Germany Map

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world. Germany's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr (main centres: Dortmund and Essen). The country's other major cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Bremen, Dresden, Hannover and Nuremberg.

Germany Map

Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. The remains of the Holy Roman Empire formed the German Confederation in 1815, while the German revolutions of 1848–49 established major democratic rights first.

In 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states were unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. In 1933 the Nazi seizure of power quickly led to the establishment of Nazi Germany which was built upon a dictatorship and consequently led to World War II and one of the biggest genocides in history, the Holocaust. By 1945 Germany and most of Europe were left in destruction and ruins. After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded: the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (commonly known as West Germany) and the socialist German Democratic Republic (commonly known as East Germany). A wall encircling West Berlin was created on August 13, 1961, and was torn down on November 9, 1989. On 3 October 1990, the country was reunified.

In the 21st century, Germany is a great power and has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the fifth-largest by PPP. As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the world's third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a developed country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled and productive society. It upholds a social security and universal health care system, environmental protection and a tuition-free university education.