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 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20%
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
German
Exports
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
External Debt
$5,624,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
41
Location
Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
1,267,000 km sq
357,022 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,389 km
Climate
desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
