Germany (2002) | Guyana (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 | 10 regions; Barima-Waini, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Demerara-Mahaica, East Berbice-Corentyne, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, Mahaica-Berbice, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Potaro-Siparuni, Upper Demerara-Berbice, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo |
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: 27% (male 96,775; female 93,077)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 240,305; female 236,378) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 15,755; female 19,810) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | sugar, rice, wheat, vegetable oils; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish (shrimp) |
Airports | 625 (2001) | 51 (2002) |
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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
Area | total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 214,970 sq km
land: 196,850 sq km water: 18,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Idaho |
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. | Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 Guyana had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to black settlement of urban areas and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. This ethnocultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, but until the early 1990s it was ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. In 1992, Cheddi JAGAN was elected president, in what is considered the country's first free and fair election since independence. Upon his death five years later, he was succeeded by his wife Janet, who resigned in 1999 due to poor health. Her successor, Bharrat JAGDEO, was reelected in 2001. |
Birth rate | 8.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $227 million
expenditures: $235.2 million, including capital expenditures of $93.4 million (2000) |
Capital | Berlin | Georgetown |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (May to mid-August, mid-November to mid-January) |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 459 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | 6 October 1980 |
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: Co-operative Republic of Guyana
conventional short form: Guyana former: British Guiana |
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 |
Guyanese dollar (GYD) |
Death rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.27 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.2 billion (2002) |
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 Ronald D. GODARD
embassy: 100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: [592] 225-4900 through 4909 FAX: [592] 225-8497 |
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 Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL
chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 232-1297 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | all of the area west of the Essequibo (river) claimed by Venezuela; Suriname claims area between New (Upper Courantyne) and Courantyne/Kutari [Koetari] rivers (all headwaters of the Courantyne); territorial sea boundary with Suriname is in dispute |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $84 million (1995), Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) $253 million (1997) |
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. | The Guyanese economy has exhibited moderate economic growth in 2001-02, based on expansion in the agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiatives, a more realistic exchange rate, fairly low inflation, and the continued support of international organizations. Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt against the urgent need for expanded public investment. The bauxite mining sector should benefit in the near term by restructuring and partial privatization. |
Electricity - consumption | 501.72 billion kWh (2000) | 792.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 42.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 44.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 537.33 billion kWh (2000) | 852 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 63%
hydro: 4% nuclear: 30% other: 3% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 99.4%
hydro: 0.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Roraima 2,835 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 | water pollution from sewage and agricultural and industrial chemicals; deforestation |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
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) | East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7% |
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) | Guyanese dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), 187.32 (2001), 182.43 (2000), 178 (1999), 150.52 (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 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 Bharrat JAGDEO (since 11 August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President JAGAN
head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Bharrat JAGDEO reelected; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | sugar, gold, bauxite/alumina, rice, shrimp, molasses, rum, timber |
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) | Canada 21.1%, US 17.9%, Netherlands Antilles 12.9%, UK 10.4%, Jamaica 5.3%, Portugal 4.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.184 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.628 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 35%
industry: 21% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 5 00 N, 59 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | the third-smallest country in South America after Suriname and Uruguay; substantial portions of its western and eastern territories are claimed by Venezuela and Suriname respectively |
Heliports | 40 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 656,140 km
paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather) (1998 est.) |
total: 7,970 km
paved: 590 km unpaved: 7,380 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 25% (1997) |
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 narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis |
Imports | $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | manufactures, machinery, petroleum, food |
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) | US 23.7%, Netherlands Antilles 20.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 15.2%, Italy 6.3%, UK 5.1%, Cuba 4.2% (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 | 26 May 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.1% (2002 est.) | 7.1% (1997 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 | bauxite, sugar, rice milling, timber, textiles, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 37.55 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.3% (2002 est.) | 4.7% (2002 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OIC, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,500 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; Judicial Court of Appeal; High Court |
Labor force | 41.9 million (2001) | 418,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33%, agriculture 3%, services 64% (1999) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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: 2,462 km
border countries: Brazil 1,119 km, Suriname 600 km, Venezuela 743 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.88%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 65.47% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.44%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 97.48% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu |
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 with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not accepted 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 (68 seats, 65 elected by popular vote, 1 elected Speaker of the National Assembly, and 2 nonvoting members appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPP/C 34, PNC 27, GAP and WPA 2, ROAR 1, TUF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.78 years
male: 74.64 years female: 81.09 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 63.09 years
male: 60.51 years female: 65.79 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 has ever attended school
total population: 98.8% male: 99.1% female: 98.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Suriname and Venezuela |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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: 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: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,929 GRT/4,507 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service | Guyana Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Corps), Guyana Police Force, Guyana People's Militia, Guyana National Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $38.8 billion (2002) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.38% (2002) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 20,854,329 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 207,890 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 17,734,977 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 156,174 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 482,318 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Republic Day, 23 February (1970) |
Nationality | noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
noun: Guyanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Guyanese |
Natural hazards | flooding | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | bauxite, gold, diamonds, hardwood timber, shrimp, fish |
Net migration rate | 3.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,240 km (2001) | - |
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] | Alliance for Guyana or AFG (includes Guyana Labor Party or GLP and Working People's Alliance or WPA) [Rupert ROOPNARAINE]; Guyana Action Party or GAP [Paul HARDY]; Guyana Labor Party or GLP [leader NA]; People's National Congress or PNC/R [Robert Herman Orlando CORBIN]; People's Progressive Party/Civic or PPP/C [Bharrat JAGDEO]; Rise, Organize, and Rebuild or ROAR [Ravi DEV]; The United Force or TUF [Manzoor NADIR]; Working People's Alliance or WPA [Rupert ROOPNARAINE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC
note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized |
Population | 83,251,851 (July 2002 est.) | 702,100
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2002 est.) | 0.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Bartica, Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam, Parika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 77.8 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 44,000 km (including at least 20,300 km electrified); most routes are double- or multiple-track
note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the track it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own approximately 3,000 to 4,000 km of track (2001 est.) |
total: 187 km
standard gauge: 139 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 48 km 0.914-m gauge note: all dedicated to ore transport (2001 est.) |
Religions | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% | Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 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, 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: fair system for long-distance calling
domestic: microwave radio relay network for trunk lines international: tropospheric scatter to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 50.9 million (March 2001) | 70,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.3 million (June 2001) | 6,100 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (one public station; two private stations which relay US satellite services) (1997) |
Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | mostly rolling highlands; low coastal plain; savanna in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.07 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2002 est.) | 9.1% (understated) (2000) |
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) |
5,900 km (total length of navigable waterways)
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively |