mirror of
https://github.com/opsxcq/mirror-textfiles.com.git
synced 2025-09-01 01:42:08 +02:00
413 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
413 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
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
|
||
|
||
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite,
|
||
uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
|
||
Administrative divisions: 16 states (lander, singular--land);
|
||
Baden-Wurttemberg, Bayern, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg,
|
||
Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen,
|
||
Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein,
|
||
Thuringen
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
|
||
Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BDEAC, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN,
|
||
COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB,
|
||
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
|
||
INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA,
|
||
OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNHCR, UPU,
|
||
WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
||
|
||
Diplomatic representation:
|
||
|
||
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)
|
||
|
||
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
||
West--3.0% (1989);
|
||
East--0.8% (1989)
|
||
|
||
Unemployment rate:
|
||
West--7.1% (1990);
|
||
East--1% (1989); 3% (first half, 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%;
|
||
|
||
partners--USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, FRG, Hungary, Bulgaria,
|
||
Switzerland, Romania, EC, US (1989)
|
||
|
||
Imports:
|
||
|
||
West--$247.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
|
||
|
||
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)
|
||
|
||
Industrial production: growth rates, West--3.3% (1988);
|
||
East--2.7% (1989 est.)
|
||
|
||
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)
|
||
|
||
Ports: maritime--Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Cuxhaven, Emden,
|
||
Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Wilhelmshaven, Rostock, Wismar,
|
||
Stralsund, Sassnitz; inland--31 major
|
||
|
||
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)
|
||
|
||
|