{
  "Introduction": {
    "Background": {
      "text": "As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is 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."
    }
  },
  "Geography": {
    "Location": {
      "text": "Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark"
    },
    "Geographic coordinates": {
      "text": "51 00 N, 9 00 E"
    },
    "Map references": {
      "text": "Europe"
    },
    "Area": {
      "total": {
        "text": "357,022 sq km"
      },
      "land": {
        "text": "348,672 sq km"
      },
      "water": {
        "text": "8,350 sq km"
      }
    },
    "Area - comparative": {
      "text": "three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana"
    },
    "Land boundaries": {
      "total": {
        "text": "3,714 km"
      },
      "border countries": {
        "text": "Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czech Republic 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 467 km, Switzerland 348 km"
      }
    },
    "Coastline": {
      "text": "2,389 km"
    },
    "Maritime claims": {
      "territorial sea": {
        "text": "12 nm"
      },
      "exclusive economic zone": {
        "text": "200 nm"
      },
      "continental shelf": {
        "text": "200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation"
      }
    },
    "Climate": {
      "text": "temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind"
    },
    "Terrain": {
      "text": "lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south"
    },
    "Elevation": {
      "mean elevation": {
        "text": "263 m"
      },
      "elevation extremes": {
        "text": "lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m ++ highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m"
      }
    },
    "Natural resources": {
      "text": "coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land"
    },
    "Land use": {
      "agricultural land": {
        "text": "48% ++ arable land 34.1%; permanent crops 0.6%; permanent pasture 13.3%"
      },
      "forest": {
        "text": "31.8%"
      },
      "other": {
        "text": "20.2% (2011 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Irrigated land": {
      "text": "6,500 sq km (2012)"
    },
    "Population - distribution": {
      "text": "most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia"
    },
    "Natural hazards": {
      "text": "flooding"
    },
    "Environment - current issues": {
      "text": "emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive"
    },
    "Environment - international agreements": {
      "party to": {
        "text": "Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling"
      },
      "signed, but not ratified": {
        "text": "none of the selected agreements"
      }
    },
    "Geography - note": {
      "text": "strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the German Alps, flows eastward"
    }
  },
  "People and Society": {
    "Population": {
      "text": "80,722,792 (July 2016 est.)"
    },
    "Nationality": {
      "noun": {
        "text": "German(s)"
      },
      "adjective": {
        "text": "German"
      }
    },
    "Ethnic groups": {
      "text": "German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)"
    },
    "Languages": {
      "text": "German (official)",
      "note": {
        "text": "Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romany are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romany are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages"
      }
    },
    "Religions": {
      "text": "Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%"
    },
    "Age structure": {
      "0-14 years": {
        "text": "12.83% (male 5,317,183/female 5,040,664)"
      },
      "15-24 years": {
        "text": "10.22% (male 4,203,985/female 4,044,789)"
      },
      "25-54 years": {
        "text": "40.96% (male 16,721,667/female 16,345,911)"
      },
      "55-64 years": {
        "text": "14.23% (male 5,695,117/female 5,788,493)"
      },
      "65 years and over": {
        "text": "21.76% (male 7,709,799/female 9,855,184) (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Dependency ratios": {
      "total dependency ratio": {
        "text": "51.8%"
      },
      "youth dependency ratio": {
        "text": "19.6%"
      },
      "elderly dependency ratio": {
        "text": "32.2%"
      },
      "potential support ratio": {
        "text": "3.1% (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Median age": {
      "total": {
        "text": "46.8 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "45.7 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "47.9 years (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Population growth rate": {
      "text": "-0.16% (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Birth rate": {
      "text": "8.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Death rate": {
      "text": "11.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Net migration rate": {
      "text": "1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Population distribution": {
      "text": "most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia"
    },
    "Urbanization": {
      "urban population": {
        "text": "75.3% of total population (2015)"
      },
      "rate of urbanization": {
        "text": "0.16% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Major urban areas - population": {
      "text": "BERLIN (capital) 3.563 million; Hamburg 1.831 million; Munich 1.438 million; Cologne 1.037 million (2015)"
    },
    "Sex ratio": {
      "at birth": {
        "text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
      },
      "0-14 years": {
