Germany
Year of entry: Founding Member
Political system:Federal Republic
Capital city:Berlin
Total area:356 854 km²
Population:82 million
Currency: Euro
Full name: Federal Republic of Germany
Population: 82.5 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Berlin
Area: 357,027 sq km (137,849 sq miles)
Major language: German
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 76 years (men), 81 years (women)
(UN)
Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents
Main exports: Motor vehicles, electrical
machinery, metals
GNI per capita: US $34,580 (World Bank, 2006)
Internet domain: .de
International dialling code: +49
Overview
Overview:
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1. Geography
2. History
3. Culture – film, music, sport, architecture
4. Socio-economic status
5. Politics
6. Religion – secular and non-secular
7. Relations with the wider world
8. Relations with the European Union
9. Current Issues
10. Doing business in …..
Germany
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As Europe's largest economy and second
most populous nation, Germany remains a
key member of the continent's economic,
political, and defense organizations NATO(1955), The EU(1957), The Council of
Europe (1955?) to name a few
German Politics
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President: Horst Koehler
Chancellor: Angela Merkel ( CDU) -first
female chancellor in late November 2005,
taking over from Gerhard Schroeder who had
held the post since 1998.
a party must win 5% of the national vote or
three direct mandates to gain representation;
members serve four-year terms
Politics – political structure
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Germany is a federation consisting of 16 states or Lander; all
have their own constitutions, governments and parliaments.
The states are primarily responsible for policing and education,
and for the implementation of most federal policies.
Most issues of economic policy fall under the responsibility of the
federal-level institutions.
The federal parliament comprises a directly elected lower house
(Bundestag) and an upper house (Bundesrat), which consists
of representatives of the state governments.
The federal chancellor, the head of the executive, is elected by
the Bundestag and can only be brought down by the election of a
successor.
A coalition government of the two main parties ( CDU and
SPD)was formed after the general election in September 2005.
Geography
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In Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea
and the North Sea, between the Netherlands
and Poland, south of Denmark
History
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Following the second world war (1939-1945),
Germany was divided into two parts, with the east
governed by the communists and the west by a
liberal parliamentary democracy. With the collapse
of the communist east in 1989, Germany was
reunified on October 3rd 1990
The pain of Germany's Nazi-era history remains a
sensitive element in the country's collective modernday psyche
Gunter Grass
Culture: Film…
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Seven awards to German Stasi film: Das
Leben der Anderen - The Lives of Others
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This film was Florian von Donnersmarck's
directorial debut - A drama about the
devastating effect of the secret Stasi police
force on ordinary citizens has won seven
prizes at Germany's leading film awards, the
Lolas, best film, director, actor and supporting
actor
Beer brewing in Germany
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The country has famous beer brewing
traditions. Beer purity laws dating back to
1516 limit the fermentation ingredients to
malted grain, hops, yeast and water
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Oktoberfest - München
Socio-economic status
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high fiscal deficit and high unemployment remain the major
themes for economic policy discussions.
Fiscal consolidation will make substantial progress, aided by the
current moderate economic upswing.
The government is preparing a reform of healthcare financing
to reduce the labour market distortions resulting from high
healthcare insurance contributions.
Other measures to make the social welfare system more
efficient, including an increase in the pension age, are also on
the agenda.
The coalition plans a major business taxation reform to be
implemented in 2008.
In 2003-05 Germany was the largest exporter in the world. In
2005 exports amounted to US$972.4bn, compared with the US's
US$894.6bn
Taxation
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The federal corporation tax rate is 25%, with local taxes pushing
the total tax burden on companies up to 39%,
a major business tax reform in 2008 is expected to lower these
rates.
The top marginal personal income tax rate was reduced from
45% in 2004 to 42% in 2005, but an increase in the rate on very
high incomes to 45% was approved in July 2006.
Social security contributions, shared equally between employers
and employees, are high.
The main value-added tax (VAT) rate, applied to sales of most
goods and services, is 16%, but will be raised to 19% at the
beginning of 2007.
Religion 
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Northern Germany – Protestant
Sourthern Germany - Catholic
Germany: relations with the wider world
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sent peacekeepers to the Balkans
its forces have been involved in operations in
Afghanistan.
The former chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder,
was a vociferous critic of the launch of US-led
operations in Iraq.
Germany: relations with the EU
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Founder member of the EU
Franco-German axis has been a driving force
of European integration
Germany has been pro-enlargement
Germany has not allowed the 10 new
member states’ labour force access to its
labour market
Current issues
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Gunter Grass – memoirs
Football
Sources:
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The Economist
BBC news web-site, country profiles
CIA Factbook
IT Library -
Thousands of people gathered in the east German city of Dresden to see
Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) re-consecrated, 60 years after it was
destroyed by Allied forces
located near the River Spree, Berlin’s
New railway station opened May 2006
The five-storey steel and glass
structure has taken more than eight
years and millions of euros to
complete
Neuschwanstein, bavaria)
Cologne ( Köln) cathedral
Munich – das Rahhaus
(the town hall)
The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
HEIDELBERG