German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (continued)
Head of Government—Chairman of the Council of Ministers Lothar DE MAIZIERE (since 12 April 1990); Deputy Chairman Peter-Michael DIESTEL (since 16 April 1990)
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Germany—Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Lothar de Maiziere, chairman; German Social Union (DSU), Hans-Wilhelm Ebeling, chairman; and Democratic Awakening (DA), Rainer Eppelmann, chairman;
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Markus Meckel, acting chairman; Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS, former Communist), Gregor Gysi, chairman;
League of Free Democrats (BFD)—Liberals, Rainer Ortleb, chairman; Free Democratic Party (FDP), Bruno Menzel, chairman; and German Forum Party (DFP), Juergen Schmieder, chairman;
Alliance '90—New Forum, Baerbel Bohley, Jens Reich, Sebastian Pflugbeil, spokespersons; Democracy Now, (Conrad Weiss, spokesperson; and United Left, Herbert Misslitz, spokesperson; Greens Party (GP), Vera Wollenberger, spokesperson;
Democratic Peasants' Party (DBD), Guenther Maleuda, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: People's Chamber—last held on 18 March 1990 (next to be held March NA); results—Alliance for Germany—CDU 40.9%, DSU 6.3%, DA 0.9%; SPD 21.8%; BFD 5.3%; SPD 21.8%; PDS 16.3%; Alliance 90 2.9%; DBD 2.2%; GP 2.0%; NDPD 0.4%; others 1.0%; seats—(400 total, including 66 from East Berlin) Alliance for Germany—CDU 164, DSU 25, DA 4; SPD 87; BFD 21; PDS 65; Alliance 90 12, DBD 9; GP 8; NDPD 2; others 3
Communists: 500,000 to 700,000 party members (1990)
Member of: CEMA, IAEA, IBEC, ICES, ILO, IMO, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Gerhard HERDER; Chancery at 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 232-3134; US—Ambassador Richard C. BARKLEY; Embassy at 1080 Berlin, Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, East Berlin (mailing address is Box E, APO New York 09742); telephone [37](2) 220-2741
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and yellow with the coat of arms centered; the coat of arms contains, in yellow, a hammer and compass encircled by a wreath of grain with a black, red, and gold ribbon at the bottom; similar to the flag of the FRG which does not have a coat of arms
Economy
Overview: The GDR is moving rapidly
away from its centrally planned economy.
As the 1990s begin, economic integration
with West Germany appears inevitable,
beginning with the establishment of a
common currency. The opening of the
border with the FRG in late 1989 and the
continuing emigration of hundreds of
thousands of skilled workers had brought
growth to a standstill by yearend 1989.
Features of the old economic regime that
will quickly change: (a) the collectivization
of 95% of East German farms; (b) state
ownership of nearly all transportation
facilities, industrial plants, foreign trade
organizations, and financial institutions; (c)
the 65% share in trade of the USSR and
other CEMA countries; and (d) the
detailed control over economic details
exercised by Party and state. Once integrated
into the thriving West German economy,
the area will have to stem the outflow of
workers and renovate the obsolescent
industrial base. After an initial readjustment
period, living standards and quality
of output will steadily rise toward West
German levels.
GNP: $159.5 billion, per capita $9,679; real growth rate 1.2% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $123.5 billion; expenditures $123.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $33 billion (1986)
Exports: $30.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—machinery and transport equipment 47%, fuels and metals 16%, consumer goods 16%, chemical products and building materials 13%, semimanufactured goods and processed foodstuffs 8%; partners USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, FRG, Hungary, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Romania
Imports: $31.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—fuels and metals 40%, machinery and transport equipment 29%, chemical products and building materials 9%; partners CEMA countries 65%, non-Communist 33%, other 2%
External debt: $20.6 billion (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.7% (1989 est.)
Electricity: (including East Berlin) 24,585,000 kW capacity; 122,500 million kWh produced, 7,390 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: metal fabrication, chemicals, brown coal, shipbuilding, machine building, food and beverages, textiles, petroleum
Agriculture: accounts for about 10% of GNP (including fishing and forestry); principal crops—wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, fruit; livestock products include pork, beef, chicken, milk, hides and skins; net importer of food; fish catch of 193,600 metric tons in 1987
Aid: donor—$4.0 billion extended bilaterally to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-88)
Currency: GDR mark (plural—marks); 1 GDR mark (M) = 100 pfennige
Exchange rates: GDR marks (M) per US$1—3.01 (1988), 3.00 (1987), 3.30 (1986), 3.70 (1985), 3.64 (1984)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 14,005 km total; 13,730 km
1.435-meter standard gauge, 275 km
1.000-meter or other narrow gauge, 3,830
(est.) km 1.435-meter double-track standard
gauge; 2,754 km overhead electrified
(1986)
Highways: 124,615 km total; 47,214 km concrete, asphalt, stone block, of which 1,913 km are autobahn and limited access roads, 11,261 are trunk roads, and 34,040 are regional roads; 77,401 municipal roads (1985)
Inland waterways: 2,319 km (1986)
Pipelines: crude oil, 1,301 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas, 2,150 km (1988)
Ports: Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, Sassnitz; river ports are East Berlin, Riesa, Magdeburg, and Eisenhuttenstadt on the Elbe or Oder Rivers and connecting canals
Merchant marine: 145 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,349,537 GRT/1,733,089 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 89 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 container, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 2 railcar carrier, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 1 liquefied gas tanker, 16 bulk
Civil air: 45 major transport aircraft
Airports: 190 total, 190 usable; 70 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runway over 3,659 m; 45 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 40 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: stations—23 AM, 17 FM, 21 TV; 15 Soviet TV relays; 6,181,860 TV sets; 6,700,000 radio receivers; at least 1 satellite earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: National People's Army, Border
Troops, Air and Air Defense Command,
People's Navy
Military manpower: eligible 15-49, 7,944,305; of the 4,045,396 males 15-49, 3,243,970 are fit for military service; 91,579 reach military age (18) annually; of the 3,898,909 females 15-49, 3,117,847 are fit for military service; 85,892 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 16.2 billion marks, 5.4% of total budget (1989); note—conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results
