Kosovo (2008) | Germany (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 30 municipalities (komunat, singular - komuna in Albanian; opstine, singular - opstina in Serbian); Decan (Decani), Dragash (Dragas), Ferizaj (Urosevac), Fushe Kosove (Kosovo Polje), Gjakove (Dakovica), Gllogoc/Drenas (Glogovac), Gjilan (Gnjilane), Istog (Istok), Kacanik, Kline (Klina), Kamenice/Dardana (Kamenica), Leposaviq (Leposavic), Lipjan (Lipljan), Malisheve (Malisevo), Mitrovice (Mitrovica), Novoberde (Novo Brdo), Obiliq (Obilic), Peje (Pec), Podujeve (Podujevo), Prishtine (Pristina), Prizren, Rahovec (Orahovac), Shtime (Stimlje), Shterpce (Strpce), Skenderaj (Srbica), Suhareke (Suva Reka), Viti (Vitina), Vushtrri (Vucitrn), Zubin Potok, Zvecan | 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen* |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858) 65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | NA | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 10 (2008) | 554 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2008) |
total: 332
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
under 914 m: 4 (2008) |
total: 222
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 185 (2006) |
Area | total: 10,887 sq km
land: 10,887 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Delaware | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century, but did not fully incorporate them into the Serbian realm until the early 13th century. The Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule, during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War (1912), and after World War II (1945) the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz TITO reorganized Kosovo as an autonomous province within the constituent republic of Serbia. Over the next four decades, Kosovo Albanians lobbied for greater autonomy and Kosovo was granted the status almost equal to that of a republic in the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. Despite the legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s leading to nationalist riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. Serbs in Kosovo complained of mistreatment and Serb nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan MILOSEVIC, exploited those charges to win support among Serbian voters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland. Under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia instituted a new constitution in 1989 that drastically curtailed Kosovo's autonomy and Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent from Serbia. The MILOSEVIC regime carried out repressive measures against the Albanians in the early 1990s as the unofficial government of Kosovo, led by Ibrahim RUGOVA, tried to use passive resistance to gain international assistance and recognition of its demands for independence. In 1995, Albanians dissatisfied with RUGOVA's nonviolent strategy created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency. In 1998, MILOSEVIC authorized a counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians by Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces. The international community tried to resolve the conflict peacefully, but MILOSEVIC rejected the proposed international settlement - the Rambouillet Accords - leading to a three-month NATO bombing of Serbia beginning in March 1999, which forced Serbia to withdraw its military and police forces from Kosovo in June 1999. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. Under the resolution, Serbia's territorial integrity was protected, but it was UNMIK who assumed responsibility for governing Kosovo. In 2001, UNMIK promulgated a Constitutional Framework, which established Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), and in succeeding years UNMIK increasingly devolved responsibilities to the PISG. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's future status. Negotiations held intermittently between 2006 and 2007 on issues related to decentralization, religious heritage, and minority rights failed to yield a resolution between Serbia's willingness to grant a high degree of autonomy and the Albanians' call for full independence for Kosovo. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared its independence from Serbia. | As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany remains 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. |
Birth rate | - | 8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $893.2 million
expenditures: $796.6 million (2006 est.) |
revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Pristina (Prishtine)
geographic coordinates: 42 40 N, 21 10 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 |
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 |
Climate | influenced by continental air masses resulting in relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns; Mediterranean and alpine influences create regional variation; maximum rainfall between October and December | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,389 km |
Constitution | Constitutional Framework of 2001; note - the Kosovo Government is charged with putting forward an AHTISAARI (UN Special Envoy) Plan-compliant draft of a new constitution soon after independence | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kosovo
conventional short form: Kosovo local long form: Republika e Kosoves (Republika Kosova) local short form: Kosova (Kosovo) former: Kosovo i Metohija, Autonomna Pokrajina |
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 |
Death rate | - | 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | Serbia continued to pay Kosovo's external debt, which it claimed was around $1.2 billion; Kosovo was willing to accept around $900 million, according to the national bank of Serbia (2007) | $3.626 trillion (30 June 2005) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be 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) 2385 174 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
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 |
Disputes - international | Serbia with several other states protest the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers under UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo; Kosovo authorities object to alignment of the Kosovo boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $252 million (2006) | - |
Economy - overview | Kosovo's economy has largely transitioned to a market-based system but is highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Remittances from the diaspora - located mainly in Germany and Switzerland - account for about 30% of GDP. Kosovo's citizens are the poorest in Europe with an average per capita income of only $1900 - about one-third the level of neighboring Albania. Unemployment - at 50% of the population - is a severe problem that encourages outward migration. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common - the result of small plots, limited mechanization, and lack of technical expertise. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets. Minerals and metals - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once formed the backbone of industry, but output has declined because investment is insufficient to replace ageing Eastern Bloc equipment. Technical and financial problems in the power sector also impede industrial development, and deter foreign investment. Economic growth is largely driven by the private sector - mostly small-scale retail businesses. Both the euro and the Serbian dinar circulate. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep inflation low. Kosovo has maintained a budget surplus as a result of efficient tax collection and inefficient spending. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment. In order to help integrate Kosovo into regional economic structures, UNMIK signed (on behalf of Kosovo) its accession to the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006. | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. 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 $70 billion. Germany's aging 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. 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 further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.281 billion kWh (2006) | 510.4 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 54.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 45.4 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 3.996 billion kWh (2006) | 558.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Drini i Bardhe/Beli Drim 297 m (located on the border with Albania)