        "text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
      },
      "15-24 years": {
        "text": "1.04 male(s)/female"
      },
      "25-54 years": {
        "text": "1.02 male(s)/female"
      },
      "55-64 years": {
        "text": "0.98 male(s)/female"
      },
      "65 years and over": {
        "text": "0.78 male(s)/female"
      },
      "total population": {
        "text": "0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Mother's mean age at first birth": {
      "text": "29.2 (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Maternal mortality rate": {
      "text": "6 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Infant mortality rate": {
      "total": {
        "text": "3.4 deaths/1,000 live births"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "3.7 deaths/1,000 live births"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Life expectancy at birth": {
      "total population": {
        "text": "80.7 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "78.4 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "83.1 years (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Total fertility rate": {
      "text": "1.44 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
      "text": "66.2%",
      "note": {
        "text": "percent of women aged 18-49 (2005)"
      }
    },
    "Health expenditures": {
      "text": "11.3% of GDP (2014)"
    },
    "Physicians density": {
      "text": "3.89 physicians/1,000 population (2012)"
    },
    "Hospital bed density": {
      "text": "8.2 beds/1,000 population (2011)"
    },
    "Drinking water source": {
      "improved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 100% of population ++ rural: 100% of population ++ total: 100% of population"
      },
      "unimproved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 0% of population ++ rural: 0% of population ++ total: 0% of population (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Sanitation facility access": {
      "improved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 99.3% of population ++ rural: 99% of population ++ total: 99.2% of population"
      },
      "unimproved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 0.7% of population ++ rural: 1% of population ++ total: 0.8% of population (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
      "text": "0.15% (2013 est.)"
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
      "text": "77,500 (2013 est.)"
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
      "text": "400 (2013 est.)"
    },
    "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
      "text": "22.7% (2014)"
    },
    "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": {
      "text": "1.1% (2006)"
    },
    "Education expenditures": {
      "text": "4.9% of GDP (2013)"
    },
    "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
      "total": {
        "text": "17 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "17 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "17 years (2014)"
      }
    },
    "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
      "total": {
        "text": "7.7%"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "8.3%"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "7.1% (2014 est.)"
      }
    }
  },
  "Government": {
    "Country name": {
      "conventional long form": {
        "text": "Federal Republic of Germany"
      },
      "conventional short form": {
        "text": "Germany"
      },
      "local long form": {
        "text": "Bundesrepublik Deutschland"
      },
      "local short form": {
        "text": "Deutschland"
      },
      "former": {
        "text": "German Empire, German Republic, German Reich"
      },
      "etymology": {
        "text": "the Gauls (Celts) of Western Europe may have referred to the newly arriving Germanic tribes who settled in neighboring areas east of the Rhine during the first centuries B.C. as \"Germani,\" a term the Romans adopted as \"Germania\"; the native designation \"Deutsch\" comes from the Old High German \"diutisc\" meaning \"of the people\""
      }
    },
    "Government type": {
      "text": "federal parliamentary republic"
    },
    "Capital": {
      "name": {
        "text": "Berlin"
      },
      "geographic coordinates": {
        "text": "52 31 N, 13 24 E"
      },
      "time difference": {
        "text": "UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
      },
      "daylight saving time": {
        "text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
      }
    },
    "Administrative divisions": {
      "text": "16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen (Hesse), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat), while Hamburg prides itself on being a Free and Hanseatic City (Freie und Hansestadt)"
    },
    "Independence": {
      "text": "18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)"
    },
    "National holiday": {
      "text": "Unity Day, 3 October (1990)"
    },
    "Constitution": {
      "history": {
        "text": "previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10 to 23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949"
      },
      "amendments": {
        "text": "proposed by Parliament; passage and enactment into law require two-thirds majority vote by both the Bundesrat (upper house) and the Bundestag (lower house) of Parliament; articles including those on basic human rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2012 (2016)"
      }
    },
    "Legal system": {
      "text": "civil law system"
    },
    "International law organization participation": {
      "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
