Germany

Your complete guide to Germany

Quick Facts

Capital

Berlin

Population

80,159,662

Languages

German (official)

Currency

euros (EUR)

Area

357,022 sq km

Government

Federal parliamentary republic

About Germany

Germany is Europe's largest economy and most populous nation (excluding Russia), a federal republic of sixteen states stretching from the North Sea and Baltic coasts to the Bavarian Alps. Its central location has made it both a cultural crossroads and a political fulcrum of European history.

Berlin, the reunited capital, throbs with creativity — its galleries, clubs, and startup scene draw young people from across the world. But Germany's federal structure means that Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Dresden each maintain fiercely distinct identities, dialects, and traditions.

Germany's contributions to philosophy, music, science, and engineering are immeasurable. From Beethoven and Bach to Bauhaus and BMW, the country's cultural and industrial output has shaped the modern world. As the driving force behind European integration and the EU's largest contributor, Germany continues to play a pivotal role in the continent's future.

History

Germany's path from a patchwork of medieval principalities to a unified nation-state was long and turbulent. Unification under Prussian leadership in 1871 created a powerful empire whose ambitions contributed to World War I. The Weimar Republic's democratic experiment collapsed under economic crisis, leading to the Nazi regime and the catastrophe of World War II and the Holocaust.

The postwar division into West and East Germany became the defining symbol of the Cold War. The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and reunification in 1990 marked one of the twentieth century's most dramatic turning points. Since then, Germany has become the anchor of the European Union and a leading voice for multilateralism, while continuing to reckon with its historical responsibilities.

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 Col…
CIA World Factbook

Culture & Society

German culture spans from the philosophical heights of Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche to the earthy pleasures of Oktoberfest, Christmas markets, and Rhineland Karneval. Music is central — Germany's classical tradition (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner) is unrivaled, and Berlin's techno scene has become equally iconic. Regional cuisines vary enormously, from Bavarian pretzels and pork knuckle to North Sea shrimp sandwiches and Swabian Spätzle.

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% (2018 est.)

Ethnic Groups: German 87.2%, Turkish 1.8%, Polish 1%, Syrian 1%, other 9% (2017 est.)