Germany (2002) | Lithuania (2002) | |
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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 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
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: 18.2% (male 333,966; female 319,992)
15-64 years: 68% (male 1,184,969; female 1,265,711) 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 167,789; female 328,711) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 625 (2001) | 72 (2001) |
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: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (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: 63
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
Area | total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but this proclamation was not generally recognized until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently has restructured its economy for eventual integration into Western European institutions. |
Birth rate | 8.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $1.59 billion
expenditures: $1.77 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Berlin | Vilnius |
Climate | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
Coastline | 2,389 km | 99 km |
Constitution | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 | adopted 25 October 1992 |
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 Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 |
litas (LTL) |
Death rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.87 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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 John F. TEFFT
embassy: 2600 Akmenu 6, Vilnius mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (2) 665-500 FAX: [370] (2) 665-510 |
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 Vygaudas USACKAS
chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
Disputes - international | none | the Russian Duma has not ratified 1997 boundary treaty; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $228.5 million (1995) (1995) |
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. | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has been slowly rebounding from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. High unemployment, still 12% in 2002, and weak consumption have held back recovery. Trade has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and has moved ahead with plans to join the EU. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, is underway. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. The US government and business aid have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 501.72 billion kWh (2000) | 6.898 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 42.5 billion kWh (2000) | 6.3 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 44.5 billion kWh (2000) | 3 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 537.33 billion kWh (2000) | 10.966 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 63%
hydro: 4% nuclear: 30% other: 3% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 20%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 77% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases |
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish) | Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Belarusian 1.6%, other 2.1% |
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) | litai per US dollar - 3.4946 (15 October 2002), 3.4794 (1 July 2002), 4.000 (fixed rate between 1 May 1994 and 1 February 2002); note - litai is the plural of litas; effective 1 February 2002 the litas was pegged to the euro at a rate of 3.4528 |
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 Rolandas PAKSAS (since 26 February 2003)
head of government: Premier Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 22 December 2002 and 5 January 2003 (next to be held in late 2007); premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Rolandas PAKSAS elected president; percent of vote - Rolandas PAKSAS 54.9%, Valdas ADAMKUS 45.1% |
Exports | $608 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $5.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles | mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
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) | UK 13.8%, Latvia 12.6%, Germany 12.6%, Russia 11%, Poland 6.3% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.184 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29.2 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 31% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,600 (2002 est.); (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 51 00 N, 9 00 E | 56 00 N, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
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: 44,000 km
paved: 35,500 km unpaved: 8,500 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 25% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1996) (1996) |
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 opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy; susceptible to money laundering |
Imports | $487.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $6.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals | mineral products 21%, machinery and equipment 17%, transport equipment 11%, chemicals 9%, textiles and clothing 9%, metals 5% (2001) |
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) | Russia 25.3%, Germany 17.2%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.2%, France 3.8% (2001) |
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 | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.1% (2002 est.) | 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 | metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber |
Infant mortality rate | 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 14.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.3% (2002 est.) | 0.8% (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 | ACCT (observer), BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 200 (2001) | 32 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) | 90 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
Labor force | 41.9 million (2001) | 1.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 33%, agriculture 3%, services 64% (1999) | industry 30%, agriculture 20%, services 50% (1997 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: 1,273 km
border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km |
Land use | arable land: 33.88%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 65.47% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 45.46%
permanent crops: 0.93% other: 53.61% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German | Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian |
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 civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
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 Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 October 2000 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democratic Coalition 31.1%, New Union-Social Liberals 19.6%, Liberal Union 17.2%, TS 8.6%, remaining parties all less than 5%; seats by party - Social Democratic Coalition 52, Liberal Union 34, New Union-Social Liberals 29, TS 9, Farmer's Party 4, Center Union 2, Poles' Electoral Action 2, Modern Christian Democratic Union 1, independents 3, others 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.78 years
male: 74.64 years female: 81.09 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.42 years
male: 63.54 years female: 75.6 years (2002 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% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
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 |
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: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 279,743 GRT/304,156 DWT
ships by type: cargo 25, combination bulk 8, petroleum tanker 2, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 13 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy (including naval air arm), Air Force, Medical Corps, Joint Support Service | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, National Volunteer Defense Forces (SKAT) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $38.8 billion (2002) | $230.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.38% (2002) | 1.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 20,854,329 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 933,638 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 17,734,977 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 733,415 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 482,318 (2002 est.) | males: 28,506 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date of independence from German, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation, 11 March 1990 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
Natural hazards | flooding | NA |
Natural resources | iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land | peat, arable land |
Net migration rate | 3.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,240 km (2001) | crude oil, 105 km; natural gas 760 km (1992) |
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] | Christian Democratic Party or LKDP [Kazys BOBELIS, chairman]; Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Vytautas LANDSBERGIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Center Union or LCS [Kestutis GLAVECKAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Farmer's Party or LUP [Ramunas KARBAUSKIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Green Party [Rimantas BRAZIULIS]; Lithuanian Liberal Union [Eugenijus GENTVILAS, chairman]; Lithuanian Liberal Youth [Neringa MOROZAITE]; Lithuanian National Democratic Party [Vygintas GONTIS]; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP, the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSPD, and New Democracy; Moderate Conservative Union [Gediminas VAGNORIUS]; Modern Christian Democratic Union [Vytautas BOGUSIS, chairman]; New Democracy and Farmer's Union [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; New Union-Social Liberals [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Young Lithuania [Arnoldas PLATELIS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups | NA |
Population | 83,251,851 (July 2002 est.) | 3,601,138 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2002 est.) | -0.25% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart | Butinge, Kaunas, Klaipeda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 77.8 million (1997) | 1.9 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: 1,998 km
broad gauge: 1,807 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 169 km 0.750-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% | Roman Catholic (primarily), Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, Muslim, Jewish |
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: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.51 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2002 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: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access
domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications international: landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | 50.9 million (March 2001) | 1.142 million (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.3 million (June 2001) | 500,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
Terrain | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.4 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2002 est.) | 12.5% (2001 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) |
600 km (perennially navigable) |