GERMANY
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 356,910 km2; land area: 349,520 km2; comprises the
formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic
Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: 3,790 km total; Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km,
Czechoslovakia 815 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km,
Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline: 2,389 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of
Baltic Sea--3 nm (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the
Helgolander Bucht); remainder of Baltic Sea--12 nm
Disputes: the boundaries of Germany were set by the Treaty on the
Final Settlement With Respect to Germany signed 12 September 1990 in
Moscow by the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic
Republic, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet
Union; this treaty entered into force on 15 March 1991; a subsequent
treaty between Germany and Poland, reaffirming the German-Polish
boundary, was signed on 14 November 1990 and is set to be ratified in
1991; the US Government is seeking to settle the property claims of US
nationals against the former GDR
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and
summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity
Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in
south
Land use: arable land 34%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
pastures 16%; forest and woodland 30%; other 19%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment: air and water pollution; ground water, lakes, and
air quality in eastern Germany are especially bad; significant
deforestation in the eastern mountains caused by air pollution and acid
rain
Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the
entrance to the Baltic Sea
PEOPLE
Population: 79,548,498 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--German(s); adjective--German
Ethnic divisions: primarily German; small Danish and Slavic
minorities
Religion: Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 37%, unaffiliated or
other 18%
Language: German
Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1970 est.)
Labor force: 36,750,000; industry 41%, agriculture 6%, other 53%
(1987)
Organized labor: 47% of labor force (1986 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Federal Republic of Germany
Type: federal republic
Capital: Berlin; note--the shift from Bonn to Berlin will take
place over a period of years with Bonn retaining many administrative
functions
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 power rights formally
relinquished 15 March 1991
Constitution: 23 May 1949, provisional constitution known as
Basic Law
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: 3 October 1990, German Unity Day
Executive branch: president, chancellor, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral parliament (no official name
for the two chambers as a whole) consists of an upper chamber or
Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower chamber or Federal Diet
(Bundestag)
Judicial branch:
Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Dr. Richard von WEIZSACKER
(since 1 July 1984);
Head of Government--Chancellor Dr. Helmut KOHL
(since 4 October 1982)
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Helmut KOHL, chairman;
Christian Social Union (CSU), Theo WAIGEL;
Free Democratic Party (FDP), Otto Count LAMBSDORFF, chairman;
Social Democratic Party (SPD), Bjoern ENGHOLM, chairman;
Green Party--Volmer LUDGER, Christine WEISKE, co-chairmen
(after the 2 December 1990 election the East and West German
Green Parties united);
Alliance 90 includes three parties--New Forum, Jens REICH, Sebastian
PFLUGBEIL, spokespersons; Democracy Now, Konrad WEISS, spokesperson;
and Initiative, Peace, and Human Rights Party, Gerd POPPE;
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS, formerly the East German
Communist Party), Gregor GYSI, chairman;
Republikaner, Franz SCHONHUBER;
National Democratic Party (NPD), Martin MUSSGNUG;
Communist Party (DKP), Herbert MIES
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Federal Diet--last held 2 December 1990 (next to be held
by December 1994); results--CDU 36.7%, SPD 33.5%, FDP 11.0%, CSU 7.1%,
Green Party (West Germany) 3.9%, PDS 2.4%, Republikaner 2.1%,
Alliance 90/Green Party (East Germany) 1.2%, other 2.1%;
seats--(662 total, 656 statutory with special rules to allow for
slight expansion) CDU 268, SPD 239, FDP 79, CSU 51, PDS 17, Alliance
90/Green Party (East Germany) 8; note--special rules for this
election allowed former East German parties to win seats if they
received at least 5% of vote in eastern Germany
Communists:
West--about 40,000 members and supporters;
East--284,000 party members (December 1990)
Other political or pressure groups: expellee, refugee, and veterans
groups
Ambassador Jeurgen RUHFUS; Chancery at 4645 Reservoir Road NW,
Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 298-4000; there are German
Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York, and Consulates
in Miami and New Orleans;
US--Ambassador-designate Robert M. KIMMITT; Embassy at Deichmanns
Avenue, 5300 Bonn 2 (mailing address is APO New York 09080); telephone
49 (228) 3391; there is a US Branch Office in Berlin and US Consulates
General in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow
ECONOMY
Overview: The newly unified German economy presents a starkly
contrasting picture. Western Germany has an advanced market economy
and is a leading exporter. It experienced faster-than-projected real
growth largely because of demand in eastern Germany for western German
goods. Western Germany has a highly urbanized and skilled population
which enjoys excellent living standards, abundant leisure time, and
comprehensive social welfare benefits. Western Germany is relatively
poor in natural resources, coal being the most important mineral.
Western Germany's world-class companies manufacture technologically
advanced goods. The region's economy is mature: manufacturing and service
industries account for the dominant share of economic activity, and raw
materials and semimanufactured products constitute a large proportion of
imports. In 1989 manufacturing accounted for 31% of GDP, with other
sectors contributing lesser amounts. In recent years, gross fixed
investment has accounted for about 21% of GDP. In 1990 GDP in the western
region was an estimated $16,300 per capita.
In contrast, eastern Germany's obsolete command economy, once
dominated by smokestack heavy industries, has been undergoing a
wrenching change to a market economy. Industrial production in early
1991 is down 50% from the same period last year, due largely to the
slump in domestic demand for eastern German-made goods and the ongoing
economic restructuring. The FRG's legal, social welfare, and economic
systems have been extended to the east, but economic
restructuring--privatizing industry, establishing clear property rights,
clarifying responsibility for environmental clean-up, and removing
Communist-era holdovers from management--is proceeding slowly
so far, deterring outside investors. The region is one of the world's
largest producers of low-grade lignite coal, but has few other resources.
