strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance
to the Baltic Sea
People Germany
Population:
82,431,390 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
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.)
Median age:
total: 42.16 years
male: 40.88 years
female: 43.53 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
8.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
10.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
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.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.65 years
male: 75.66 years
female: 81.81 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
43,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: German(s)
adjective: German
Ethnic groups:
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek,
Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Religions:
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or
other 28.3%
Languages:
German
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Germany
Country name:
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
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
Berlin
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:
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
National holiday:
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Constitution:
23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united
German people 3 October 1990
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
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%
Legislative branch:
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