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
Religions
Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99%, Christian and Jewish 1%
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
German
Exports
petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products 97%
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
External Debt
$4,699,000,000 $
$5,624,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Algerian dinars (DZD) per US dollar - 63.25 (2008 est.), 69.9 (2007), 72.647 (2006), 73.276 (2005), 72.061 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.300%
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
41
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
2,381,741 km sq
357,022 km sq
Coastline
998 km
2,389 km
Climate
arid to semiarid; mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on high plateau; sirocco is a hot, dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