The quality of statistics from eastern Germany remains poor; Bonn is
still trying to bring statistics for the region in line with West German
practices.
The most challenging economic problem of a united Germany is the
reconstruction of eastern Germany's economy--specifically, finding the
right mix of fiscal, regulatory, monetary, and tax policies that
will spur investment in the east without derailing western Germany's
healthy economy or damaging relations with Western partners. The
biggest danger is that soaring unemployment in eastern Germany, which
could climb to the 30 to 40% range, could touch off labor disputes
or renewed mass relocation to western Germany and erode investor
confidence in eastern Germany. Overall economic activity grew an
estimated 4.6% in western Germany in 1990, while dropping roughly 15% in
eastern Germany. Per capita GDP in the eastern region was approximately
$8,700 in 1990.
GDP: $1,157.2 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 1.7%
(1990)
Budget:
West--revenues $539 billion; expenditures $563 billion, including
capital expenditures of $11.5 billion (1988);
East--revenues $147.0 billion; expenditures $153.4 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1988)
Exports:
West--$324.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--manufactures 86.6% (including machines and machine
tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products),
agricultural products 4.9%, raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.3%;
partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 9%, Italy 9%, UK 9%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 18%, US 10%, Eastern
Europe 4%, OPEC 3% (1987);
East--$32.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--machinery and transport equipment 47%, fuels and
metals 16%, consumer goods 16%, chemical products and building
materials 13%, semimanufactured goods and processed foodstuffs 8%;
commodities--manufactures 68.5%, agricultural products 12.0%,
fuels 9.7%, raw materials 7.1%;
partners--EC 52.7% (France 12%, Netherlands 11%, Italy 10%, UK 7%,
Belgium-Luxembourg 7%), other West Europe 15%, US 6%, Japan 6%, Eastern
Europe 5%, OPEC 3% (1987);
East--$30.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--fuels and metals 40%, machinery and transport
equipment 29%, chemical products and building materials 9%;
partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 65%, FRG 12.7%, EC 6.0%,
US 0.3% (1989)
External debt:
West--$500 million (June 1988);
East--$20.6 billion (1989)
Electricity: 133,000,000 kW capacity; 580,000 million kWh produced,
7,390 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
West--among world's largest producers of iron, steel, coal, cement,
chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics;
food and beverages;
East--metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine
building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum
Agriculture:
West--accounts for about 2% of GDP (including fishing and forestry);
diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops and livestock
include potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage, cattle,
pigs, poultry; net importer of food; fish catch of 202,000 metric tons
in 1987;
East--accounts for about 10% of GNP (including fishing and forestry);
principal crops--wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit;
livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins;
net importer of food; fish catch of 193,600 metric tons in 1987
Economic aid:
West--donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $75.5 billion;
East--donor--$4.0 billion extended bilaterally to non-Communist less
developed countries (1956-88)
Currency: deutsche mark (plural--marks);
1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige
Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1--1.5100 (January
1991), 1.6157 (1990), 1.8800 (1989), 1.7562 (1988), 1.7974 (1987), 2.1715
(1986), 2.9440 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads:
West--31,443 km total; 27,421 km government owned, 1.435-meter
standard gauge (12,491 km double track, 11,501 km electrified);
4,022 km nongovernment owned, including 3,598 km 1.435-meter standard
gauge (214 km electrified) and 424 km 1.000-meter gauge (186 km
electrified);
East--14,025 km total; 13,750 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
275 km 1.000-meter or other narrow gauge; 3,830 (est.) km 1.435-meter
double-track standard gauge; 3,475 km overhead electrified (1988)
Highways:
West--466,305 km total; 169,568 km primary, includes 6,435 km
autobahn, 32,460 km national highways (Bundesstrassen), 65,425 km state
highways (Landesstrassen), 65,248 km county roads (Kreisstrassen);
296,737 km of secondary communal roads (Gemeindestrassen);
East--124,604 km total; 47,203 km concrete, asphalt, stone block,
of which 1,855 km are autobahn and limited access roads, 11,326 are trunk
roads, and 34,022 are regional roads; 77,401 municipal roads (1988)
Inland waterways:
West--5,222 km, of which almost 70% are usable by craft of 1,000-metric
ton capacity or larger; major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel
Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea;
East--2,319 km (1988)
Pipelines: crude oil 3,644 km, refined products 3,946 km,
natural gas 97,564 km (1988)
Merchant marine: 598 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,029,615
GRT/6,391,875 DWT; includes 3 passenger, 5 short-sea passenger,
315 cargo, 11 refrigerated cargo, 126 container, 1 multifunction
large-load carrier, 33 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 5 railcar carrier,
6 barge carrier, 11 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
27 chemical tanker, 21 liquefied gas tanker, 5 combination ore/oil,
14 combination bulk, 15 bulk; note--the German register includes
ships of the former East Germany and West Germany; during 1991 the
fleet is expected to undergo major restructuring as now-surplus
ships are sold off
Civil air: 239 major transport aircraft
Airports: 655 total, 647 usable; 312 with permanent-surface
runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 86 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
95 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
West--highly developed, modern telecommunication service to all parts of
the country; fully adequate in all respects; 41,740,000 telephones;
stations--70 AM, 205 (370 relays) FM, 300 (6,422 relays) TV; 6 submarine
coaxial cables; earth stations operating in INTELSAT (12 Atlantic Ocean,
2 Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT, and domestic systems;
East--3,970,000 telephones; stations--23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV (15 Soviet TV
relays); 6,181,860 TVs; 6,700,000 radios; at least 1 earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Federal Border Police
Manpower availability:--males 15-49, 20,219,289; 17,557,807 fit for
military service; 415,108 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $47.1 billion, 4.7% of GDP (1990)