    },
    "Citizenship": {
      "citizenship by birth": {
        "text": "no"
      },
      "citizenship by descent only": {
        "text": "at least one parent must be a German citizen or a resident alien who has lived in Germany at least 8 years"
      },
      "dual citizenship recognized": {
        "text": "yes, but requires prior permission from government"
      },
      "residency requirement for naturalization": {
        "text": "8 years"
      }
    },
    "Suffrage": {
      "text": "18 years of age; universal"
    },
    "Executive branch": {
      "chief of state": {
        "text": "President Joachim GAUCK (since 23 March 2012)"
      },
      "head of government": {
        "text": "Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005)"
      },
      "cabinet": {
        "text": "Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) recommended by the chancellor, appointed by the president"
      },
      "elections/appointments": {
        "text": "president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention consisting of the 630-member Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and 630 delegates indirectly elected by the state parliaments; election last held on 19 February 2012 (next to be held 12 February 2017); chancellor indirectly elected by absolute majority by the Federal Parliament for a 4-year term; Federal Parliament vote for chancellor last held on 17 December 2013 (next to be held following the general election, no later than autumn 2017)"
      },
      "election results": {
        "text": "Joachim GAUCK elected president; Federal Convention vote count - Joachim GAUCK (independent) 991, Beate KLARSFELD (independent) 126, Olaf ROSE (National People's Union) 3; Angela MERKEL (CDU) reelected chancellor; Federal Parliament vote - 462 for, 150 against, 49 abstentions"
      }
    },
    "Legislative branch": {
      "description": {
        "text": "bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 seats; members appointed by each of the 16 state governments or landtags) and the Federal Diet or Bundestag (631 seats - total seats can vary each electoral term; approximately one-half of members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and approximately one-half directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
      },
      "elections": {
        "text": "Bundestag - last held on 22 September 2013 (next to be held no later than autumn 2017); most all postwar German governments have been coalitions; note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election"
      },
      "election results": {
        "text": "Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 41.5%, SPD 25.7%, Left 8.6%, Greens 8.4%, FDP 4.8%, other 10.9%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 311, SPD 193, Left 64, Greens 63"
      }
    },
    "Judicial branch": {
      "highest court(s)": {
        "text": "Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges including the court president, vice-presidents, presiding judges, and other judges, and organized into 25 Senates subdivided into 12 civil panels, 5 criminal panels, and 8 special panels; Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (consists of 2 Senates each subdivided into 3 chambers, each with a chairman and 8 members)"
      },
      "judge selection and term of office": {
        "text": "Federal Court of Justice judges selected by the Judges Election Committee, which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federated States and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament; judges appointed by the president of Germany; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Federal Constitutional Court judges - one-half elected by the House of Representatives and one-half by the Senate; judges appointed for 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 68"
      },
      "subordinate courts": {
        "text": "Federal Administrative Court; Federal Finance Court; Federal Labor Court; Federal Social Court; each of the 16 German states or Land has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil, criminal, family) and specialized (administrative, finance, labor, social) courts"
      }
    },
    "Political parties and leaders": {
      "text": "Alliance '90/Greens [Cem OEZDEMIR and Simone PETER] ++ Alternative for Germany or AfD [Frauke PETRY and Joerg MEUTHEN] ++ Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL] ++ Christian Social Union or CSU [Horst SEEHOFER] ++ Free Democratic Party or FDP [Christian LINDNER] ++ Left Party or Die Linke [Katja KIPPING and Bernd RIEXINGER] ++ Social Democratic Party or SPD [Sigmar GABRIEL]"
    },
    "Political pressure groups and leaders": {
      "other": {
        "text": "business associations and employers' organizations ++ trade unions; religious, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups"
      }
    },
    "International organization participation": {
      "text": "ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC"
    },
    "Diplomatic representation in the US": {
      "chief of mission": {
        "text": "Ambassador Hans Peter WITTIG (since 21 May 2014)"
      },
      "chancery": {
        "text": "4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007"
      },
      "telephone": {
        "text": "[1] (202) 298-4000"
      },
      "FAX": {
        "text": "[1] (202) 298-4249"
      },
      "consulate(s) general": {
        "text": "Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco"
      }
    },
    "Diplomatic representation from the US": {
      "chief of mission": {
        "text": "Ambassador John B. EMERSON (since 26 August 2013)"
      },
      "embassy": {
        "text": "Pariser Platz 2"