highest point: Gjeravica/Deravica 2,565 m |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 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 |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma, Turk) | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
Exchange rates | Serbian dinars per US dollar - 54.5 (2008 est.) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Fatmir SEJDIU (since 10 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Hashim THACI (since 9 January 2008) cabinet: ministers; elected by the Kosovo Assembly elections: the president is elected for a 5-year term by the Kosovo Assembly; the prime minister is elected by the Kosovo Assembly election results: Fatmir SEJDIU and Hashim THACI elected to be president and prime minister respectively by the Assembly |
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 to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held November 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 |
Exports | $13.08 million (2006) | 12,990 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | scrap metals, mining and processed metal products, plastics, wood | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 56% (2006) | France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | centered on a dark blue field is the shape of Kosovo in a gold color surmounted by six white, five-pointed stars - each representing one of the major ethnic groups of Kosovo - arrayed in a slight arc | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.6% services: 69.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2007) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 35 N, 21 00 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | 2 (2008) | 32 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (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 financial center |
Imports | $84.99 million (2006) | 2.135 million bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and electrical equipment | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 48% (2006) | France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK 6.3%, Italy 5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005) |
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 |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2.9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | NA | 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 |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2007 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, 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, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | - | 4,850 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG); district courts judges are appointed by the SRSG; municipal courts judges are appointed by the SRSG | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | 832,000 (June 2007 est.) | 43.32 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21.4%
industry: NA services: NA (2006) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999) |
Land boundaries | total: 700.7 km
border countries: Albania 111.8 km, Macedonia 158.7 km, Montenegro 78.6 km, Serbia 351.6 km |
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 |
Land use | - | arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005) |
Languages | Albanian, Serbian, Bosniak, Turkish | German |
Legal system | evolving legal system based on terms of UN Special Envoy Martii AHTISAARI's Plan for Kosovo's supervised independence | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Kosovo Assembly of the Provisional Government (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats for Serbs, 10 seats for other minorities; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2007 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 34.3%, Democratic League of Kosovo 22.6%, New Kosovo Alliance 12.3%, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 10.0%, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 9.6%; seats by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 37, Democratic League of Kosovo 25, New Kosovo Alliance 13, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 11, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 10 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (613 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 three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held September 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: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 78.8 years
male: 75.81 years female: 81.96 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeast Europe, between Serbia and Macedonia | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/13,091,194 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13, container 273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and Barbuda 858, Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13, Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2, Netherlands 56, Netherlands Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama 35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006) |
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) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35.063 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2003) |
National holiday | - | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Kosovoan
adjective: Kosovoan |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
Natural hazards | - | flooding |
Natural resources | nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome, bauxite | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,827 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Kososvo and Metohija or SDSKiM [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Autonomous Liberal Party of SLS [Slobodan PETROVIC]; Bosniak Vakat Coalition [ Dzezair MURATI]; Citizens' Initiative of Gora or GIG [Murselj HALILI]; Council of Independent Social Democrats of Kosovo or SNSDKIM [Ljubisa ZIVIC]; Democratic League of Dardania or LDD [Nexhat DACI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Fatmir SEJDIU]; Democratic Party of Ashkali of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Xhevdet Neziraj]; New Democratic Party or ND [Branislav GRBIC]; New Kosovo Alliance [Behgjet PACOLLI]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Reform Party Ora; Serb National Party or SNS [Mihailo SCEPANOVIC]; Serbian Kosovo and Metohija Party or SKMS [Dragisa MIRIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Numan BALIC] | Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH 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]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
Population | 2,126,708 (2007 est.) | 82,422,299 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.02% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | total: 430 km (2005) | total: 47,201 km
standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified) narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim, Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 106,300 (2006) | 55.046 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 562,000 (2006) | 79.2 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | flat fluvial basin with an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2007 est.) | 11.7% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 7,467 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2005) |