Germany

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.

Points of interest

The following notable inflations have affected German lands:

• the 15th century Schinderling inflation
• the 16th century Kipper and Wipper inflation in Hapsburg lands
• the 18th century inflation during the Seven Year War under Frederick the Great
• the 20th century Great German inflation during the Weimar Republic

Economical characteristics

• Currency: Euro (ISO code: EUR)
• Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (31 December 2009)
• Commercial banks lending rate: 5.97% (31 December 2008)
• is part of the Eurozone

Statistics

Statistic / Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)	2 143 620	1 900 220	1 890 970	2 016 920	2 442 210	2 745 100	2 789 700	2 912 430	3 316 130	3 649 490
Govt. debt (% of GDP)			37.778	38.968	40.608	42.629	44.251	43.255	40.775
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)	30.540	30.342	29.617	29.592	29.755	28.584	28.732	28.681	28.471
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)	32.069	31.752	31.444	31.943	32.436	31.341	31.260	30.161	29.021
Debt to revenue (years)			1.276	1.317	1.365	1.491	1.540	1.508	1.432

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

External links

• Germany on Wikipedia
• Central bank of Germany
• Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
• BBC country profile
• "Die Krankmacher" (in German) ('The Sick-makers) by Alexander Neubacher, about healthcare in Germany
• German public debt (in German)
• Hyperinflation in Germany, 1914-1923 by Hans F. Sennholz, October 2006
• Prosperity through Competition (pdf) by Ludwig Erhard, 1958
• Nazism is Socialism by Adam Young, September 2001
• Nation, Prussia by Ludwig von Mises, 1919, from Nation, State, and Economy
• Wilhelm von Humboldt by Ralph Raico
• Some Costs of the Great War: Nationalizing Private Life by T. Hunt Tooley, January 2009
• Eugen Richter and Late German Manchester Liberalism: A Reevaluation by Ralph Raico, June 2010
• No Copyright Law: The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion? by Frank Thadeusz, August 2010
• The Blockade and Attempted Starvation of Germany by Ralph Raico, May 2010