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Germany

Germany is situated in central Europe. It borders the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the West. The capital Berlin (52 31 N, 13 24 E) is the largest city.

Germany is the largest economy in Europe and 3rd largest in the world. It is the 2nd most populous country in Europe. The country shares the membership of United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G4 nations.

HISTORY:-Germany was first inhabited by the Germanic tribes in Pre-Roman Iron Age.The Roman General Publius Quinctilius Varus invaded Germania and was defeated. The Holy Roman Empire started in 962 under Ottonian dunasty(919-1024). Under Hohenstaufen emperors (1138-1254), Germany saw a vast growth and prosperity. Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) on religion was ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The Habsburg Monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia dominated must of the history from 1740 to 1806. The downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 resulted in German Confederation. As a consequence of a number of revolutions in Europe,the foundation stone of republic in Germany was set in 1848.The state of Germany was formed in 1871. Germany took the side of Central Powers in the World War I. Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany on 30th January 1933.In 1918 German Revolution was resulted in the formation of a republic state. Hitler made Molotov-Ribbentrop pact with soviet-Russia to escape two-front-war, which he himself broke in 1941.After World War II, in 8 May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Red Army. Germany was divided into East-and-West Germany. The Two Plus Four Treaty of 1990 fastened the German reunification (3rd October 1990).Germany had gained complete sovereignty.

GEOGRAPHY:- Geographically Germany is situated at 51 00 N, 9 00 E, capturing total 357,021 sq km(land- 349,223 sq km, water- 7,798 sq km) area in the surface on the earth. Northern part is low plain. Center is hilly. The eastern part is mountainous with the Alps. The coastline is 2,389 km long. The highest point is Zugspitze (2,963 m). The lowest point is Neuendorf bei Wilster (3.54 m). Flooding causes natural hazards.

CLIMATE:-Mostly temperate and marine climate prevails in Germany with cool, cloudy, and moisten winters, and mild summers.

GOVERNMENT:-Germany is Federal Parliamentary republic. The constitution, which was formed on 23rd May, 1949, was known as Basic Law. Present constitution was adopted on 3rd October, 1990.

The government is formed of three branches:

1. Executive:-It consists of The President, Chancellor, Cabinet (Federal Ministers)

2. Legislative:-Legislative branch consists of bicameral Parliament- Federal Assembly (614 seats), Federal Council (69 seats).

3. Judicial:-Judicial department is handled by the Federal Constitutional Court.

Important political parties are Social Democratic Party (SPD); Christian Democratic Union (CDU); Christian Social Union (CSU); Alliance 90/Greens; Free Democratic Party (FDP); Left Party (LP).Voting rights are universal above 18.

President(titular head) Horst Köhler

President of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert

Chancellor(executive head) Angela Merkel

Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Minister of Defense Franz Josef Jung

Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrueck

Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schaeuble

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Olaf Scholz

STATES:-Germany is a federation of 16 laender or states.

ECONOMY:-Germany is the 3rd largest country in the world in economy. The country is one of the strongest countries in economy and technology.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $2.833 trillion; per capita $34,400.

Real growth rate: 2.6%.

Inflation: 2%.

Unemployment: 9.1%.

Arable land: 34%.

Agriculture: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry.

Labor force: 43.63 million; industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999).

Industries: among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles.

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land.

Exports: $1.361 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles.

Imports: $1.21 tillion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals.

Budget:

Revenues: $1.465 trillion

Expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.)

Public debt:65.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Major trading partners: France, U.S., UK, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Spain, China (2006).

Monetary unit: Euro (formerly Deutsche mark)

POPULATION:- Germany is most populous in Europe and 3rd in international migration.

Total population of Germany is 82,641,000.Berlin is populated by 3.4 million approximately.

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

Density per sq mi: 609

HEALTH:-

Life expectancy at birth m/f (years): 77/82

Healthy life expectancy at birth m/f (years, 2003): 70/74

Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births): 5

Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population): 106/55

Birth rate:8.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:10.8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 3,250

UNICEF:-UNICEF in Germany works for children rights, development, education and protection, and to fight HIV, child marriage, child labour. In Germany UNICEF has arranged ‘1000 wishes’ campaign for the children all over the world.

CITIES:-Capital Berlin is the largest city.Other large cities are Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Essen, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Bremen, Hanover.

RACE:-

German 91.5%

Turkish 2.4%

Other (Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) 6.1%

RELIGION:-

Protestant 34%

Roman Catholic 34%

Muslim 3.7%

Unaffiliated or other 28.3%

CULTURE:- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Berthold Brecht, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Friedrich Schiller are some of the renowned German writers.

Gottfried Leibniz,Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engel are some of the prominent German philosophers.

38 German scientists were awarded with Nobel Prize.

Albert Einstein,Max Planck,Heisenberg and Max Born developed fundamentals of Physics. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays, and won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Football is the most popular game in Germany. Germany has won FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990 and the European Football Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996 and has hosted FIFA World Cup in 1974 and 2006 and the UEFA European Football Championship in 1988.Other popular sports are handball, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, and tennis.

LANGUAGES:-The official language is German.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 48,215 km (20,278 km electrified) (2006).

Highways: total: 231,581

Waterways: 7,467 km (2006

Ports and harbors: Bremen, Bremerhaven, Brunsbuttel, Duisburg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz, Rostock, Wilhemshaven.

Airports: 550