Germany (WFAC)

Federal Republic of Germany Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Deutschlandlied" ("Song of Germany")
Location of  Germany  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)
File:Germany blank map (WFAC).svg
Capital	Berlin
Official languages	German
Demonym(s)	German
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
• President Frank-Walter Steinmeier • Chancellor Angela Merkel • President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble • President of the Bundesrat Daniel Günther • President of the Federal Constitutional Court Andreas Voßkuhle
Legislature
• Upper house	Bundesrat
• Lower house	Bundestag
History
• Holy Roman Empire	2 February 962
• German Confederation	8 June 1815
• German Empire	18 January 1871
• Weimar Republic	11 August 1919
• Reunification	3 October 1990
• Third Reich	30 January 1933
• Federal Republic	23 May 1949
• EEC Foundation	1 January 1958
• Reunification	3 October 1990
Area
• Total	425,019 km2 (164,101 sq mi) (60th)

Germany (German: Deutschland, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 18 constituent states, covers an area of 403,787 square kilometres, and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With about 91 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world. Germany's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin. Major urban areas include Ruhr, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.

Politics

Constituent states

Germany comprises eightteen federal states which are collectively referred to as Bundesländer. Each state has its own state constitution and is largely autonomous in regard to its internal organisation. Because of differences in size and population the subdivisions of these states vary, especially as between city states (Stadtstaaten) and states with larger territories (Flächenländer). For regional administrative purposes five states, namely Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, consist of a total of 22 Government Districts (Regierungsbezirke). Germany is divided into 502 districts (Kreise) at a municipal level; these consist of 395 rural districts and 110 urban districts.

State Capital Area (km2) Population Minister-President or Mayor Baden-Württemberg Stuttgart 35,752 10,569,100 Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) Bavaria Munich 70,549 12,519,600 Horst Seehofer (CSU) Berlin Berlin 892 3,375,200 Michael Müller (SPD) Brandenburg Potsdam 43,464 3,469,800 Dietmar Woidke (SPD) Bremen Bremen 404 654,800 Carsten Sieling (SPD) Hamburg Hamburg 755 1,734,300 Olaf Scholz (SPD) Hesse Wiesbaden 21,115 6,016,500 Volker Bouffier (CDU) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Schwerin 34,622 2,458,000 Erwin Sellering (SPD) Lower Saxony Hanover 47,618 7,779,000 Stephan Weil (SPD) North Rhine-Westphalia Düsseldorf 34,043 17,554,300 Hannelore Kraft (SPD) East Prussia Königsberg 22,647 1,263,200 Stephan Grigat (CDU) Rhineland-Palatinate Mainz 19,847 3,990,300 Malu Dreyer (SPD) Saarland Saarbrücken 2,569 994,300 Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) Saxony Dresden 18,416 4,050,200 Stanislaw Tillich (CDU) Saxony-Anhalt Magdeburg 20,445 2,259,400 Reiner Haseloff (CDU) Silesia Breslau 19,946 2,908,400 Stephan Rauhut (CDU) Schleswig-Holstein Kiel 15,763 2,806,500 Torsten Albig (SPD) Thuringia Erfurt 16,172 2,170,500 Bodo Ramelow (The Left) Germany Berlin 425,019 86,573,684