Germany
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
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, including 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 Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War allowed German reunification to occur in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Location
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
2,389 km
Geography - note
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany -- the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe -- flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward
Irrigated land
5,065 sq km (2020)
Land boundaries
Major lakes (area sq km)
fresh water lake(s): Lake Constance (shared with Switzerland and Austria) - 540 sq km salt water lake(s): Stettiner Haff/Zalew Szczecinski (shared with Poland) - 900 sq km
Major rivers (by length in km)
Donau (Danube) river source (shared with Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Elbe river mouth (shared with Czechia [s]) - 1,252 km; Rhein (Rhine) (shared with Switzerland [s], France, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Natural hazards
flooding
Natural resources
Terrain
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
10.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.6% (2016 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
54.4% (2023 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 61.3 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 22.4 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 38.9 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 2.6 (2025 est.)
Education expenditure
5.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 10.7% national budget (2022 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
0.77 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
12.7% of GDP (2022) 20.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
Hospital bed density
7.8 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Major urban areas - population
3.574 million BERLIN (capital), 1.788 million Hamburg, 1.576 million Munich, 1.144 million Cologne, 796,000 Frankfurt (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
4 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
29.9 years (2020 est.)
Nationality
noun: German(s) adjective: German
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
22.3% (2016)
Physician density
4.53 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Population distribution
second most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far-western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Religions
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years (2023 est.) male: 17 years (2023 est.) female: 17 years (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 17.2% (2025 est.) male: 19.4% (2025 est.) female: 15% (2025 est.)
Climate & Issues
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
Geoparks
total global geoparks and regional networks: 8 global geoparks and regional networks: Bergstraße-Odenwald ; Harz, Braunschweiger Land; Swabian Alb; TERRA.vita; Vulkaneifel; Thuringia Inselsberg -Drei Gleichen; Muskauer Faltenbogen / Łuk Mużakowa (includes Poland); Ries (2023)
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 77.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.13% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 50.628 million tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 49.8% (2022 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen (Hesse), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia) note: Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat), while Bremen calls itself a Free Hanseatic City (Freie Hansestadt) and Hamburg considers itself a Free and Hanseatic City (Freie und Hansestadt)
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a German citizen or a resident alien who has lived in Germany at least 8 years dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from government residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years
Constitution
history: previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10-23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949 amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage and enactment into law require two-thirds majority vote by both the Bundesrat (upper house) and the Bundestag (lower house) of Parliament; articles including those on basic human rights and freedoms cannot be amended
Country name
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Reich etymology: the origin of the name is unclear; it may come from Celtic words meaning "neighboring people," or it may derive from Germanic words meaning either "spear man" or "head man;" the native designation "Deutsch" comes from the Old High German "diutisc" meaning "national"
International law organization participation
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges, including the court president, vice presidents, presiding judges, other judges; organized into 25 Senates subdivided into 12 civil panels, 5 criminal panels, and 8 special panels); Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (consists of 2 Senates each subdivided into 3 chambers, each with a chairman and 8 members) judge selection and term of office: Federal Court of Justice judges selected by the Judges Election Committee, which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federated states and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament; judges appointed by the president; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; half of Federal Constitutional Court judges are elected by the House of Representatives and half by the Senate; judges appointed for 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 68 subordinate courts: Federal Administrative Court; Federal Finance Court; Federal Labor Court; Federal Social Court; each of the 16 federated states or Land has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil, criminal, family) and specialized (administrative, finance, labor, social) courts; two English-speaking commercial courts opened in 2020 in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg -- the Stuttgart Commercial Court and the Mannheim Commercial Court
Legal system
civil law system
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 56 (54 cultural, 2 natural) selected World Heritage Site locales: Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin (c); Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin (c); Speyer Cathedral (c); Aachen Cathedral (c); Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau, and Bernau (c); Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura (c); Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter, and Church of Our Lady in Trier (c); Hanseatic City of Lübeck (c); Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof (c); Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square (c); Pilgrimage Church of Wies (c); Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl (c); St Mary's Cathedral and St Michael's Church at Hildesheim (c); Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch (c); Maulbronn Monastery Complex (c); Collegiate Church, Castle and Old Town of Quedlinburg (c); Cologne Cathedral (c); Castle Church in Wittenberg (c); Classical Weimar (c); Wartburg Castle (c); Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz (c); Monastic Island of Reichenau (c); Berlin Modernism Housing Estates (c); Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (c); Moravian Church Settlements (c); Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (c); The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (c); Archaeological Border complex of Hedeby and the Danevirke (c); Naumburg Cathedral (c); Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt (c); ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz (c); The Great Spa Towns of Europe (c); Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt (c); Schwerin Residence Ensemble (c); The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee (c); The Palaces of King Ludwig II of Bavaria: Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Schachen and Herrenchiemsee (c)
