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Compare Germany (2008) - Syria (2003)

Compare Germany (2008) z Syria (2003)

 Germany (2008)Syria (2003)
 GermanySyria
Administrative divisions 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat) 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
Age structure 0-14 years: 13.9% (male 5,894,724/female 5,590,373)


15-64 years: 66.3% (male 27,811,357/female 26,790,222)


65 years and over: 19.8% (male 6,771,972/female 9,542,348) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 38.6% (male 3,494,473; female 3,290,699)


15-64 years: 58.2% (male 5,238,026; female 4,991,588)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 274,744; female 296,010) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports 550 (2007) 92 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways total: 331


over 3,047 m: 14


2,438 to 3,047 m: 52


1,524 to 2,437 m: 58


914 to 1,523 m: 72


under 914 m: 135 (2007)
total: 24


over 3,047 m: 5


2,438 to 3,047 m: 16


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 219


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 3


914 to 1,523 m: 34


under 914 m: 181 (2007)
total: 68


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 55 (2002)
Area total: 357,021 sq km


land: 349,223 sq km


water: 7,798 sq km
total: 185,180 sq km


land: 184,050 sq km


water: 1,130 sq km


note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Montana slightly larger than North Dakota
Background As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany 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 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
Birth rate 8.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 29.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.465 trillion


expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.)
revenues: $6 billion


expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (2002 est.)
Capital name: Berlin


geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Damascus
Climate temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Coastline 2,389 km 193 km
Constitution 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990 13 March 1973
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: Syrian Arab Republic


conventional short form: Syria


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah


local short form: Suriyah


former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Currency - Syrian pound (SYP)
Death rate 10.71 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 5.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $4.489 trillion (30 June 2007) $22 billion (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.


embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy is being built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008


mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265


telephone: [49] (030) 2375174


FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215


consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich
chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF


embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus


mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus


telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342


FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH


chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007


telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000


FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
chief of mission: Ambassador (acting) Imad MUSTAFA


chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313


FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
Disputes - international none Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; Lebanon claims Shaba'a farms in Golan Heights; Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon since October 1976; Syria protests Turkish hydrological projects regulating upper Euphrates waters; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province
Economic aid - donor ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) -
Economic aid - recipient - $199 million (1997 est.)
Economy - overview Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll. Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing, on average, more slowly than its 2.4% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. Recent legislation allows private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. External factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the war between the US-led coalition and Iraq probably will drive real annual GDP growth levels back below their 3.5% spike in 2002. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Electricity - consumption 545.5 billion kWh (2005) 21.63 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 61.43 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 56.86 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 579.4 billion kWh (2005) 23.26 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 57.6%


hydro: 42.4%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m


highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 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 deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) Syrian pounds per US dollar - (Official rate): 11.23 (2002), 11.23 (2001), 11.23 (2000), 11.23 (1999), 11.23 (1998), (Free market rate): 49.65 (2001), 49.4 (2000), 51.7 (1999), 52 (1998)
Executive branch chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)


head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)


cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor


elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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 2004 (next scheduled for 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections to be held by autumn 2009)


election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions
chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)


head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29%


note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000
Exports 518,700 bbl/day (2004) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles crude oil 70%, petroleum products 7%, fruits and vegetables 5%, cotton fiber 4%, clothing 3%, meat and live animals 2% (2000 est.)
Exports - partners France 9.5%, US 8.7%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, Austria 5.6%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.7% (2006) Germany 19.1%, Italy 17.5%, Turkey 7.8%, France 7.5%, Lebanon 5.2% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band
GDP - purchasing power parity - $63.48 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 0.9%


industry: 29.6%


services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 27%


industry: 23%


services: 50% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2007 est.) 3.6% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 51 00 N, 9 00 E 35 00 N, 38 00 E
Geography - note strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.)
Heliports 28 (2007) 7 (2002)
Highways - total: 43,381 km


