Germany Location:
Physical. Germany is located in Central Europe, with Denmark and the Baltic and North Seas to the north. It is between Poland to the east and the Netherlands to the west. It covers an area slightly smaller than Montana. The climate is temperate and marine with cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers. The terrain is lowlands in the north, uplands in the center, and the Bavarian Alps in the south. Some natural resources include iron ore, coal, timber, uranium, natural gas and copper.
Germany Geography:
Geography
Area: 137,821 square miles
Capital: Berlin (pop 3,459,000)
Environmental concerns: air and water pollution; acid rain; nuclear and hazardous-waste disposal
Geographical features: low plains in the north with uplands in the center and the Bavarian Alps in the south
Climate: temperate and marine
Germany People:
People. Over 83 million people live in Germany and German is the official language. The ethnic make-up of the country is: German (92%) Turkish (2%) as well as minorities such as Italian, Serbo-Croatian, Greek, Polish and others. The population practices the following religions: Protestant (38%) Roman Catholic (34%) and Muslim (4%).
83,252,000 people; German (92%); Turkish (2%); other minorities (6%)
Annual growth rate: 0.27%
Major language is German
Religions: Protestant (38%); Roman Catholic (34%); Muslim (4%)
Germany Government:
Government. Following World War II, Germany was divided in two with East Germany under the control of the Soviet Union. Non-violent reunification took place in 1990. Gerhard Schroder was elected chancellor in 1998 with his party, the Social Democrats, forming a coalition with the Free Democratic party. This became known as the Red-Green Coalition. The Red-Green Coalition has been at the forefront of environmentally friendly policy. The government has backed US initiatives in Afghanistan and deployed troops to Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia as well, balking, however at backing the initiative in Iraq.
Germany is a federal republic that was unified as an empire on January 18, 1871
President Horst Koehler is the head of state
6 major political parties
Universal suffrage at 18
Germany Communication:
ommunication and transportation
50,900,000 main telephone lines
32,100,000 Internet users (2002)
393,684 miles of highway
26,400 miles of railroad
613 airfields
44,500,000 motor vehicles
Germany Economy:
Economy. Germany’s economy is the leading industrial economy in Western Europe. It is the biggest net contributor to the European Union budget and the European National Bank is based in Frankfurt. It ranks second in the world in international trade and fourth in economic output. Its strong base in some traditional industries such as heavy goods, autos, and chemical products is now being supplemented by high tech development. In 2000, Germany became the first major industrial country to decide to phase out nuclear power because of its risks. In 2001, Germany became the world’s leading producer of wind power.
Currency: euro
Per capita GDP: $26,600
GDP: $ 2.18 trillion
GDP growth rate: 0.4%
Inflation rate: 1.7%
Labor force: 3% agriculture; 33% industry; 64% services
Germany More Information:
www.germany-info.org | 
