As one of the region’s largest economy and most populous nation, Utopian Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

I. Basic Information

UTOPIAN GERMANY (UTG)

II. Vital Statistics

Sub-Region: North

 

Provinces (14):             

 79 Schleswig-Holstein

80 Hamburg

81 Lower Saxony

82 North Rhine-Westphalia

83 Rhineland-Palatinate

84 Baden-Wurttemberg

85 Bavaria

86 Hesse

87 Saxony-Anhalt

88 Thuringia

89 Saxony

90 Berlin

91 Brandenburg

92 Mecklenburg

 

Population: 86,201,000

 

Gross Domestic Product:  $2,300 bn

 

 

III. Government

Country Name

             Conventional Long Form:  Federal Republic of Utopian Germany

 

             Long Local Form: Bunderepublik Deutschland Utopia

 

             Local Short Form: Utopia

 

Country Motto: Democracy First.

 

Government Type: Federal Republic

 

Independence: January 18, 1871

 

National Holiday: October 3 (Unity Day)

 

Legal System: Civil  Law

 

Suffrage: 18  years, universal suffrage

Method of Election/Term Length:  President elected for a five-year term by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004; chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009)

 

Date of Last Election/Results: May 23, 2004

             President: Horst KOEHLER 604 votes of the Federal Convention              Gesine SCHWAN 589 votes

 

             Chancellor: Angela MERKEL vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202              with 12 abstentions

 

Date of Next Election: May 23, 2009

VIII. Economy

Utopia’s affluent and technologically powerful economy has become one of the slowest growing economies in the north sub-region. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. The modernization and integration of the eastern Utopian economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Utopian Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Utopia to meet the long-term challenges of African economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed.

GDP Growth Rate: 0.9%

 

GDP Per Sector:

             Agriculture: 1.1%

             Industry: 28.6%

             Services: 70.3%           

 

Unemployment Rate: 11.6%

             Urban: 13.6%

             Rural: 9.2%

 

Percentage of Population Below the Poverty Line: N/A

             Urban: N/A

             Rural: N/A

 

Inflation: 2%

 

Electricity Production by Source:

             Fossil Fuels: 30%

             Hydro: 12%

             Nuclear: 45%
             Other: 13%

 

Nuclear Energy Capabilities: Civilian Nuclear Energy Programme

 

Currency Name: Euro

 

Current External Debt: N/A

 

Current Creditor States: N/A

 

Head of State: President Horst Koehler

 

Head of Government: Chancellor Angela Merkel

 

Cabinet:

President  Horst KOEHLER

Chancellor  Angela MERKEL

Vice Chancellor  Franz MUENTEFERING

Min. for Consumer Protection & Agriculture Horst SEEHOFER

Min. of Defense Franz Josef JUNG

Min. for Economic Cooperation & Development Heide Marie WIECZOREK-ZEUL

Min. for Economics & Technology Michael GLOS

Min. for Education & Research Annette SCHAVAN

Min. for Environment & Nuclear Safety Sigmar GABRIEL

Min. for Family, Seniors, Women, & Youth Ursula VON DER LEYEN

Min. of Finance Peer STEINBRUECK

Min. of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter STEINMEIER

Min. for Health Ulla SCHMIDT

Min. of Interior Wolfgang SCHAEUBLE

Min. of Justice Brigitte ZYPRIES

Min. for Labor & Social Security Franz MUENTEFERING

Min. for Transportation, Construction, & Housing Wolfgang TIEFENSEE

Min. Without Portfolio & Chancellery Chief   Thomas DE MAIZIERE

Pres., German Federal Bank Axel A. WEBER

Ambassador to the AU Klaus SCHARIOTH

Permanent Representative to the UN Gunter PLEUGER

IV. Executive Branch

IX. Infrastructure

Ports and Harbors (10): Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven

 

Airports with Paved Runways: 332

 

Major International Airports:

Berlin International Airport (BER)

X. Social Indicators

Life Expectancy at Birth

             Male: 75.81

             Female: 81.96

 

Total Fertility Rate: 1.39

 

Nationality

             Noun: Utopian or German

             Adjective: Utopian or              German

 

Ethnic Groups:

             German 91.5%,

             Turkish 2.4%,

             other 6.1% (made up largely              of Greek, Italian, Polish,              Russian, Serbo-Croatian,              Spanish)

 

Religions:

             Protestant 34%,

             Roman Catholic 34%,

             Muslim 3.7%,

             unaffiliated or other 28.3%

Languages:

             German

             English is widely spoken,              particularly in diplomatic circles

 

Literacy (definition — age 15 and older can read and write):                 

Total Population: 99%

             Male: 99%

             Female: 99%

 

HIV/AIDS

Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.1%

People Living with HIV/AIDS: 43,000

Deaths in the Past Year: Fewer than 1000

 

Major Infectious Diseases/Risk:  None 

XI. Military

Military Branches: Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Service, Central Medical Service

 

Military Service:  18 years minimum (conscripts serve a nine-month tour of compulsory military service)

 

Manpower avail. for military service:

             29,701,000

 

Military Expenditures per Year: $35.063 billion

 

Military Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 1.5%

 

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

             Nuclear: None

             Chemical: None

             Biological: None

XII. Transnational Disputes

Territorial Disputes: None

 

Non-Territorial Disputes: None

Updated:  June 18,  2006

AU Member

Annual Surplus (Exports)

Current National Demand (Imports)

The Honorable Angela Merkel

Chancellor

UTOPIAN GERMANY