"text":"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."
"text":"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<br><br><strong>note:</strong>[s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"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"
"text":"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"
"text":"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"
"text":"<br>Das World Factbook, die unverzichtbare Quelle für grundlegende Informationen. (German)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"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"
"text":"air pollution and acid rain from coal-burning utilities and industries; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial effluents; hazardous waste disposal"
"text":"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\""
"text":"the origin of the name is unclear but may be related to the Old Slavic (Polabian) word <em>berl </em>or <em>birl</em>, meaning \"swamp\" and referring to the original settlement site by the Spree River"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong>Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (<em>Freistaaten</em>, singular - <em>Freistaat</em>), while Bremen calls itself a Free Hanseatic City (<em>Freie Hansestadt</em>) and Hamburg considers itself a Free and Hanseatic City (<em>Freie und Hansestadt</em>)"
"text":"previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10-23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949"
"text":"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"
"text":"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":{
"text":"<em>president: </em>13 February 2022<br><br><em>chancellor: </em>6 May 2025"
"text":"<em><br>2025: </em>Friedrich MERZ (CDU) elected chancellor in second round; Federal Parliament vote - 325 to 289<em><br><br>2022:</em> 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"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong>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"
"text":"Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (164); Alternative for Germany (AfD) (152); Social Democratic Party (SPD) (120); Green Party (85); Left Party (Die Linke) (64); Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) (44); Other (1)"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> total seats can vary each electoral term; currently includes 4 seats for independent members; approximately one-half of members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and approximately one-half directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members' terms vary depending on the states they represent<br><strong><br>note 2:</strong> the 20th Bundestag is the largest to date, due to Germany's recognition 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) and \"leveling\" (when additional seats are elected to supplement the members directly elected in order to ensure that each party's share of the total seats is roughly proportional to its overall share of votes at the national level)"
"text":"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)"
"text":"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"
"text":"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"
"text":"Alliance '90/Greens<br>Alternative for Germany or AfD<br>Christian Democratic Union or CDU<br>Christian Social Union or CSU<br>Free Democratic Party or FDP<br>Free Voters or FW<br>The Left or Die Linke<br>Social Democratic Party or SPD"
"text":"18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 after World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990, with all four powers formally relinquishing rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)"
"text":"<strong>description:</strong> three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the colors can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor -- a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field"
"text":"Germany’s coat of arms is the world’s oldest, said to date back to 1200, and uses the country’s national colors; it features the oldest European national symbol, an eagle known as the <em>Bundesadler</em> (Federal Eagle); the coat of arms has varied over time for military or political reasons, but the eagle has always been part of the design; the Federal Republic of Germany adopted this version in 1950"
"text":"first adopted 1922; the anthem, also known as \"Deutschlandlied\" (Song of Germany), was originally adopted for its connection to the March 1848 liberal revolution; the Nazis later appropriated the first verse -- specifically the phrase \"Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles\" (Germany, Germany above all) -- to promote nationalism, and the anthem was banned after 1945; in 1952, West Germany adopted the third verse as its national anthem; in 1990, it became the national anthem for the reunited Germany"
"text":"<p>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)</p>"
"text":"<p>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</p>"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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"
"text":"a mix of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; 70 national and regional public broadcasters compete with nearly 400 privately owned national and regional TV stations; more than 90% of households have cable or satellite TV; hundreds of radio stations, including national and regional networks and a large number of local stations"
"text":"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":"<strong>note:</strong> 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"
"text":"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)"
"text":"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":"<strong>note 1: </strong>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<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> 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<br><strong><br>note 3:</strong> 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"
"text":"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<br><br>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)"
"text":"German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR; established 1997) (2025)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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"
"text":"a commercial offshore launch platform that will operate from the North Sea is under development with both government and private funding (2025)"
"text":"has one of Europe’s largest space programs and is a top contributor to the ESA; builds and operates satellites, satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs), probes, and unmanned orbiters; researches and develops a range of capabilities and technologies, including reusable space planes, satellite payloads, rockets, propulsion-assisted landing technologies, and aeronautics; participates in EU and ESA programs, including the Cassini-Huygens research mission to Saturn, Mars and Venus exploration missions, and the Galileo global navigation satellite system; participates in ESA’s astronaut training program and human space flight operations; hosts the European Astronaut Center; participates in international programs such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the James Webb Space Telescope; hosts mission control centers for the ISS, the ESA, and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT); has ties to foreign space programs, including those of China, Japan, Russia, and the US; has a robust commercial space sector (2025)"
"text":"1969 - first German scientific satellite (Azur) launched by US<br><br>1973 - participated with other European states, particularly France and the UK, in development of Ariane satellite launch vehicle<br><br>1978 - first German in space on Soviet Salyut space station<br><br>1980s-1990s - participated in US Space Shuttle program, including providing astronauts<br><br>1999 - launched a space-based X-ray telescope (ABRAXIS) on Russian rocket<br><br>2005 - began development of reusable space plane/shuttle/transporter<br><br>2019 - launched first space-based X-ray telescope (eROSITA) capable of imaging the entire sky (joint project with Russia)<br><br>2023 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for the exploration of space and the Moon; adopted a new national space strategy"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
