At a glance

Federal Republic

Germany is a federation. The federation and the 16 Länder (states) each have areas of re-sponsibility of their own.

Federal Eagle

The Federal Eagle is the German state symbol that is the richest in tradition. The Federal President, the Bundesrat, the Federal Constitutional Court, and the Bundestag use differently styled eagles. The eagles that appear on coins and the national strip of German sports associations also differ in terms of design.
Flag

The Basic Law states that the colours of the federal flag shall be black, red, and gold. In 1949, this followed on from the flag of the first German republic of 1919. The Nazis had abolished the latter and replaced it with the swastika.
Currency

The euro has been the legal tender in Germany since 1 January 2002. It replaced the deutschmark, which had been in use since 1948. The European Central Bank (ECB) is headquartered in the German financial centre Frankfurt am Main.
Basic Law

Passed in 1949 in Bonn, the Basic Law was initially intended to be provisional. After reunification in 1990 the version was then adopted as the permanent constitution. The 146 Articles of the Basic Law supersede all other German legal norms and define the basic systems and values of the state.
National Holiday

As the Day of German Unity, in the Unification Treaty of 1990 3 October was declared a national holiday in Germany. The Day of German Unity is the only national holiday to be determined by federal law.
Domain
The domain “.de” is the most widespread country-specific domain in Germany, and the most popular worldwide. Using the international dialling code +49, 99.9 percent of households can be reached via landline or mobile telephone.

Topic

National Anthem

The German national anthem consists only of the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1841). The melody was written by Joseph Haydn in 1796-97.

Topic

Demographics

With regard to demographic developments there are three clear trends in Germany: a low birth rate, rising life expectancy, and an aging society.

Life expectancy
83 years

Women
78 years

Men
Immigrants in 2016
1,865,000
Emigrants in 2016
1,365,000
Households
40.8 m
Population
82.6 m
Gender distribution
40.74 m

Women
41.83 m

Men

Location
Central Europe
Surface area
357,340 km2
Capital
Berlin

891.70 km2
Hours of sun
1,595
Rain
850 l/m2
Coastline
2,442 km
Longest river
Rhine

865 km in Germany
Forested area
114,191 km2
Highest mountain
Zugspitze

2,962 m

Map

Map of Germany

Topic

Parliament & Parties

The German Bundestag is elected every four years by free, secret, and direct ballot by citizens aged 18 and over who are eligible to vote.

Bundestag

The Bundestag has at least 598 members.
In addition, there tend to be what are known as “overhang and equalising” seats.
he 19th Bundestag as elected in 2017 has 709 members.
CDU

Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
427,173 members
2017 election result: 26.8 percent
200 seats in the Bundestag
SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
463,723 members
2017 election result: 20.5 percent
153 seats in the Bundestag
AFD

Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD)
29,000 members
2017 election result: 12.6 percent
92 seats in the Bundestag
FDP

Freie Demokratische Partei (Free Democratic Party, FDP)
63,050 members
2017 election result: 10.7 percent
80 seats in the Bundestag
Die Linke

The Left party
62,182 members
2017 election result: 9.2 percent
69 seats in the Bundestag
Alliance 90 / The Greens

Alliance 90 / The Greens
65,257 members
2017 election result: 8.9 percent
67 seats in the Bundestag
CSU

Christian Social Union (CSU)
141,000 members
2017 election result: 6.2 percent
46 seats in the Bundestag

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, SPD, Federal President since March 2017
Dr. Angela Merkel, CDU, Federal Chancellor since November 2005
Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU, President of the Bundestag since 2017

Federal Chancellery picture alliance/blickwinkel

Topic

Federal Government

The Federal Chancellor and the federal ministers form the Federal Government, the cabinet.

Timeline

Federal Presidents

Marlene Dietrich

The film diva: Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992) was one of only a few German actresses to become an icon (“The Blue Angel”). Born in Berlin, she took US citizenship in 1939.
Thomas Mann

A master of the novel and novella: Thomas Mann (1875–1955) is one of the most important authors of 20th-century world literature. In 1929 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his family saga “Buddenbrooks”.
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen

Discoverer of X-rays: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923) discovered X-rays in 1895 in Würzburg. In 1901 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Since then more than 80 leading German scientists have received a Nobel Prize.
Willy Brandt

Politician and cosmopolitan: Willy Brandt (1913–1992) as Federal Chancellor from 1969–1974 initiated a policy of detente; like no other he embodied the democratic and social changes of the time – in 1971 he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Poet, playwright, scholar: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) is regarded as an all-round genius and the classic in German literature.
Friedrich von Schiller

A fighter for freedom: Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805) is regarded as one of the world’s great playwrights (“The Robbers”, “Mary Stuart”, “Don Carlos”) and as an important essayist.
Johann Sebastian Bach

Virtuoso of Baroque church music: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) perfected the strict “art of the fugue” and composed more than 200 cantatas and oratorios.
Ludwig van Beethoven

Pioneer of Romanticism: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), focussing clearly on form, brought a completely new measure of personal expression and sensitivity to bear in music (“9th Symphony”).
Albrecht Dürer

German Renaissance artist: Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) from Nuremberg is one of the most important and versatile figures in the history of art. He revolutionised woodcarving and copperplate engraving techniques.