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Official Name: Known officially as the State of Germany, or commonly Germany.
Capital city: Berlin is the Capital and the biggest city of Germany, located in central Europe at the rivers Spree and Havel.
Location: Germany is located Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark.
Size: The total land area of Germany is 357,022 square kilometers and this ranks 69th globally. It is slightly smaller than Montana in the United States.
Climate: Germany's climate is almost as varied as its country but it is mostly temperate. It has hot summers and cold winters, although long periods of freeze or snow are very rare. It rains during the year, specially in July. The summer, usually bring thunder and lightning storms. It can get to be very cold in winter, and the lakes and channels of the country usually freeze. The average temperatures are 2°C in winter and 24°C in summer.
Population: Germany has an estimated population of 7.23 million people, ranks 98th globally. There is a population growth rate of 1.671%.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for Germany is 79.26 years, ranking at 32nd globally. Females have a longer average life span at 82.42 years, while Males average at 76.26 years from birth.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Germany is approximately 0.1%, placing 123rd globally. This means that around 53,000 people are living with the disease in the country.
Major Illnesses: Most major illnesses in Germany have been exterminated. However, special precautions should be taken on diseases such as Swine Flu, Bird Flu and Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever.
Ethnic Groups: Germany is comprised of mainly German at 91.5%. Other ethnic groups include Turkish 2.4% and other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Spanish).
Languages: The official language in Germany is German. Over 95% of the country speaks German or German dialects as their first language. Most Germans also learn English as their first foreign language in school.
Religion: There are various religions in Germany. The major religion is Protestant and accounts for 34% of the population. Other religions include Roman Catholic at 34%, Muslim 3.7% and unspecified at 28.3%.
Government: The Government of Federal Republic of Germany consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The Federal Chancellor determines the general policy guidelines. Within the limits set by these guidelines, the Federal Ministers conduct the affairs of their departments.
Head of State: The Head of State is President of Germany, Horst Köhler who is elected by the Federal Convention for a five-year term, renewable for once only.
Head of Government: The Head of Government is the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, who is the first female Chancellor. The Chancellor is equivalent to that of a prime minister in other countries.
Military: The federal armed forces of Germany are divided into three branches, Army, Navy and Air Force. After the World War II, Germany has removed all offensive aspects of its military and currently the country's military forces only play a defensive role. The suitable age for compulsory military service is 18 years’ old, service obligation is about 9 months.
Economy: Germany is the world's sixth-largest economy and the largest in Europe in terms of purchasing power parity. The German Government provides an extensive array of social services. The state interferes in the economy by providing subsidies to selected sectors and by owning some segments of the economy, while promoting competition and free enterprise.
The German economy is heavily export-oriented, with exports accounting for more than one-third of its national output. As such, exports traditionally have been a key element in German macroeconomic expansion, accounting for over half of the economic growth in recent years. Germany is a strong believer of closer European economic integration, its economic and commercial policies are increasingly determined within the European Union (EU). Germany uses the common European currency, the Euro.
GDP: Germany has a purchasing power parity of US$2.863 trillion, ranking at 6th in the world. The official growth rate is about 1.3%, which ranks 180th globally.
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