      },
      "mailing address": {
        "text": "Clayallee 170, 14191 Berlin"
      },
      "telephone": {
        "text": "[49] (30) 8305-0"
      },
      "FAX": {
        "text": "[49] (30) 8305-1215"
      },
      "consulate(s) general": {
        "text": "Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich"
      }
    },
    "Flag description": {
      "text": "three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold; these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field"
    },
    "National symbol(s)": {
      "text": "golden eagle; national colors: black, red, yellow"
    },
    "National anthem": {
      "name": {
        "text": "\"Das Lied der Deutschen\" (Song of the Germans)"
      },
      "lyrics/music": {
        "text": "August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN/Franz Joseph HAYDN"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "adopted 1922; the anthem, also known as \"Deutschlandlied\" (Song of Germany), was originally adopted for its connection to the March 1848 liberal revolution; following appropriation by the Nazis of the first verse, specifically the phrase, \"Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles\" (Germany, Germany above all) to promote nationalism, it was banned after 1945; in 1952, its third verse was adopted by West Germany as its national anthem; in 1990, it became the national anthem for the reunited Germany"
      }
    }
  },
  "Economy": {
    "Economy - overview": {
      "text": "The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its Western European neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and a large increase in net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. ++  ++ Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong growth and falling unemployment. These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II. The new German Government introduced a minimum wage of about $11.60 (8.50 euros) per hour that took effect in 2015. ++  ++ Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's total budget deficit - including federal, state, and municipal - to 4.1% in 2010, but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduced the deficit to 0.8% in 2011 and in 2015 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.9%. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016, though the target was already reached in 2012. ++  ++ The German economy suffers from low levels of investment, and a government plan to invest 15 billion euros during 2016-18, largely in infrastructure, is intended to spur needed private investment. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Chancellor Angela MERKEL announced in May 2011 that eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down immediately and the remaining plants would close by 2022. Germany plans to replace nuclear power largely with renewable energy, which accounted for 27.8% of gross electricity consumption in 2014, up from 9% in 2000. Before the shutdown of the eight reactors, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its electricity generating capacity and 46% of its base-load electricity production. Domestic consumption, bolstered by low energy prices and a weak euro, are likely to drive German GDP growth again in 2016."
    },
    "GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
      "text": "$3.979 trillion (2016 est.) ++ $3.911 trillion (2015 est.) ++ $3.854 trillion (2014 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "data are in 2016 dollars"
      }
    },
    "GDP (official exchange rate)": {
      "text": "$3.495 trillion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - real growth rate": {
      "text": "1.7% (2016 est.) ++ 1.5% (2015 est.) ++ 1.6% (2014 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
      "text": "$48,200 (2016 est.) ++ $47,600 (2015 est.) ++ $47,500 (2014 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "data are in 2016 dollars"
      }
    },
    "Gross national saving": {
      "text": "27.9% of GDP (2016 est.) ++ 27.7% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 27% of GDP (2014 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - composition, by end use": {
      "household consumption": {
        "text": "53.7%"
      },
      "government consumption": {
        "text": "19.5%"
      },
      "investment in fixed capital": {
        "text": "20.1%"
      },
      "investment in inventories": {
        "text": "-1%"
      },
      "exports of goods and services": {
        "text": "45.7%"
      },
      "imports of goods and services": {
        "text": "-38% (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
      "agriculture": {
        "text": "0.6%"
      },
      "industry": {
        "text": "30.3%"
      },
      "services": {
        "text": "69.1% ++  (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Agriculture - products": {
      "text": "potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; milk products; cattle, pigs, poultry"
    },
    "Industries": {
      "text": "among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles"
    },
    "Industrial production growth rate": {
      "text": "1.5% (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Labor force": {
      "text": "45.3 million (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Labor force - by occupation": {
      "agriculture": {
        "text": "1.6%"
      },
      "industry": {
        "text": "24.6%"
      },
      "services": {
        "text": "73.8% ++  (2011)"
      }
    },
    "Unemployment rate": {
      "text": "4.3% (2016 est.) ++ 4.6% (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Population below poverty line": {
      "text": "15.5% (2010 est.)"
