) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria or CITUB; Podkrepa Labor Confederation; numerous regional, ethnic, and national interest groups with various agendas |
Population | 83,251,851 (July 2002 est.) | 7,517,973 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 13.4% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2002 est.) | -0.92% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Burgas, Lom, Nesebur, Ruse, Varna, Vidin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 31, FM 63, shortwave 2 (2001) |
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.) |
total: 4,294 km
standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% | Bulgarian Orthodox 82.6%, Muslim 12.2%, Roman Catholic 1.7%, Jewish 0.1%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other 3.4% (1998) |
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: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 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, 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) |
general assessment: extensive but antiquated
domestic: more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay international: country code - 359; direct dialing to 58 countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 2 Intelsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 50.9 million (March 2001) | 2,868,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.3 million (June 2001) | 2,597,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 39 (plus 1,242 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly mountains with lowlands in north and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.37 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2002 est.) | 14.3% (2003) |
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) |
470 km (2004) |