Country Information
State Federal Republic of Germany since 1949
Inhabitants 82.3 million. Germany has the largest population of any EU member state.
Around 7.3 m foreigners live in Germany (8.8 % of the total population)
Capital City Berlin 3.4 m inhabitants
Religions Approx. 53 m Christians, 3.3 m Muslims, 230,000 Buddhists,
100,000 Jews, 90,000 Hindus
State Structure 16 Federal States with its own constitution, parliament and government
Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel (CDU) since 2005
Federal President Christian Wulff since 2010
Party Multi-party System
Economy Germany is the largest economy in the EU and the third largest in the world.
Key trading partners (Export): France (9.5 %), USA (8.7 %), UK (7.2 %),
Italy (6.6 %). Along with international corporations, SMEs form the basis of the
German Economy: 70 % of all employees work in small & medium
sized enterprises
Key Sectors Car-making; mechanical, electrical and precision engineering; chemicals;
environmental technology; optics; medical technology; biotech and genetic
engineering; nanotechnology; aerospace; logistics
Largest Cities Hamburg 1.8 m, Munich 1.3 m, Cologne 1.0 m, Frankfurt am Main 662,000
State Holiday 3rd October, Day of German Unity
Official Language German (English is widely spoken)
Festivals Richard Wagner Festival Bayreuth, Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale),
Bachfest Leipzig
Highest Mountain Zugspitze 2963 m
Longest Rivers Rhine 865 km, Elbe 700 km, Donau (Danube) 647 km
Social Security Germany has a complex network of social security systems: pension,
health, healthcare, and unemployment insurance
Health Almost all German inhabitants have health insurance:
88 % on statutory and just under 12 % on private schemes