    },
    "Household income or consumption by percentage share": {
      "lowest 10%": {
        "text": "3.6%"
      },
      "highest 10%": {
        "text": "24% (2000)"
      }
    },
    "Distribution of family income - Gini index": {
      "text": "27 (2006) ++ 30 (1994)"
    },
    "Budget": {
      "revenues": {
        "text": "$1.507 trillion"
      },
      "expenditures": {
        "text": "$1.484 trillion (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Taxes and other revenues": {
      "text": "43.1% of GDP (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
      "text": "0.6% of GDP (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Public debt": {
      "text": "69% of GDP (2016 est.) ++ 71.2% of GDP (2015 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and"
      }
    },
    "Fiscal year": {
      "text": "calendar year"
    },
    "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
      "text": "0.4% (2016 est.) ++ 0.1% (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Central bank discount rate": {
      "text": "0.05% (31 December 2013) ++ 0.3% (31 December 2010)",
      "note": {
        "text": "this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area"
      }
    },
    "Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
      "text": "1.7% (31 December 2016 est.) ++ 1.84% (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of narrow money": {
      "text": "$2.049 trillion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $1.923 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of"
      }
    },
    "Stock of broad money": {
      "text": "$4.347 trillion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $4.451 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of domestic credit": {
      "text": "$4.327 trillion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $4.452 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Market value of publicly traded shares": {
      "text": "$1.716 trillion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $1.739 trillion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $1.936 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)"
    },
    "Current account balance": {
      "text": "$301.4 billion (2016 est.) ++ $284.2 billion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exports": {
      "text": "$1.283 trillion (2016 est.) ++ $1.309 trillion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exports - commodities": {
      "text": "motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products"
    },
    "Exports - partners": {
      "text": "US 9.6%, France 8.6%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 6%, Italy 4.9%, Austria 4.8%, Poland 4.4%, Switzerland 4.2% (2015)"
    },
    "Imports": {
      "text": "$987.6 billion (2016 est.) ++ $1.017 trillion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Imports - commodities": {
      "text": "machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural products"
    },
    "Imports - partners": {
      "text": "Netherlands 13.7%, France 7.6%, China 7.3%, Belgium 6%, Italy 5.2%, Poland 5%, US 4.7%, Czech Republic 4.5%, UK 4.2%, Austria 4.2%, Switzerland 4.2% (2015)"
    },
    "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
      "text": "$173.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $173.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Debt - external": {
      "text": "$5.326 trillion (31 March 2016 est.) ++ $5.21 trillion (31 March 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
      "text": "$1.416 trillion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $1.36 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
      "text": "$2.08 trillion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $1.972 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exchange rates": {
      "text": "euros (EUR) per US dollar - ++ 0.9214 (2016 est.) ++ 0.885 (2015 est.) ++ 0.885 (2014 est.) ++ 0.7634 (2013 est.) ++ 0.7752 (2012 est.)"
    }
  },
  "Energy": {
    "Electricity - production": {
      "text": "591 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - consumption": {
      "text": "533 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - exports": {
      "text": "74 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - imports": {
      "text": "40 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - installed generating capacity": {
      "text": "198 million kW (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from fossil fuels": {
      "text": "45.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from nuclear fuels": {
      "text": "6.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from hydroelectric plants": {
      "text": "2.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from other renewable sources": {
      "text": "41.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - production": {
      "text": "48,060 bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - exports": {
      "text": "6,569 bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - imports": {
      "text": "1.844 million bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - proved reserves": {
      "text": "100 million bbl (1 January 2016 es)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - production": {
      "text": "2.175 million bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - consumption": {
      "text": "2.372 million bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - exports": {
      "text": "462,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - imports": {
      "text": "785,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - production": {
      "text": "9.469 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - consumption": {
      "text": "79.21 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - exports": {
      "text": "22.27 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - imports": {
      "text": "89.89 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - proved reserves": {
      "text": "47.4 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)"
    },
    "Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy": {
      "text": "805 million Mt (2013 est.)"
