Sao Tome and Principe (2003) | Germany (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
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: 47.7% (male 42,480; female 41,411)
15-64 years: 48.3% (male 41,043; female 43,986) 65 years and over: 4% (male 3,197; female 3,766) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 6,078,885/female 5,766,065)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 28,006,268/female 27,003,958) 65 years and over: 18.9% (male 6,359,776/female 9,216,438) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 550 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 331
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 62 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 134 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 219
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 185 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,001 sq km
land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's economy. | 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 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 | 41.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $58 million
expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 est.) |
revenues: $1.2 trillion
expenditures: $1.3 trillion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Sao Tome | Berlin |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
Coastline | 209 km | 2,389 km |
Constitution | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe |
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 |
Currency | dobra (STD) | - |
Death rate | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $253.8 million (2000) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands | 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; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 8305-0 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580 | 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, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
Economic aid - recipient | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program | - |
Economy - overview | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 28 years ago. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices brighten prospects for 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Sao Tome's success in implementing structural reforms has been rewarded by international donors, who pledged increased assistance in 2001. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic that substantial petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea; production could begin as early as 2004. | 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. 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 | 15.81 million kWh (2001) | 519.5 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 53.8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 45.8 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 17 million kWh (2001) | 560 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 41.2%
hydro: 58.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese) | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
Exchange rates | dobras per US dollar - NA (2002), 8,842.11 (2001), 7,978.17 (2000), 7,118.96 (1999), 6,883.24 (1998) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Maria das NEVES (since 7 October 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998); Vice Chancellor Joschka FISCHER (since 17 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 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 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 12,990 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 30.1%, Poland 11.8%, Canada 9.7%, Germany 7.5%, Philippines 7.5%, Spain 7.5%, Belgium 6.5%, France 4.3%, Portugal 4.3% (2002) | France 10.3%, US 8.8%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.2%, Netherlands 6.2%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $200 million (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 25%
industry: 10% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 1.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 7 00 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
Geography - note | the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
Heliports | - | 34 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 320 km
paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1999 est.) |
total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | NA (2001) | 2.135 million bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
Imports - partners | Portugal 51.4%, Germany 10.1%, UK 7.6%, Belgium 6.3% (2002) | France 9%, Netherlands 8.3%, US 7%, Italy 6.1%, UK 5.9%, China 5.6%, Belgium 4.9%, Austria 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) | 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 | NA% | 2.2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber | 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: 46.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2002 est.) | 1.6% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AfDB, 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, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
Labor force | NA | 42.63 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
agriculture 2.8%, industry 33.4%, services 63.8% (1999) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 2%
permanent crops: 41% other: 57% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 33.85%
permanent crops: 0.59% other: 65.56% (2001) |
Languages | Portuguese (official) | German |
Legal system | based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8 |
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 3 to 6 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; Federal Council - current composition - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.28 years
male: 64.79 years female: 67.82 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 78.65 years
male: 75.66 years female: 81.81 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,595 GRT/99,873 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 15, chemical tanker 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 1, Kenya 1, Portugal 1, Syria 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 332 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT
by type: cargo 69, chemical tanker 13, container 208, liquefied gas 3, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 5 (Finland 2, Netherlands 1, Switzerland 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 2,289 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Security Police | Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $400,000 (FY01) | $35.063 billion (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (FY01) | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 36,905 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 19,443 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Sao Tomean(s)
adjective: Sao Tomean |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding |
Natural resources | fish, hydropower | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties | 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]; Left Party or PDS/WASG [Oskar LAFONTAINE and Gregor GYSI]; Party of Democratic Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
Population | 175,883 (July 2003 est.) | 82,431,390 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.18% (2003 est.) | 0% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome | Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 46,142 km (20,100 km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,928 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified) narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate facilities
domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 4,600 (2000) | 54.35 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,942 (1997) | 64.8 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
Total fertility rate | 5.88 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.6% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2004) |