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Germany
EUROPE
FACTFILE
OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic
of Germany
DATE OF FORMATION: 1871
CAPITAL: Berlin
POPULATION: 82.2 million
TOTAL AREA: 137,846 sq. miles
(357,021 sq. km)
DENSITY: 609 people per sq. mile
LANGUAGES: German*, Turkish
RELIGIONS: Protestant 34%, Roman
Catholic 33%, other 30%, Muslim 3%
ETHNIC MIX: German 92%, other 3%,
other European 3%, Turkish 2%
GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary system
CURRENCY: Euro = 100 cents
Europe’s strongest industrial power and its most
populous nation, Germany was divided after military defeat in 1945
into a free-market west and a communist east, but reunified in 1990.
GEOGRAPHY
Central European coastal plains in
the north, rising to rolling hills of central
region and Alps in far south.
CLIMATE
Damp, temperate in northern and
central regions. Continental extremes in
mountainous south.
PEOPLE & SOCIETY
Regionalism is strong. The north is
mainly Protestant, while the south is
staunchly Roman Catholic. Social and
economic differences still exist between
east and west. Turks are the largest single
ethnic minority; many came as guest
workers in the 1950s–1970s. Immigration
rules now favor skilled workers.
Feminism is strong.
THE ECONOMY
Major exporter of electronics,
heavy engineering, chemicals, and cars.
Worst recession for 60 years in 2008–
2009. Aging population.
INSIGHT: Germany’s rivers and
canals carry as much freight as
its busy highways
2000m/6562ft
1000m/3281ft
500m/1640ft
200m/656ft
Sea Level
100 km
100 miles
0
0
BELGIUM
LUX.
FRANCE
SWITZ. AUSTRIA
CZECH
REPUBLIC
DENMARK
NETHER-
LANDS
POLAND
Baltic Sea
North Sea
Bavaria
n Alps
R
hi
ne
R
hi
n
e
O
de
r
Elb
e
Dan
ub
e
Hamburg
München
Dresden
Leipzig
Stuttgart
Frankfurt
am Main
Hannover
Bremen
Köln
Dortmund
Duisburg
Essen
Düsseldorf
Bonn Chemnitz
Rostock
Magdeburg
Mannheim
Nürnberg
Erfurt
Lübeck
Kassel
Kiel
BERLIN