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 (now 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 reunification 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.

geography

location

51.0° N, 9. 0° E
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

area

357,022 sq km
land
348,672 sq km
water
8,350 sq km

land boundaries

3,714 km

coastline

2,389 km

climate

temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

terrain

lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

elevation

263 m
lowest point
Neuendorf bei Wilster
-3.5 m
highest point
Zugspitze
2,963 m

natural resources

  • coal
  • lignite
  • natural gas
  • iron ore
  • copper
  • nickel
  • uranium
  • potash
  • salt
  • construction materials
  • timber
  • arable land

land use

arable land
34.1 %
permanent crops
0.6 %
permanent pasture
13.3 %
forest
31.8 %
other
20.2 %

population distribution

most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia

people

population

  • 80,159,662
  • 19
    global rank

nationality

  • German(s)
    noun
  • German
    adjective

ethnic groups

German
87.2 %
Turkish
1.8 %
Polish
1 %
Syrian
1 %
other
9 %

languages

  • German
    official

religions

Roman Catholic
27.7 %
Protestant
25.5 %
Muslim
5.1 %
Orthodox
1.9 %
other Christian
1.1 %
other .9%
%
none
37.8 %

birth rate

  • 8.6
    per 1,000 population
  • 215
    global rank

death rate

  • 12.1
    per 1,000 population
  • 16
    global rank

urban population

77.5 %

major urban areas

  • Berlin
    pop. 3,562,000
  • Hamburg
    pop. 1,790,000
  • Munich
    pop. 1,538,000
  • Cologne
    pop. 1,119,000

life expectancy

  • 81.1
    total population
  • 37
    global rank
78.7
male
83.6
female

adult obesity rate

  • 22.3%
    percent of adults
  • 79
    global rank

government

country name

    conventional

  • Federal Republic of Germany
    long form
  • Germany
    short form

    local

  • Bundesrepublik Deutschland
    long form
  • Deutschland
    short form

government type

federal parliamentary republic

capital

Berlin
52.31 N, 13.24 E

independence

national holidays

  • German Unity Day
    3 October

legal system

civil law system

age of suffrage

18

flag description

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold; these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field

national colors

  • black
  • red
  • yellow

national anthem

"Das Lied der Deutschen" (Song of the Germans)

economy

overview

The German economy - the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP terms and Europe's largest - is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment. Germany benefits from a highly skilled labor force, but, like its Western European neighbors, faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and a large increase in net immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. Reforms launched by the government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER (1998-2005), deemed necessary to address chronically high unemployment and low average growth, contributed to strong economic growth and falling unemployment. These advances, as well as a government subsidized, reduced working hour scheme, help explain the relatively modest increase in unemployment during the 2008-09 recession - the deepest since World War II. The German Government introduced a minimum wage in 2015 that increased to $9.79 (8.84 euros) in January 2017. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKEL's second term increased Germany's total budget deficit - including federal, state, and municipal - to 4.1% in 2010, but slower spending and higher tax revenues reduced the deficit to 0.8% in 2011 and in 2017 Germany reached a budget surplus of 0.7%. A constitutional amendment approved in 2009 limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016, though the target was already reached in 2012. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Chancellor Angela MERKEL announced in May 2011 that eight of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down immediately and the remaining plants would close by 2022. Germany plans to replace nuclear power largely with renewable energy, which accounted for 29.5% of gross electricity consumption in 2016, up from 9% in 2000. Before the shutdown of the eight reactors, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its electricity generating capacity and 46% of its base-load electricity production. The German economy suffers from low levels of investment, and a government plan to invest 15 billion euros during 2016-18, largely in infrastructure, is intended to spur needed private investment. Domestic consumption, investment, and exports are likely to drive German GDP growth in 2018, and the country’s budget and trade surpluses are likely to remain high.

GDP

4,199,000,000,000 USD
2017

agriculture products

  • potatoes
  • wheat
  • barley
  • sugar beets
  • fruit
  • cabbages
  • milk products
  • cattle
  • pigs
  • poultry

poverty level

16.7%
2015

budget

  • 1,665,000,000,000
    revenue (USD)
  • 1,619,000,000,000
    expenditures (USD)

communications

telephones

    fixed lines

  • 42,500,000
    total subscriptions
  • 4
    global rank

    mobile cellular

  • 107,500,000
    total subscriptions
  • 15
    global rank

broadcast media

a mixture of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; 70 national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately owned national and regional TV stations; more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV; hundreds of radio stations including multiple national radio networks, regional radio networks, and a large number of local radio stations

internet

.de
country code

    users

  • 72,202,773
    total
  • 89.74
    % of population
  • 10
    global rank

energy

electricity access

100%
2016

transportation

air transport

    national system

  • 20
    registered air carriers
  • 115,540,886
    annual passenger traffic

    airports

  • 539
    total
  • 318
    paved

railways

33,590 km
total length

roadways

625,000 km
total length

waterways

7,467 km
total length

military

expenditures

expenditures here

service age

17