Polity · 1950 CE – 1990 CE
Federal Republic of Germany
Bundesrepublik Deutschland · Bundesrepublik Deutschland bis 1990 · Deutschland
Also recorded as Germany
- Peak recorded area
- 247,244 km²
- 1958 CE
- Rulers on record
- 10
- from 1950 CE
- Data series
- 318
- 1950 CE–1990 CE
Overview
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It was sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital city of Bonn, or as the Second German Republic. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1990 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 70 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population97 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 79.7Mpersons1990 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female72 obs · 1950 CE–1990 CE | 78.42years1990 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male72 obs · 1950 CE–1990 CE | 71.91years1990 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration72 obs · 1950 CE–1990 CE | 679.7Kpersons1990 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Urban Population47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 25.7Mpersons1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy42 obs · 1950 CE–1990 CE | 75.34years1990 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 116 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita56 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 25.4K2011 int'l $1990 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP per capita PPP56 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 31.3Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)1990 CE · Gapminder |
| Total Exports47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 409.2Kmillion USD (current)1990 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 346.5Kmillion USD (current)1990 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0million USD (current)1990 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0million USD (current)1990 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 42 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.0293CINC (share of world capability)1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 366.2Mcoal-ton equivalents1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 38.4Mtons1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 37.2Bcurrent USD1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel47 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 545Kpersons1990 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Mil Equip Aircraft Transport21 obs · 1970 CE–1990 CE | 159count1990 CE · rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 35 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production56 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 1,454.18TWh1990 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production56 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 150.25TWh1990 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production56 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 45.56TWh1990 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Agricultural Land %30 obs · 1961 CE–1990 CE | 51.65%1990 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land %30 obs · 1961 CE–1990 CE | 34.29%1990 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Arable Land per capita Ha30 obs · 1961 CE–1990 CE | 0.1507hectares per person1990 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 19 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.895index (0-1)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.857index (0-1)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.648index (0-1)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 3RoW index (0-3)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.994index (0-1)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Executive Years In Office16 obs · 1975 CE–1990 CE | 8years1990 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 36 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index52 obs · 1935 CE–1990 CE | 0.985index (0-1)1990 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Aviation Passenger Km44 obs · 1947 CE–1990 CE | 42.4Kpassenger-km1990 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production44 obs · 1947 CE–1990 CE | 441BGWh1990 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm44 obs · 1947 CE–1990 CE | 62.9Ktonne-km1990 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Steel Electric Arc44 obs · 1947 CE–1990 CE | 7,105.5metric tons1990 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telephones43 obs · 1948 CE–1990 CE | 43.1Mcount1990 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
10 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ivone Kirkpatrickambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1950 CE – 1953 CE
- Frederick Millar, 1st Baron Inchyraambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1953 CE – 1957 CE
- Christopher Steelambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1957 CE – 1963 CE
- Frank Robertsambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1963 CE – 1968 CE
- Roger Jacklingambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1968 CE – 1972 CE
- Nicholas Hendersonambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1972 CE – 1975 CE
- Oliver Wrightambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1975 CE – 1981 CE
- Jock Taylorambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1981 CE – 1984 CE
- Julian Bullardambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1984 CE – 1988 CE
- Christopher Mallabyambassador of the United Kingdom to West Germany1988 CE – 1990 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- and Romani are official minority languages, German
- Currency
- euros (EUR)
Memberships
- 20-member Defense Pact (1949)Military alliance · member1954 CE – 1990 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0v1.0
Reconstructed Data on Military Capabilities (rDMC), v1.0. Harvard Dataverse.
Academic use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Federal Republic of Germany is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.