    }
  },
  "Communications": {
    "Telephones - fixed lines": {
      "total subscriptions": {
        "text": "45.352 million"
      },
      "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
        "text": "56 (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Telephones - mobile cellular": {
      "total": {
        "text": "96.36 million"
      },
      "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
        "text": "119 (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Telephone system": {
      "general assessment": {
        "text": "one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been moderniz"
      },
      "domestic": {
        "text": "extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roa"
      },
      "international": {
        "text": "country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Broadcast media": {
      "text": "a mixture of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately owned national and regional TV stations; more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV; hundreds (2008)"
    },
    "Internet country code": {
      "text": ".de"
    },
    "Internet users": {
      "total": {
        "text": "70.82 million"
      },
      "percent of population": {
        "text": "87.6% (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    }
  },
  "Transportation": {
    "National air transport system": {
      "number of registered air carriers": {
        "text": "20"
      },
      "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
        "text": "1,113"
      },
      "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
        "text": "115,540,886"
      },
      "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
        "text": "6,985,007,915 mt-km (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
      "text": "D (2016)"
    },
    "Airports": {
      "text": "539 (2013)"
    },
    "Airports - with paved runways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "318"
      },
      "over 3,047 m": {
        "text": "14"
      },
      "2,438 to 3,047 m": {
        "text": "49"
      },
      "1,524 to 2,437 m": {
        "text": "60"
      },
      "914 to 1,523 m": {
        "text": "70"
      },
      "under 914 m": {
        "text": "125 (2013)"
      }
    },
    "Airports - with unpaved runways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "221"
      },
      "1,524 to 2,437 m": {
        "text": "1"
      },
      "914 to 1,523 m": {
        "text": "35"
      },
      "under 914 m": {
        "text": "185 (2013)"
      }
    },
    "Heliports": {
      "text": "23 (2013)"
    },
    "Pipelines": {
      "text": "condensate 37 km; gas 26,985 km; oil 2,826 km; refined products 4,479 km; water 8 km (2013)"
    },
    "Railways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "43,468.3 km"
      },
      "standard gauge": {
        "text": "43,209.3 km 1.435-m gauge (19,973 km electrified)"
      },
      "narrow gauge": {
        "text": "220 km 1.000-m gauge (79 km electrified); 15 km 0.900-m gauge; 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2014)"
      }
    },
    "Roadways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "645,000 km"
      },
      "paved": {
        "text": "645,000 km (includes 12,800 km of expressways)"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "includes local roads (2010)"
      }
    },
    "Waterways": {
      "text": "7,467 km (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2012)"
    },
    "Merchant marine": {
      "total": {
        "text": "427"
      },
      "by type": {
        "text": "barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 6, cargo 51, carrier 1, chemical tanker 15, container 298, liquefied gas 6, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 24, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 1"
      },
      "foreign-owned": {
        "text": "6 (Finland 3, Netherlands 1, Switzerland 2)"
      },
      "registered in other countries": {
        "text": "3,420 (Antigua and Barbuda 1094, Australia 2, Bahamas 30, Bermuda 14, Brazil 6, Bulgaria 12, Burma 1, Cayman Islands 3, Cook Islands 1, Curacao 25, Cyprus 192, Denmark 9, Dominica 5, Estonia 1, France 1, Gibraltar 123, Hong Kong 10, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 10, (2010)"
      }
    },
    "Ports and terminals": {
      "major seaport(s)": {
        "text": "Baltic Sea - Rostock; North Sea - Wilhelmshaven"
      },
      "river port(s)": {
        "text": "Bremen (Weser); Bremerhaven (Geeste); Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine); Brunsbuttel, Hamburg (Elbe); Lubeck (Wakenitz)"
      },
      "oil terminal(s)": {
        "text": "Brunsbuttel Canal terminals"
      },
      "container port(s)": {
        "text": "Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,915,487), Hamburg (9,014,165) (2011)"
      },
      "LNG terminal(s) (import)": {
        "text": "Hamburg"
      }
    }
  },
  "Military and Security": {
    "Military branches": {
      "text": "Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Support Services (Streitkraeftebasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw) (2013)"
    },
    "Military service age and obligation": {
      "text": "17-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; conscription ended 1 July 2011; service obligation 8-23 months or 12 years; women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 (2013)"
    },
    "Military expenditures": {
      "text": "1.18% of GDP (2015) ++ 1.35% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.34% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.35% of GDP (2010)"
    }
  },
  "Transnational Issues": {
    "Disputes - international": {
      "text": "none"
    },
    "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
      "refugees (country of origin)": {
        "text": "115,604 (Syria); 51,396 (Iraq); 30,026 (Afghanistan); 20,281 (Turkey); 19,763 (Iran); 10,980 (Eritrea); 9,157 (Serbia and Kosovo) (2015)"
      },
      "stateless persons": {
        "text": "12,569 (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Illicit drugs": {
      "text": "source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center"
    }
  }
}