 .DE
Registration · Transfer · Renewal
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Special Requirements:
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Pre-Configuration required Read HERE
For Admin-C is address in Germany required. If you don't have it, we provide an Admin-C with German address for free.
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Price for 1 year: 11.11/yr
Price for 2 years: 9.99/yr
Price for 5 years: 8.88/yr
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Background: |
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. |
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Location: |
Central Europe, bordering the
Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of
Denmark |
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Geographic coordinates: |
51 00 N, 9 00 E |
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Map references: |
Europe |
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Area: |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than Montana
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Land boundaries: |
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 |
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Coastline: |
2,389 km |
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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Climate: |
temperate and marine; cool,
cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
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Terrain: |
lowlands in north, uplands in
center, Bavarian Alps in south |
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Neuendorf
bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
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Natural resources: |
coal, lignite, natural gas,
iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials,
timber, arable land |
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Land use: |
arable land: 33.85%
permanent crops: 0.59%
other: 65.56% (2001) |
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Irrigated land: |
4,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards: |
flooding |
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Environment - current issues: |
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 |
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Environment - international 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
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Geography - note: |
strategic location on North
European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
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Population: |
82,431,390 (July 2005 est.)
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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.) |
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Median age: |
total: 42.16 years
male: 40.88 years
female: 43.53 years (2005 est.)
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Population growth rate: |
0% (2005 est.) |
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Birth rate: |
8.33 births/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
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Death rate: |
10.55 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
2.18 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
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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.) |
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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.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.65
years
male: 75.66 years
female: 81.81 years (2005
est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
1.39 children born/woman (2005
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
43,000 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 1,000 (2003 est.)
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Nationality: |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
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Ethnic groups: |
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%,
other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian,
Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
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Religions: |
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic
34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
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Languages: |
German |
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 99% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% |
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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 |
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Government type: |
federal republic |
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Capital: |
Berlin |
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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* |
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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 |
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National holiday: |
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
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Constitution: |
23 May 1949, known as Basic
Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
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Legal system: |
civil law system with
indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal
Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
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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% |
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Legislative branch: |
bicameral Parliament or
Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (603 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 22 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006); 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 - SPD 38.5%, CDU/CSU 38.5%, Alliance '90/Greens 8.6%, FDP
7.4%, PDS 4%; seats by party - SPD 251, CDU/CSU 248, Alliance '90/Greens
55, FDP 47, unaffiliated 2; seating as of 1 July 2004: SPD 249, CDU/CSU
247, Alliance '90/Greens 55, FDP 47, unaffiliated 3, unfilled seats 2;
Federal Council - current composition - NA |
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Judicial branch: |
Federal Constitutional Court or
Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and
half by the Bundesrat) |
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Political parties and leaders: |
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]; Party of Democratic
Socialism or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz
MUENTEFERING] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
business associations,
employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans
groups |
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International organization participation: |
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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
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 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
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 |
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Flag description: |
three equal horizontal bands of
black (top), red, and gold |
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Economy - overview: |
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. |
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GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$2.362 trillion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
1.7% (2004 est.) |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$28,700 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 31%
services: 68% (2002 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
17.6% of GDP (2004) |
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Population below poverty line: |
NA |
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
30 (1994) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
1.6% (2004 est.) |
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Labor force: |
42.63 million (2004 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 2.8%, industry
33.4%, services 63.8% (1999) |
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Unemployment rate: |
10.6% (2004 est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $1.2 trillion
expenditures: $1.3 trillion, including capital expenditures of
NA (2004 est.) |
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Public debt: |
65.8% of GDP (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products: |
potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar
beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
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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 |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
2.2% (2004 est.) |
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Electricity - production: |
560 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 61.8%
hydro: 4.2%
nuclear: 29.9%
other: 4.1%
(2001) |
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Electricity - consumption: |
519.5 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - exports: |
53.8 billion kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - imports: |
45.8 billion kWh (2003) |
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Oil - production: |
74,100 bbl/day (2003) |
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Oil - consumption: |
2.891 million bbl/day (2003)
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Oil - exports: |
12,990 bbl/day (2003) |
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Oil - imports: |
2.135 million bbl/day (2003)
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Oil - proved reserves: |
395.8 million bbl (1 January
2004) |
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Natural gas - production: |
21 billion cu m (2003) |
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Natural gas - consumption: |
99.55 billion cu m (2003)
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Natural gas - exports: |
7.731 billion cu m (2003)
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Natural gas - imports: |
85.02 billion cu m (2003)
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Natural gas - proved reserves: |
293 billion cu m (1 January
2004) |
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Current account balance: |
$73.59 billion (2004 est.)
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Exports: |
$893.3 billion f.o.b. (2004
est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
machinery, vehicles, chemicals,
metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
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Exports - 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)
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Imports: |
$716.7 billion f.o.b. (2004
est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
machinery, vehicles, chemicals,
foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
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Imports - 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) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$96.84 billion (2003) |
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Debt - external: |
NA |
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Economic aid - donor: |
ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
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Currency: |
euro (EUR)
note: on
1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a
common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries;
on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday
transactions within the member countries |
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Currency code: |
EUR |
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Exchange rates: |
euros per US dollar - 0.8054
(2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
54.35 million (2003) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
64.8 million (2003) |
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Telephone system: |
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) |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4
(1998) |
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Radios: |
77.8 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
373 (plus 8,042 repeaters)
(1995) |
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Televisions: |
51.4 million (1998) |
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Internet country code: |
.de |
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Internet hosts: |
2,686,119 (2004) |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
200 (2001) |
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Internet users: |
39 million (2003)
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Railways: |
total: 46,039 km (20,100
km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,801 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 (2003) |
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Highways: |
total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
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Waterways: |
7,300 km
note: Rhine
River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea
(2004) |
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Pipelines: |
condensate 325 km; gas 25,293
km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004) |
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Ports and harbors: |
Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen,
Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel,
Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart |
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Merchant marine: |
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) |
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Airports: |
550 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
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.) |
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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.) |
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Heliports: |
34 (2004 est.) |
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Military branches: |
Federal Armed Forces
(Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm),
Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service
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Military manpower - military age and obligation: |
18 years of age (conscripts
serve a nine-month tour of compulsory military service) (2004) |
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Military manpower - availability: |
males age 18-49:
18,917,537 (2005 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 18-49:
15,258,931 (2005 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age
annually: |
males: 497,048 (2005
est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
$35.063 billion (2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.5% (2003) |
| Transnational Issues |
Germany |
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Disputes - international: |
none |
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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 |
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