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
Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shia 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
German
Exports
oil and refined products, fertilizers
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
External Debt
$41,730,000,000 $
$5,624,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - 0.2679 (2008 est.), 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (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
5.300%
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
41
Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
17,818 km sq
357,022 km sq
Coastline
499 km
2,389 km
Climate
dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
