Part 320

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Juergen CHROBOG chancery : 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 298-4000 FAX: (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle consulate(s): Wellington (American Samoa)

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James D. BINDENAGEL embassy : Deichmanns Aue 29, 53170 Bonn mailing address: APO AE 09080, PSC 117, Bonn telephone: (228) 3391 FAX: (228) 339-2663 branch office : Berlin consulate(s) general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold

Economy

Economy - overview: Germany, the world's third-most powerful economy, is gearing up for the European Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. One key economic priority is meeting the Maastricht criteria for entry into EMU, a goal complicated by record unemployment and stagnating growth. The government has implemented an austerity budget in its attempt to get the deficit down to 3% of GDP as required by Maastricht, but further cuts probably will be necessary and there is little consensus among the parties or elites about next steps toward that end. In recent years business and political leaders have become increasingly concerned about Germany's apparent decline in attractiveness as a business location. They cite the increasing preference of German companies to locate new manufacturing facilities - long the strength of the postwar economy - in foreign countries, including the US, rather than in Germany, so they can be closer to their markets and avoid Germany's high taxes and labor costs. At the same time, Germany faces its own unique problem of bringing its eastern area up to scratch after 45 years of communist rule. Despite substantial progress toward economic integration, the eastern states will continue to rely on the annual subsidy of approximately $100 billion from the western part into the next century. Assistance from the west helped the east to average nearly 8% annual economic growth in 1992-95, even though the overall German economy had averaged less than 2% growth; growth in the east, however, tumbled to 2% in 1996, with unemployment a particularly severe problem.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.7 trillion (western: purchasing power parity - $1.56 trillion; eastern: purchasing power parity - $142 billion) (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.4% (western 1.3%, eastern 2.0%) (1996)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20,400 (western: purchasing power parity - $23,100; eastern: purchasing power parity - $9,000) (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.1% industry: 34.5% services: 64.4% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 1.5% (1996)

Labor force: total: 38.7 million by occupation: industry 41%, agriculture 3%, services 56% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 10.8% (western 9.6%, eastern 15.9%) (December 1996)

Budget: revenues: $755 billion expenditures: $832.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995)

Industries: western: among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; eastern: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 1.3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 109.73 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 529.1 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,727 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: western: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbage; cattle, pigs, poultry; eastern: wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides

Exports: total value: $501.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: manufactures 88.2% (including machines and machine tools, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel products), agricultural products 5.0%, raw materials 2.3%, fuels 1.0%, other 3.5% (1995) partners: EU 57.7% (France 11.7%, UK 8.1%, Italy 7.6%, Netherlands 7.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.5%, Austria 5.5%), Eastern Europe 8.0%, other West European countries 7.5%, US 7.3%, NICs 5.6%, Japan 2.5%, OPEC 2.2%, China 1.4% (1996 est. for first 10 months)

Imports: total value: $430.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: manufactures 74.2%, agricultural products 9.9%, fuels 6.4%, raw materials 5.9%, other 3.6% (1995) partners : EU 55.5% (France 10.8%, Netherlands 8.6%, Italy 8.4%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6.6%, UK 6.4%, Austria 3.9%), Eastern Europe 8.7%, other West European countries 7.2%, US 6.8%, Japan 5.3%, NICs 5.3%, China 2.4%, OPEC 1.7%, other 7.1% (1995)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid: donor: ODA, $9 billion (1996 est.)

Currency: 1 deutsche mark (DM) = 100 pfennige

Exchange rates: deutsche marks (DM) per US$1 - 1.6043 (January 1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994), 1.6533 (1993), 1.5617 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Germany:Communications

Telephones: 44 million