Country name:

conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany
local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
local short form: Deutschland
former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich

Capital:

Berlin. Population: 3.4 million (2007).
 

Location:

Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark

Area:

357,021 sq km (137,847 sq miles).
 

Description:
The Federal Republic of Germany shares frontiers with Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. The northwest of the country has a coastline on the North Sea with islands known for their health resorts, while the Baltic coastline in the northeast stretches from the Danish to the Polish border.
The country is divided into 16 states (Bundesländer), including the formerly divided city of Berlin. The landscape is exceedingly varied, with the Rhine, Bavaria and the Black Forest being the three most famous features of western Germany. In eastern Germany, the country is lake-studded with undulating lowlands which give way to the hills and mountains of the Lausitzer Bergland, the Saxon Hills in the Elbe Valley and the Erzgebirge, while the once divided areas of the Thuringian and Harz ranges in the central part of the country are now whole regions again. River basins extend over a large percentage of the eastern part of Germany, the most important being the Elbe, Saale, Havel, Spree and Oder.
The western area of the country consists of the Rhineland, the industrial sprawl of the Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Hessen, the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and the Saarland. In the southern area of the country are the two largest states, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (Bayern), which contain the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the Bavarian Alps.

 

Population:

82.6 million (UN estimate 2007).
 

Languages:

German. Some English is spoken and French is also spoken, particularly in the Saarland. In the north of Schleswig-Holstein, Danish is spoken by the Danish minority and taught in schools. In eastern Brandenburg and Saxony, Sorbic is spoken by the Slavic minority called the Sorbs and is also taught in about 50 schools. Regional dialects often differ markedly from standard German.
 

Climate:
Temperate throughout the country with warm summers and cold winters, but prolonged periods of frost or snow are rare. Rain falls throughout the year. The average January daytime temperature is 3°C (38°F) and in July is 22°C (72°F). Extremes commonly reach -10°C (5°F) in winter and 35°C (95°F) in the summer months.
 

Economy - overview:

Germany's economy has recovered considerably from the doldrums of the early 21st century, with annual growth estimated at around 2.7% in 2007. However, unemployment remains high at around 9% of the workforce. All this is very different from the 1970s and 1980s, when Germany was the economic powerhouse of the European Union.
The nation's finances have suffered heavily from reunification, the former East Germany swallowing up huge sums in modernisation, and still badly underperforming economically. Those employed in the former West still pay a special tax on top of their regular income tax, for supporting the eastern states. However, inflation is relatively low at around 2%.
Germany's population is aging, and this, combined with the high unemployment levels, and population movement, places a heavy burden on the welfare system. The country also has a high immigrant population.
The country is known for having a cumbersome bureaucracy, both at national, state and local levels, and this too places a strain on tax resources.

Economy:

Germany's economy has recovered considerably from the doldrums of the early 21st century, with annual growth estimated at around 2.7% in 2007. However, unemployment remains high at around 9% of the workforce. All this is very different from the 1970s and 1980s, when Germany was the economic powerhouse of the European Union.
The nation's finances have suffered heavily from reunification, the former East Germany swallowing up huge sums in modernisation, and still badly underperforming economically. Those employed in the former West still pay a special tax on top of their regular income tax, for supporting the eastern states. However, inflation is relatively low at around 2%.
Germany's population is aging, and this, combined with the high unemployment levels, and population movement, places a heavy burden on the welfare system. The country also has a high immigrant population.
The country is known for having a cumbersome bureaucracy, both at national, state and local levels, and this too places a strain on tax resources.
 

Industries:

among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles