Germany

"Deutschland" redirects here. For other uses, see Deutschland (disambiguation) and Germany (disambiguation).
"Federal Republic of Germany" redirects here. For the country from 1949–1990, see West Germany.

Federal Republic of Germany
Bundesrepublik Deutschland (German)
Anthem: "Das Lied der Deutschen"[a]
("The Song of the Germans")
Location of Germany (dark green)

– in Europe (light green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (light green)

Capital
and largest city
Berlin[b]
52°31′N 13°23′E / 52.517°N 13.383°E / 52.517; 13.383
Official languagesGerman[c]
Demonym(s)German
GovernmentFederal parliamentary republic[4]
• President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Olaf Scholz
LegislatureBundestag, Bundesrat[d]
Area
• Total
357,596 km2 (138,069 sq mi)[6] (63rd)
• Water (%)
1.27[5]
Population
• 2022 census
Neutral increase 82,719,540[7] (19th)
• Density
236/km2 (611.2/sq mi)
HDI (2022)Increase 0.950[8]
very high (7th)
CurrencyEuro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format
  • Day, month, year
  • Year, month, day
Drives onright
Calling code+49
ISO 3166 codeDE
Internet TLD.de

Germany,[e] officially the Federal Republic of Germany,[f] is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 82 million in an area of 357,596 km2 (138,069 sq mi), making it the most populous member state of the European Union. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Settlement in the territory of modern Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. Following the Napoleonic Wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Confederation was formed in 1815.

Formal unification of Germany into the modern nation-state commenced on 18 August 1866 with the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the Prussia-led North German Confederation later transformed in 1871 into the German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was in turn transformed into the Weimar Republic. The Nazi rise to power in 1933 led to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, in 1949, Germany as a whole was organized into two separate polities with limited sovereignty: the Federal Republic of Germany, generally known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, while Berlin continued its de jure Four Power status. The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community and the European Union, while the German Democratic Republic was a communist Eastern Bloc state and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the fall of the communist led-government in East Germany, German reunification saw the former East German states join the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990.

Germany has been described as a great power with a strong economy; it has the largest economy in Europe by nominal GDP. As a global power in industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer. As a developed country, it offers social security, a universal health care system, and tuition-free university education. Germany is a member of the United Nations, Council of Europe, NATO and OECD, and a founding member of the European Union, G7 and G20. It has the third-highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 54, of which 51 are cultural.

  1. ^ "Repräsentation und Integration" (in German). Bundespräsidialamt. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  2. ^ "The German Federal Government". deutschland.de. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ Gesley, Jenny (26 September 2018). "The Protection of Minority and Regional Languages in Germany". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Germany". statistikportal.de. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Ergebnisse des Zensus 2022 – Bevölkerung (15.05.2022)". www.destatis.de (in German). Destatis. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  10. ^ Mangold, Max, ed. (2005). Duden, Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (6th ed.). Dudenverlag. pp. 271, 53f. ISBN 978-3-411-04066-7.


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