Factbook dossier
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
total : 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km
Natural resources
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Population
total: 84,012,284 (2025 est.) male: 41,517,301 female: 42,494,983
Ethnic groups
German 85.4%, Turkish 1.8%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Syrian 1.1%, Romanian 1%, Poland 1%, other/stateless/unspecified 8.3% (2022 est.) note: data represent population by nationality
Languages
German (official); note - Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages major-language sample(s): Das World Factbook, die unverzichtbare Quelle f r grundlegende Informationen. (German) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Roman Catholic 24.8%, Protestant 22.6%, Muslim 3.7%, other 5.1%, none 43.8% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
air pollution and acid rain from coal-burning utilities and industries; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial effluents; hazardous waste disposal
Government type
federal parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the origin of the name is unclear but may be related to the Old Slavic (Polabian) word berl or birl , meaning "swamp" and referring to the original settlement site by the Spree River
Executive branch
chief of state: President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017) head of government: Chancellor Friedrich MERZ (since 6 May 2025) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) recommended by the chancellor, appointed by the president election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by a Federal Convention consisting of all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equivalent number of delegates indirectly elected by the state parliaments; president serves a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); following the most recent Federal Parliament election, the party or coalition with the most representatives usually elects the chancellor, who is appointed by the president to serve a renewable 4-year term most recent election date: president: 13 February 2022 chancellor: 6 May 2025 election results: 2025: Friedrich MERZ (CDU) elected chancellor in second round; Federal Parliament vote - 325 to 289 2022: Frank-Walter STEINMEIER reelected president; Federal Convention vote count - Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (SPD) 1,045, Max OTTE (CDU) 140, Gerhard TRABERT (The Left) 96, Stefanie GEBAUER (Free Voters) 58, abstentions 86 expected date of next election: president: February 2027
Legislative branch
legislative structure: bicameral note: due to Germany's recognition of the concepts of "overhang" (when a party's share of the nationwide votes would entitle it to fewer seats than the number of individual constituency seats won in an election under Germany's mixed member proportional system) and "leveling" (whereby additional seats are elected to supplement the members directly elected by each constituency in order to ensure that each party's share of the total seats is roughly proportional to the party's overall shares of votes at the national level), the 20th Bundestag is the largest to date
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$5.247 trillion (2024 est.) $5.26 trillion (2023 est.) $5.274 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$62,800 (2024 est.) $62,700 (2023 est.) $62,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
2.3% (2024 est.) 5.9% (2023 est.) 6.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
USA 10%, France 8%, Netherlands 7%, China 7%, Italy 6% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
China 12%, Netherlands 7%, USA 7%, Poland 6%, France 5% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
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
Military expenditures
2.4% of GDP (2025 est.) 2% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.6% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.4% of GDP (2021 est.)