President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
President: Joachim Gauck
Population
65,630,692
81,305,856
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
80.190 years
Capital City
Paris
Berlin
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Berlin (population: 3,426,350)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.94
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$38,400 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
7.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
30.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Karl Albrecht ($21.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
6.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
federal republic
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
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
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
German
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$5,624,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (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
2.600%
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
41
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
643,801 km sq
357,022 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,389 km
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
