Comparing Governments

UNITED STATES

GERMANY

Government
UNITED STATES

chief of state

Joachim GAUCK

Elected

5 yr term

Any German who is

entitled to vote in
Bundestag elections
and has attained the
age of forty may be
elected

GERMANY

President
Barrack Obama
Elected
4 yr term
must be a natural-born
citizen of the United States
and must have been a
permanent resident of the
United States of America
for at least 14 years, must
be at least 35 years of age

Lawmakers
UNITED STATES

GERMANY

Congress
Bicameral
535 members

Bundestag and the

Bundesrat
Unicameral
332

Bill of rights
UNITED STATES

GERMANY

Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Right to bear arms

no censorship and freedom

of expression may be
limited by law
freedom of religion,
conscience and the freedom
of confessing one's religious
or philosophical beliefs are
inviolable
A constitutional right to
bear arms is not part of the
German legal tradition

Poitical Party
GERMANY

Multiparty system
Social Democratic Party of
Germany and the Christian
Democratic Union
The Basic Law for the
Federal Republic of
Germany is the
constitution of Germany
Parties are described by
color

German Elections

Voting age is 18 in Germany (universal)

Elections held every 4 years
General elections

German Taxes

Income tax and VAT tax

Military: 1.2% of GDP spent

Education: devotes 10.5% of its total
public spending on education
Healthcare: 11.3% of GDP spent

Germanys Law

6.5 million crimes reported

Prison population: 77,166
The penalty and any ancillary measures
shall be determined by the law which is in
force at the time of the act
Death penalty changed to life
imprisonment

Germany and the United States do have a

lot in common with theyre governments
and elections but are still very different
with each others freedoms and rights.