Political parties
Alliance '90/Greens Alternative for Germany or AfD Christian Democratic Union or CDU Christian Social Union or CSU Free Democratic Party or FDP Free Voters or FW The Left or Die Linke Social Democratic Party or SPD
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal; age 16 for some state and municipal elections
Economic Overview
leading export-driven, core EU and eurozone economy; key automotive, chemical, engineering, finance, and green energy industries; growth stalled by energy crisis and declining exports; tight labor market with falling working-age population; fiscal rebalancing with phaseout of energy price supports
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Import Profile
Top Import Partners
Major Import Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Family Income / Consumption Share
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Current account balance
$267.056 billion (2024 est.) $251.479 billion (2023 est.) $161.759 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar - Exchange rates: 0.924 (2024 est.) 0.925 (2023 est.) 0.95 (2022 est.) 0.845 (2021 est.) 0.876 (2020 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
Industrial production growth rate
-3% (2024 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Industries
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2.3% (2024 est.) 5.9% (2023 est.) 6.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Public debt
63.9% of GDP (2017 est.) note: general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises the sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government and social security funds; the series are presented as a percentage of GDP and in millions of euros; GDP used as a denominator is the gross domestic product at current market prices; data expressed in national currency are converted into euro using end-of-year exchange rates provided by the European Central Bank
Remittances
0.5% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.5% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.5% of GDP (2022 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$377.936 billion (2024 est.) $322.7 billion (2023 est.) $293.914 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Taxes and other revenues
11% (of GDP) (2022 est.) note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Active internet users as a percentage of the total population.
Fixed Broadband
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Railways
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Military Expenditures
Active Duty Strengths
approximately 185,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)
Service & Defense Details
Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): German Army (Deutsche Heer), German Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), German Air Force (Deutsche Luftwaffe, includes air defense), Cyber and Information Space (Cyber und Informationsraum) (2025) note: responsibility for internal and border security is shared by the police forces of the 16 states, the Federal Criminal Police Office, and the Federal Police; the states’ police forces report to their respective interior ministries while the Federal Police forces report to the Federal Ministry of the Interior
up to 500 Iraq (NATO); 300 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR), Lebanon 170 (UNIFIL); up to 1,700 Lithuania (NATO) (2025) note: the German military also has air and naval contingents deployed to support NATO missions
the inventory of Federal Armed Forces is comprised of weapons systems produced domestically or jointly with other European countries and Western imports, particularly from the US; Germany's defense industry is capable of manufacturing the full spectrum of air, land, and naval military weapons systems; it also participates in joint defense production projects with European partners and the US (2025)
the Bundeswehr’s core mission is the defense of Germany and its NATO partners; it has a wide range of peacetime duties, including crisis management, cyber security, deterrence, homeland security, humanitarian and disaster relief, and international peacekeeping and stability operations; as a key member of NATO and the EU, the Bundeswehr typically operates in a coalition environment, and its capabilities are largely based on NATO and EU planning goals and needs; it has participated in a range of NATO and EU missions in Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as global maritime operations; the Bundeswehr has close bilateral defense ties with a number of EU countries, including the Czechia, France, the Netherlands, and Romania, as well as the UK and the US; it also contributes forces to UN peacekeeping missions the Bundeswehr was established in 1955; at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, it had nearly 600,000 personnel, over 7,000 tanks, and 1,000 combat aircraft; in addition, over 400,000 soldiers from other NATO countries—including about 200,000 US military personnel—were stationed in West Germany; in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the Bundeswehr shrank by more than 60% in size (over 90% in tanks and about 80% in aircraft), while funding fell from nearly 3% of GDP and over 4% of government spending in the mid-1980s to 1.2% and 1.6% respectively; by the 2010s, the Bundeswehr’s ability to fulfill its regional security commitments had deteriorated; the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022 led to renewed emphasis on Germany’s leadership role in European defense and NATO and efforts to boost funding for the Bundeswehr to improve readiness, modernize, and expand (2025)
17-23 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (must have completed compulsory full-time education and have German citizenship); service obligation 7-23 months or 12 years (2025) note 1: conscription ended in 2011; in 2020, the German Government launched a new voluntary conscript initiative focused on homeland security tasks, with the volunteers serving for 7 months plus 5 months as reservists over a 6-year period note 2: in December 2025, Germany passed a law reforming military service; from 2026, the new regulations require German males residing in Germany who have reached the age of 18 to complete a questionnaire, including questions about their willingness to serve; participation will remain voluntary for women note 3: women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001; in 2025, they accounted for more than 13% of the active-duty German military
Space Agency
German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR; established 1997) (2025) note: DLR's predecessor organization, the German Test and Research Institute for Aviation and Space Flight, was established in 1969; the Federal Republic of Germany was allowed to research space flight after gaining sovereignty in 1955