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As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Deutschland remains a key member of the
continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles
immersed Deutschland 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, Frankreich , 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 Deutschland (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 Warschau Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold
War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Deutschland 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.
Geographie : Deutschland
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Location:
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Central Europe, bordering
the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Die Niederlande and Polen ,
south of Dänemark |
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Geographic coordinates:
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51 00 N, 9 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 357,021 sq km
water: 7,798 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than
Montana |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 3,621 km
border countries: Österreich 784 km, Belgien 167 km, Czech Republic
646 km, Dänemark 68 km, Frankreich 451 km, Luxemburg 138 km, Die Niederlande 577
km, Polen 456 km, Die Schweiz 334 km |
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Coastline:
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2,389 km |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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temperate and marine; cool,
cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind |
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Terrain:
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lowlands in north, uplands
in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m |
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Natural resources:
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iron ore, coal, potash,
timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land: 33.88%
permanent crops: 0.65%
other: 65.47% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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4,850 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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flooding |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 Deutschland ; 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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Geography - note:
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strategic location on North
European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
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More Geography
Bevölkerung : Deutschland
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Population:
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82,424,609 (July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 14.7% (male 6,197,490;
female 5,879,052)
15-64 years: 67% (male 28,119,536; female 27,132,713)
65 years and over: 18.3% (male 6,096,106; female 8,999,712) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 41.7 years
male: 40.4 years
female: 43.2 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.02% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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8.45 births/1,000 |
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Death rate:
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10.44 deaths/1,000 |
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Net migration rate:
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2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.64 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.54 years
male: 75.56 years
female: 81.68 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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41,000 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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660 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
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Ethnic groups:
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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:
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Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim
3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
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Languages:
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German |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 99% (1977 est.)
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Regierung
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Federal
Republic of Deutschland
conventional short form: Deutschland
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
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Government type:
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federal republic |
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Capital:
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Berlin |
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Administrative divisions:
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16 states (Laender, singular - Land);
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:
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18 January 1871 (German Empire
unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, Frankreich ) in
1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Deutschland (FRG or West Deutschland ) proclaimed
23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic
(GDR or East Deutschland ) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone;
unification of West Deutschland and East Deutschland took place 3 October 1990; all four powers
formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 |
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National holiday:
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Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
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Constitution:
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23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became
constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
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Legal system:
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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:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Johannes
RAU (since 1 July 1999)
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 1999 (next to be held 23 May 2004); 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 NA September 2006)
head of government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (since 27 October 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president
on the recommendation of the chancellor
election results: Johannes RAU elected president; percent of Federal Convention
vote - 57.6%; Gerhard SCHROEDER elected chancellor; percent of Federal Assembly vote 50.7% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 NA
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, PDS 2; Federal Council - current composition - NA |
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Judicial branch:
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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:
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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:
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business associations, employers'
organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
Economy
Deutschland 's affluent and technologically powerful economy- the fifth largest national
economy in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the entire
euro zone, and a quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth
in 2001 - 2003 fell short of 1%. 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. Deutschland 's ageing 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 Deutschland to meet the long-term challenges of European
economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are
further addressed. The government is also starting long-needed structural reforms
designed to revitalize the country's economy. 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:
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purchasing power parity - $2.271 trillion
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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-0.1% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $27,600 (2003
est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 1%
industry: 31%
services: 68% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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30 (1994) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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0.9% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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41.9 million (2001) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services
63.8% (1999) |
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Unemployment rate:
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10.7% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $802 billion
expenditures: $825 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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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; tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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0.1% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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544.8 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 61.8%
hydro: 4.2%
other: 4.1% (2001)
nuclear: 29.9% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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506.8 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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43.9 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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44 billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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85,860 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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2.813 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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404,300 bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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3.081 million bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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327.3 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production:
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22.16 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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94.34 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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6.674 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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78.73 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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298.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Agriculture - products:
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potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets,
fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
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Exports:
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$696.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and
manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
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Exports - partners:
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Frankreich 10.7%, US 10.3%, UK 8.4%, Italy
7.3%, Die Niederlande 6.1%, Österreich 5.1%, Belgien 4.8%, Spanien 4.6%, Die Schweiz 4.2% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$585 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs,
textiles, metals |
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Imports - partners:
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Frankreich 9.4%, Die Niederlande 8.2%, US 7.7%,
Italy 6.4%, UK 6.4%, Belgien 5.1%, Österreich 4.1%, China 4.1% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$NA (2000 est.) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
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Currency:
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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:
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EUR |
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Exchange rates:
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euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06
(2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
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