| Geographical Information |
| Map Location |
Europe |
| Geographical Location |
51° 00' North Latitude
9° 00' East Longitude |
| Surface Area |
357,021 sq km |
| Climate |
Temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
| Natural Resources |
Coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
|
| Political Information |
 |
|
| Country Name |
Federal Republic of Germany |
| Capital City |
Berlin |
| Government Type |
Federal republic |
| Administrative Divisions |
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* |
| Independence Day |
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 |
|
| Demographical Information |
|
|
| Population |
82,431,390 (July 2005 est.) |
| Nationality |
German |
| Ethnic Groups |
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
| Religion |
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
| Languages |
German |
| Population Growth Rate |
0% (2005 est.) |
|
| Economical Information |
|
|
| Currency |
Euro (EUR) |
| 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 |
| Labor Force |
42.63 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor Force by Sectors |
Agriculture 2.8%, industry 33.4%, services 63.8% (1999) |
| Agriculture Products |
Potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Export Commodities |
Machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Export Partners |
France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 8.2%, Italy 7.2%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5.7%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5% (2004) |
| Import Commodities |
Machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
| Import Partners |
France 9.2%, Netherlands 8.7%, US 6.5%, Italy 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Belgium 5.8%, China 5.3%, Austria 4.3% (2004) |
|
| Transportation |
|
|
| Railways |
46,039 km (20,100 km electrified) |
| Highways |
230,735 km |
| Pipelines |
Condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004) |
| Airports |
550 (2004 est.) |
| Ports and Harbors |
Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
|
| Communication |
|
|
| Phone Code |
+49 |
| Internet Abbreviation |
.de |
|
| Other |
|
|
| Short History |
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. |
|
| www.kfrawy.com |
