limited coverage outside Tbilisi; multiple mobile-cellular providers
provide services to an increasing subscribership throughout the
country
domestic: cellular telephone networks now cover the entire country;
urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone
density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a
fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager
service is available
international: country code - 995; the Georgia-Russia fiber optic
submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia; international
service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through
the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service
are available
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios:
3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
12 (plus repeaters) (1998)
Televisions:
2.57 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.ge
Internet hosts:
27,905 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)
Internet users:
360,000 (2007)
Transportation
Georgia
Airports:
23 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Heliports:
3 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 1,591 km; oil 1,253 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 1,612 km
broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified)
narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 20,329 km
paved: 7,854 km (includes 13 km of expressways)
unpaved: 12,475 km (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 191
by type: bulk carrier 18, cargo 148, carrier 2, chemical tanker 1,
container 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 4,
refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 2
foreign-owned: 153 (China 10, Cyprus 1, Egypt 12, Germany 2, Greece
5, Hong Kong 2, Israel 2, Lebanon 4, Monaco 4, Nigeria 1, Romania
16, Russia 12, Syria 49, Turkey 14, Ukraine 18, UAE 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Bat'umi, P'ot'i
Transportation - note:
large parts of transportation network are in poor condition because
of lack of maintenance and repair
Military
Georgia
Military branches:
Georgian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Navy (includes coast guard), Air
and Air Defense Forces, National Guard (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty
military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,113,251
females age 16-49: 1,168,021 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 910,720
females age 16-49: 967,566 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 35,917
female: 34,566 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.59% of GDP (2005 est.)
Military - note:
a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the
Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer
group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia
Transnational Issues
Georgia
Disputes - international:
Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border,
leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary
unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the
Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia;
UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force
in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the
former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia
remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of
Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government;
Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their
boundary at certain crossing areas
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 1,100 (Russia)
IDPs: 220,000-240,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
(2007)
Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic
consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central
Asia to Western Europe and Russia
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Germany
Introduction
Germany
Background:
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany
is 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.
Geography
Germany
Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between
the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana
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
Coastline:
2,389 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers;
occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrain:
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural resources:
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium,
potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 66.27% (2005)
Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
188 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%)
per capita: 460 cu m/yr (2001)
Natural hazards:
flooding
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
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
Geography - note:
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to
the Baltic Sea
People
Germany
Population:
82,369,552 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 5,826,066/female 5,524,568)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 27,763,917/female 26,739,934)
65 years and over: 20% (male 6,892,743/female 9,622,320) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 43.4 years
male: 42.2 years
female: 44.7 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.044% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
8.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.1 years
male: 76.11 years
female: 82.26 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
43,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer 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%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
4.6% of GDP (2004)
People - note:
second most populous country in Europe after Russia
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:
name: Berlin
geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern
(Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania),
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North
Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland,
Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt),
Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen,
and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten,
singular - Freistaat)
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
Germany 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 Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by
the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a
second 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 scheduled
for 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the
Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor
last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections
to be held by autumn 2009)
election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604
votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN;
Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to
202 with 12 abstentions
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly
or Bundestag (614 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
proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve
four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes;
state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three
to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a
block)
elections: Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be
held no later than autumn 2009); 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: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU
35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%;
seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51,
independents 2
Judicial branch:
Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the
judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Cem OEZDEMIR]; Christian
Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or
CSU [Horst SEEHOFER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido
WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar
LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Franz MUENTEFERING]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: business associations and employers' organizations;
religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic
Council (observer), 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, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO,
ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer),
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000
FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
embassy: Pariser Platz 2, 10117 Berlin; note - new embassy opened 4
July 2008
mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265, clayallee 170,
14195 Berlin
telephone: [49] (030) 2385174
FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215
consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg,
Leipzig, Munich
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
Economy
Germany
Economy - overview:
Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth
largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement
in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an
average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high
unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in
unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most
important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past
decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of
investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat
domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market,
lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates.
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 $80 billion. The former
government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive
set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions. The
current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other
reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory
retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female
participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population,
combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security
outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government
revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the
value-added tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's
3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets
are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the
long-term challenges of European economic integration and
globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need
for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall
below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit
markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.807 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$3.322 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$34,100 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 30.1%
services: 69% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
43.54 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4%
services: 63.8% (1999)
Unemployment rate:
9%
note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate
for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office
estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
11% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28 (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.454 trillion
expenditures: $1.453 trillion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt:
64.9% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.3% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
5.96% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
NA
note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the Euro
Area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for
the 15 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual
members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi
money circulating within their own borders
Stock of quasi money:
NA
Stock of domestic credit:
$5.081 trillion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs,
poultry
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
Industrial production growth rate:
5.2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
594.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
549.1 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
62.51 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
46.13 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 61.8%
hydro: 4.2%
nuclear: 29.9%
other: 4.1% (2001)
Oil - production:
148,100 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2.456 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
563,400 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
3.026 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
367 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
17.96 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
97.44 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
12.22 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
88.35 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
254.8 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$254.5 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$1.354 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs,
textiles
Exports - partners:
France 9.7%, US 7.5%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.4%, Austria
5.4%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 5% (2007)
Imports:
$1.075 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals
Imports - partners:
Netherlands 12%, France 8.6%, Belgium 7.8%, China 6.2%, Italy 5.8%,
UK 5.6%, US 4.5%, Austria 4.4% (2007)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $10.44 billion (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$136.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$855.8 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.218 trillion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.221 trillion (2005)
Currency (code):
euro (EUR)
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041
(2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Communications
Germany
Telephones - main lines in use:
53.75 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
97.151 million (2007)
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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios:
77.8 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:
51.4 million (1998)
Internet country code:
.de
Internet hosts:
22.606 million (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
200 (2001)
Internet users:
42.5 million (2007)
Transportation
Germany
Airports:
550 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: