The Federal Republic of Germany is situated in the heart of Europe. It is a cosmopolitan, democratic country with a rich heritage and a thriving present-day. Facts and figures at a glance.
Political system, Parliament & Parties
Germany is a federation. The federation and the 16 Länder (states) each have areas of responsibility of their own.
Federal Eagle, Flag, Currency
Germany’s most tradition-steeped national symbol is the Federal Eagle. Different versions of the eagle are used by the Federal President, the Bundesrat, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Bundestag. Differing designs of the eagle are also to be found on coins and on the national team kits of German sports associations.
The Basic Law stipulates black, red and gold as the colours of the federal flag. Here, Germany resumed the tradition of the flag of the first German republic of 1919. The National Socialists had previously abolished this flag and replaced it with the swastika.
The euro has been the sole legal tender in Germany since 1 January 2002. It replaced the deutschmark, which had been in use since 1948. The European Central Bank (ECB) has its headquarters in Germany’s financial centre, Frankfurt am Main.
Adopted in Bonn in 1949, the Basic Law was initially intended as a provisional constitution. Following reunification in 1990, it was adopted as Germany’s permanent constitution. Its 146 articles take precedence over all other German legal provisions and define the fundamental structure and values of the state.
As the Day of German Unity, October 3rd was designated as a public holiday in the Unification Treaty of 1990. It is the only public holiday in Germany established by federal law.
The 16 Länder
National Anthem
The German national anthem consists exclusively of the third verse of the Deutschlandlied by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1841). The melody was composed by Joseph Haydn in 1796–97.
Useful facts
Useful information and important telephone numbers for travellers in Germany.
Germany’s geography in key figures
Germany covers a surface area of 357,588 square kilometres.
Germany’s North Sea and Baltic Sea coastline has a total length of 2,442 kilometres.
Germany averages around 1,675 hours of sunshine per year.
Germany’s forest area covers 11.5 million hectares.
Germany’s longest river is the Rhine, which flows through Germany over a distance of 865 kilometres.
Berlin is Germany’s capital. Around 3.9 million people live there on a surface area of 891.7 square kilometres.
Germany receives an average of 903 litres of rainfall per square metre per year.
Germany’s highest mountain is the Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres.
Business, research and climate
Good ideas are drivers for the economy and science, but also for sustainability and environmental protection.
Living in Germany
Germany is a cosmopolitan country shaped by a pluralism of lifestyles.
Germany in numbers
83 m
Germany has a population of 83.5 million, including 42.3 million women and 41.2 million men.
Women 83.2 years
Men 78.3 years
In 2024, the average life expectancy at birth in Germany was 83.5 years for women and 78.9 years for men.
41.3 m
There are around 41 million households in Germany. Of these, 11.8 million are families with children. There are 2.8 million households consisting of a single parent living with their children.
Immigrants 2023: 1,933,000
Emmigrants 2023: 1,270,000
Around 1.5 million people immigrated to Germany in 2024, about 13 per cent fewer than in 2023.
