The Federal Republic of Germany
Bundesrepublik Deutschland)

Germany has the largest population of any country in western Europe and also the largest economy. Despite its long history, the nation of Germany is one of the newest in Europe, much younger than the United States of America.

Before being unified as Prussia in 1871, the area we now call Germany was a patchwork of many small kingdoms, duchies and principalities. That is one reason that even today, Germans tend to take their identity more from their local region, dialect, and traditions – and less from any strong sense of national patriotism.

Following the fall of the Wall and the collapse of East Germany’s government in 1989, German reunification took place. On 3 October 1990, the two Germanys signed an official unification treaty. That date became a new national holiday (German Unity Day), which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020. But despite much progress in creating equality between East and West, Germany today still has some lingering divisions in pay levels and other aspects of daily life.

Stuttgart (pop. 600,000) is the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the state’s largest city. The Schlossplatz (Palace Square), pictured here, is located in the center of the city. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Germany is one of the original members of the European Union (EU), and Germany’s armed forces are a vital component of the NATO alliance.

Facts and Figures: Federal Republic of Germany

• Official Name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, BRD (Federal Republic of Germany, FRG)
• Government: Federal republic; parliamentary democracy with two legislative bodies: the Bundestag (lower house of representatives) and the Bundesrat (upper house); members of the Bundestag serve a term of four years. About half are elected by direct mandate (representing a specific district), while the others are “listed candidates” who are elected in a “second vote” system in which voters also select a second choice. Members of the Bundesrat are selected by the 16 state (Bundesland) parliaments.
• Chancellor (Bundeskanzler): Olaf Scholz (b. 14 June 1958 in Osnabrück) succeeded Angela Merkel (CDU, 2005-2021) on 8 December 2021, following the 2021 German federal election. Scholz’s government is a three-party so-called “traffic light coalition” composed of his SPD (red), the Greens, and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP, yellow). Scholz previously served as Vice Chancellor of Germany under Angela Merkel and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. He was also First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, and deputy leader of the SPD from 2009 to 2019.

SPD federal chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz prior to the television “Triell” election debate, leading up to the federal election that his traffic light coalition won. Scholz became chancellor following successful negotiations by the three German “traffic light” partner parties. PHOTO: Steffen Prößdorf (Wikimedia Commons)

• President (Bundespräsident): Frank-Walter Steinmeier (sworn in March 2017; re-elected for a second five-year term in February 2022), Joachim Gauck (March 18, 2012-Feb. 2017), Christian Wulff (June 2010-Feb. 17, 2012*), Horst Köhler (2004-2010)
  *Wulff resigned on Feb. 17, 2012 after a series of financial and ethical scandals. His successor (Gauck) took office a month later.

• Size: 137,847 sq mi (357,578 sq km), slightly smaller than the US state of Montana (145,552 sq mi)
• Population: 83 million (2019 est.)
• Capital City: Berlin (since Oct. 3, 1990*), Bonn (West Germany, 1949-1990)
  *Although the 1990 Unification Treaty stated that Berlin was once again the federal capital, the seat of government (parliament) remained in Bonn. It was not until 20 June 1991, following contentious debate, that a very close vote in the Bundestag approved moving the actual seat of government from Bonn to Berlin. The Berlin-Bonn Act was passed in 1994, but the actual move did not take place until April 1999, when the Bundestag moved into the rebuilt Reichstag Building. Some government agencies remained in Bonn.
• National Holiday: October 3, German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), since 1990 – More: Other German holidays
• Largest Cities: Berlin 3.65 million, Hamburg 1.7 million, Munich (München) 1.2 million, Cologne (Köln) 1.0 million, Frankfurt am Main 648,000, Stuttgart 600,000, Essen 588,800, Dortmund 587,600, Düsseldorf 568,900, Bremen 527,900, Hanover (Hannover) 516,300, Duisburg 513,400
• Ethnicity: German 81%, Other Europeans 7%, Turkish 4%, Asian 2%, Black African 1%, Others 5%
• Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 4%, Jewish 0.1%, unaffiliated or other 28%
• Monetary Unit: Euro (€, EUR, since 2002), Deutsche Mark (DM, German mark, 1949-2001)
• GDP: $3.5 trillion, 4th in the world (2016 est.)
• Time Zone: UTC+1, Central European Time (CET), Mitteleuropäische Zeit (MEZ)
• Daylight Saving Time (Sommerzeit): Germany and all of the EU nations observe Daylight Saving Time from the last Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November.
• Climate: Temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters (snow mostly in mountainous areas); mild summers with occasional heat waves; occasional warm mountain winds (Föhn) in Alpine regions
• Highest Point: Zugspitze 9,721 ft (2,962 m) in the Bavarian Alps

• Seacoast: Baltic Sea, North Sea; total coastline 1,484 mi (2,389 km)
• Neighboring Countries (9): Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland
• Famous Germans: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Steffi Graf, Wernher von Braun, Angela Merkel, Dirk Nowitzki, Friedrich Nietzsche and many more…

Next | History of Germany