President: Tony Tan Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Population
81,305,856
5,353,494
Life Expectancy
80.190 years
83.750 years
Capital City
Berlin
Singapore
Largest city
Berlin (population: 3,426,350)
Singapore (population: 3,547,810)
Human Development Index
0.94
0.918
GDP per capita
$38,400 US
$60,500 US
Literacy Rate
99%
92.5%
Corruption Perception Index
7.9
9.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
30.6%
24.5%
Wealthiest Citizens
Karl Albrecht ($21.5bn US)
Ng Teng Fong & family ($5.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.000%
2.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
federal republic
parliamentary republic
Independence date
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
9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Religions
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
Languages
German
Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Exports
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, mineral fuels
External Debt
$5,624,000,000,000 $
$23,580,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Singapore dollars (SGD) per US dollar - 1.415 (2008 est.), 1.507 (2007), 1.5889 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
4.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
41
1
Location
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Area
357,022 km sq
697 km sq
Coastline
2,389 km
193 km
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
