Economy overview: Germany has the world’s third most technologically powerful economy after the US and Japan, but inelastic market structures, including high costs (other than wages) associated with hiring labor, have made unemployment a permanent rather than a cyclical problem. The aging population of Germany, together with high unemployment, has led to an excess of social spending over contributions made by the working people. Modernizing and integrating the East German economy remains a costly and long-term challenge, with annual transfers from West Germany amounting to about $70 billion. Growth in 2000 was about 3%, mainly due to a recovery in global demand; recent cuts in corporate income and personal income taxes give hope for continued growth in 2001. See cheeroutdoor.com to know more about Germany Business. GDP: at purchasing power parity – $1.963 trillion (2000 est.). Real GDP growth rate: 3% (2000 est.). GDP per capita: at purchasing power parity – $23,400 (2000 est.). The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 1.2%; industry: 30.4%; services: 68.4% (1999). Proportion of the population below the poverty line: no data available. Percent distribution of household income or consumption: Consumer price inflation rate: 2% (2000 est.). Labor force: 40.5 million people (1999 est.). Employment structure: industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999). Unemployment rate: 9.9% (2000 est.). Budget: revenues: $996 billion; spending: $1.036 trillion, including capital investment – NA (1999 est.). Economic sectors: is one of the largest and technologically advanced world producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textile industry. Growth in industrial production: 4.7% (2000). Electricity generation: 531.377 billion kWh (1999) Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 63.29%; hydropower: 3.59%; nuclear fuel: 30.3%; others: 2.82% (1999). Electricity consumption: 495.181 billion kWh (1999) Export of electricity: 39.5 billion kWh (1999). Electricity import: 40.5 billion kWh (1999). Agricultural products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beet, fruit, cabbage; cattle, pigs, poultry. Exports: $578 billion (free on board, 2000 est.) Exports: machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metal and industrial products, foodstuffs, textiles. Export partners: EU 55.3% (France 11.3%, UK 8.3%, Italy 7.3%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.1%), US 10.1%, Japan 2% (1999). Imports: $505 billion (free on board, 2000 est.) Import articles: machinery, vehicles, chemicals, food, textiles, metals. Import partners: EU 52.2% (France 10.5%, Netherlands 7.6%, Italy 7.4%, UK 6.9%, Belgium/Luxembourg 5.6%), US 8.1%, Japan 4.9% (1999). External debt: no data. Donor of economic aid: official development support – $5.6 billion (1998). Currency: German Mark, Euro; note: on January 1, 1999, the EU introduced a single currency, which is used by German financial institutions at a ratio of DM 1.95583 per euro; in 2002 the euro will replace the local currency. Currency code: DEM; EUR. Exchange rate: EUR/USD – 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); DM/ USD -1.69 (January 1999), 1.7597 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995). Fiscal year: calendar year.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Telephone lines: 45.2 million (1997); note – 46.5 million main lines laid (end of 1998). Mobile cell phones: 15.318 million (April 1999) Phone system: Germany has one of the most technologically advanced telecommunications systems in the world; as a result of large-scale investments after the unification of the country, the previously backward system of the eastern part of the country was modernized and integrated with the western part; domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges, linked by modern networks of fiber optic and coaxial cables, microwave radio relay and a national satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available and provides roaming with many foreign countries; international: satellite earth stations: 14 Intelsat (12 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), 2 Intersputnik (1 Atlantic Ocean region and 1 Indian Ocean region); 7 submarine cable lines; 2 high-frequency radiotelephone communication centers; communication using tropospheric scatter. Broadcast stations: AM -51, FM – 767, shortwave – 4 (1998). Radio receivers: 77.8 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 373. (and 8,042 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 51.4 million (1998) Internet country code: de Internet service providers: 123 (2000). Number of users: 18 million (2000).
Transport
Transport Railways: total: 40,826 km, of which at least 14,253 km are electrified and 14,768 km of lines with two or more tracks (1998); note: after privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the lines it owns; In addition to DBAG, there are 102 private railway companies, which together own between 3,000 and 4,000 km of tracks. Roads: total: 656,140 km; paved: 650,891 km (including 11,400 km of expressways); unpaved: 5,249 km (all-weather serviceable) (1998 est.). Waterways: 7,500 km (1999); the main rivers are the Rhine and the Elbe; The Kiel Canal is an important route between the Baltic and North Seas. Pipelines: for crude oil – 2,500 km (1998). Ports and harbors: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Dresden, Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Kiel, Lübeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart, Emden. Merchant fleet: total: 457 ships (of 1,000 tons displacement or more) with a total displacement of 6,414,724 gross register tons / 7,952,776 long tons; different types of ships: cargo ships – 169, chemical tankers – 10, combined ore and oil – 1, container ships – 243, liquefied gas tankers – 2, passenger ships – 3, oil tankers – 7, ships for transportation of railway wagons – 2, refrigerated ships – 1, ferries – 12, coastal passenger ships – 7 (2000 est.). Airports: 613 (2000 est.). Airports with paved runways: total: 322; over 3,047 m: 13; from 2438 to 3047 m: 55; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67; from 914 to 1523 m:63; less than 914 m: 124 (2000 est.). Airports with unpaved runways: total: 291; over 3,047 m: 2; from 2438 to 3047 m:6; from 1524 to 2437 m:5; from 914 to 1,523 m: 53; less than 914 m: 225 (2000 est.). Helipads: 59 (2000 est.).
Armed forces
Branches of the armed forces: army, navy (including naval aviation), air force, medical units, border police, coast guard. Enlistment age: 18 years old. Total Military Manpower: Male 15 to 49: 20,851,022 (2001 est.). Eligible for military service: men 15 to 49 pets: 17,760,412 (2001 est.). Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 482,318 (2001 est.). Military spending in dollar terms: $32.8 billion (1998) Military spending as part of GDP: 1.5% (1998).
International Issues
International issues International disputes: no. Illicit drugs: source of chemicals needed to produce South American cocaine; transit point and consumer of heroin from Southwest Asia, cocaine from Latin America and synthetic drugs produced in Europe.