paved: 10,021 km (including 877 km of expressways)


unpaved: 33,360 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3.2%


highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
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; major financial center a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets
Imports 2.953 million bbl/day (2004) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.)
Imports - partners Netherlands 11.8%, France 8.5%, Belgium 7.2%, China 5.9%, UK 5.7%, Italy 5.6%, US 5.3%, Austria 4.3% (2006) Italy 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, South Korea 4.8%, France 4.6%, US 4.4%, Turkey 4.1% (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 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate 2.1% (2007 est.) NA%
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, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining
Infant mortality rate total: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 31.67 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 31.89 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 31.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2007 est.) 0.9% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 4,850 sq km (2003) 12,130 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 Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts
Labor force 43.63 million (2007 est.) 5.2 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 2.8%


industry: 33.4%


services: 63.8% (1999)
agriculture, industry, services NA (2002)
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: 2,253 km


border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use arable land: 33.13%


permanent crops: 0.6%


other: 66.27% (2005)
arable land: 25.96%


permanent crops: 4.08%


other: 69.96% (1998 est.)
Languages German Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
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 Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 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 proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)


elections: Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009); 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: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held 2-3 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats
Life expectancy at birth total population: 78.95 years


male: 75.96 years


female: 82.11 years (2007 est.)
total population: 69.39 years


male: 68.18 years


female: 70.67 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 76.9%


male: 89.7%


female: 64% (2003 est.)
Location Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references Europe Middle East
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
contiguous zone: 41 NM


territorial sea: 35 NM
Merchant marine total: 382 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,085,484 GRT/14,261,476 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 50, chemical tanker 11, container 269, liquefied gas 5, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 7 (China 2, Finland 4, Ireland 1)


registered in other countries: 2,716 (Antigua and Barbuda 891, Australia 2, Bahamas 40, Belgium 1, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 17, Cyprus 197, Denmark 12, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 2, France 1, Georgia 2, Gibraltar 117, Hong Kong 10, Isle of Man 61, Italy 1, Jamaica 1, Liberia 728, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 67, Marshall Islands 214, Morocco 1, Netherlands 70, Netherlands Antilles 48, Norway 2, NZ 1, Panama 38, Portugal 22, Russia 2, Singapore 18, Spain 9, Sri Lanka 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 3, Sweden 4, Turkey 1, UK 71, US 6) (2007)
total: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 450,135 GRT/645,296 DWT


ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 109, container 2, livestock carrier 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.)
Military branches Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006) Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $858 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.5% (2005 est.) 5.9% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 4,715,386 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 2,629,148 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 19 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 210,941 (2003 est.)
National holiday Unity Day, 3 October (1990) Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality noun: German(s)


adjective: German
noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards flooding dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
People - note second most populous country in Europe after Russia -
Pipelines condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007) gas 2,300 km; oil 2,183 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Erwin HUBER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK] National Progressive Front or NPF (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general], Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al ASAD], Syrian Communist Party [leader NA], Unionist Socialist Party [leader NA], Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani QANNUT], and Arab Socialist Unionist Movement [Sami SUFAN]) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence
Population 82,400,996 (July 2007 est.) 17,585,540 (July 2002 est.)


note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 11% (2001 est.) 15%-25%
Population growth rate -0.033% (2007 est.) 2.45% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors - Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus
Radio broadcast stations AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 48,215 km


standard gauge: 47,962 km 1.435-m gauge (20,278 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)
total: 2,743 km


standard gauge: 2,425 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 318 km 1.050-m gauge (2002)
Religions Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female


total population: 0.966 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.93 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, 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: country code - 49; 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 currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology


domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network


international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
Telephones - main lines in use 54.2 million (2006) 1.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 84.3 million (2006) NA
Television broadcast stations 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) 3.72 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 9.1%


note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.)
20% (2002 est.)
Waterways 7,467 km


note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2006)
870 km (minimal economic importance)
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