Germany

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Germany (pronounced /ˈdʒɜrməni/ ( listen)), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]  ( listen)),[1] is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 82 million inhabitants, it accounts for the largest population among the member states of the European Union and is home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.[2]

A region named Germania inhabited by several Germanic peoples has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire that lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, the country was first unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In 1949, after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states—East Germany and West Germany—along the lines of Allied occupation.[3] The two states were unified in 1990. West Germany was a founding member of the European Community (EC) in 1957, which became the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen zone and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states (Länder). The capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8 and the OECD. It is a major economic power with the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest in purchasing power parity. It is the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. In absolute terms, Germany allocates the second biggest annual budget of development aid in the world,[4] while its military expenditure ranked sixth.[5] The country has developed a high standard of living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It holds a key position in European affairs and maintains a multitude of close partnerships on a global level.[6] Germany is recognised as a scientific and technological leader in several fields.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Max Mangold (ed.), ed (1995) (in German). Duden, Aussprachewörterbuch (Duden Pronunciation Dictionary) (6th ed.). Mannheim: Dudenverlag (Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. pp. 271, 53f. ISBN 3-411-04066-1. 
  2. ↑ Germany: Inflow of foreign population by country of nationality, 1994 to 2003
  3. ↑ Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (2 BvF 1/73; BVerfGE 36, 1): The German Reich as the German state is identically the very same to the Federal Republic of Germany [because it exists as a nation-state and international legal personality (public international law) since 1871]. In 1949, at East – West Germany division there was no foundation of a new West German state and no successor of the German Reich, instead of that a part of Germany was reorganised.
  4. ↑ Germany world's second biggest aid donor after US TopNews, India, Retrieved 2008, 04-10.
  5. ↑ "The fifteen major spenders in 2006" (PDF). Recent trends in military expenditure. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2007. http://www.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_major_spenders.pdf/download. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
  6. ↑ The leader of Europe? Answers an ocean apart International Herald Tribune. April 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008, 04-04.
  7. ↑ Confidently into the Future with Reliable Technology www.innovations-report.de. May 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008, 04-04.

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