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The 
 
   is a sovereign country located in Central Europe. Germany
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
kilometres (137,847 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate.

The    followed by Germany:

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Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states (Bundesländer). The capital and
largest city is  .

Germany is divided into 16 Bundesländer:

á? Baden-Württemberg

á? Bavaria (Bayern)

á? Berlin

á? Brandenburg

á? Bremen

á? Hamburg

á? Hesse (·essen)
 á? Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

á? Lower Saxony (j edersachsen)

á? North Rhine-Westphalia (j
rdrhe n-Westfalen)

á? Rhineland-Palatinate (Ôhe nland-Pfalz)

á? Saarland

á? Saxony (˜achsen)

á? Saxony-Anhalt (˜achsen-Anhalt)

á? Schleswig-Holstein

á? Thuringia (mhür ngen)s

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á? Conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany

á? conventional short form: Germany
á? local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
á? local short form: Deutschland
á? former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich

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The
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    is monitored by the "Statistisches
Bundesamt" (Federal Statistical Office of Germany). The population of Germany is
approximately 82,282,988 (July 2010 estimate), making it the 15th most populous country in the
world and 2nd most populous country in Europe.

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Germany's population is characterized by zero or declining growth, with an aging population and
smaller cohort of youths. The population growth is -0.061%, as per July, 2010 estimate which
ranks 207th in the world.

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The median age is 44.3 years (male-43 years, female-45.6 years), as per July 2010 estimate. This
indicates an aging population and decreasing percent of youths in the population.
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Total Population= 82 million approx.

German: 91.5%

á? Germans without immigrant background (81.5%)

á? Germans with immigrant background (10%)

Foreigners: 8.5%

á? Turkish-2.4%
á? Others-6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian,
Spanish)

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The net migration rate in Germany is 2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 estimate), which
ranks 34th in the world.

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!) is the largest followed religion in Germany followed by Islam, Buddhism and
Jainism.

Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% (Buddhism,
Jainism, etc.)

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The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the country speaking
Standard German or German dialects as their first language.

Most Germans also learn English as their first foreign language in school. Sometimes French or
Latin is taught first, but usually English is, with French and Latin as common second or third
foreign languages. Russian, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, classical Greek, and other languages
are also offered in schools.

 

About 74% of total population of Germany (2008) belongs to the urban population and the rate
of urbanization is 0.1%, i.e. annual rate of change (2005-2010 estimate).


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The literacy rate in Germany is 99% which is phenomenally high. Almost everyone above the
age of 15 can read and write, both for male and female. The reason for this may be the high
expenditure on education, i.e. 4.6% of GDP (2004) which ranks 82nd in the world.

 
 

However, Germany is struggling to solve its population and demographic crisis, reporting that
last year births dropped by 30,000 and there was a net loss of 13,000 people through migration.
Increasing parental leave payments and daycare places over the past few years have not worked
the required magic, and the country is still staring at the prospect of a population that is both
smaller and older over the next few decades.

Of all births in Germany 30 per cent are out-of-wedlock, while the comparable figure for France
is 50 per cent and Sweden 55 per cent. Having babies isn¶t everything; giving them a proper
family is important too.

Given all these factors, it is difficult to see how the country will turn around a birth rate of 1.38
children per woman -- the lowest in Europe, though close to Italy.

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About Germany¶s Flag:

The three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold; these colors have played an
important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy
Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field.

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The   ')   is a sign of Germany; the coat of arms features an eagle. The
colours of the coat of arms are similar to those of the flag of Germany (black, red and gold).
Together with the Austrian coat of arms, which has the same history, it is the oldest extant state
symbols of Europe and is among the oldest insignia in the world.

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The prosperous German economy attracts millions of immigrants from around the world as it is
the third largest country in terms of immigration. Germany is the largest economy in the
European Union. It benefits from a large pool of talented work force that has enabled Germany
to dominate the vehicles, machinery, iron, steel, cement, coal, chemicals, electronics and
household equipment vertical across the globe.

Germany is known for its well established social security system which stems from the
flourishing German economy. In the world, the German economy ,)-! )  
"$ 
 .!   )  
!)#  % . Germany¶s ( ) %    /0.1  

 )%  /12201  1 which made it the % 
3))

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 !   )   ) 
 ( ). Germany is also the hub of global scientific and
technological developments. Like its western European neighbors, Germany faces significant
demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth. Low fertility rates and declining net
immigration are increasing pressure on the country's social welfare system and necessitate
structural reforms.
It is the strong and productive work force that enabled Germany to face recession with a resilient
face and the Germany economy could manage to have a "$ 
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 % 0

The graph below shows how the German economy performed since 2007 till 2009.

Even in the recession marred years, the German economy managed to stay stable as the world
sixth largest country in terms of GDP (2009).

Germany crept out of recession in the second and third quarters of 2009, thanks largely to
rebounding manufacturing orders and exports - primarily outside the Euro Zone - and relatively
steady consumer demand. The German economy probably will recover to about 1.5% growth for
the year 2010. However, a relatively strong euro, tighter credit markets, and an anticipated bump
in unemployment could cloud Germany's medium-term recovery prospects. Stimulus and
stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela
MERKEL's second term will increase Germany's record budget deficit, which is expected to
exceed 5% of GDP in 2010.

However as is the case with recession, the economy did constrict and stood at -5% in 2009. The
graph below shows how the real growth rate has performed since 2007 till 2009. (in percentage)
The GDP per capita has been strong as well. Õ 1, the  
"$%)/5-6 . Õ
46 !   
 "$ %) )#! !#!   /5.61 
 /5.6.  40
However, the     # % 7048 40 8 1. This may be attributed to
factors ranging from an industrial slow down to lesser imports for productivity.

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Service sector is the major contributor to Germany¶s GDP followed by industry and agriculture.

Service: 72.3%

Industry: 26.8%

Agriculture: 0.9%

     

The unemployment rate is 7.5% (2009).

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Germany's industrial sector is facing considerable problems due to competition from cheap
labour countries such as China and India. After 1991, the country has lost about 28% its
manufacturing jobs. The number of industrial employees in Germany is now lower than it was in
West Germany alone before the unificiation. Labour costs in Germany are one of the highest in
Europe. The disappearance of industrial jobs has created a lower class of unemployed,
uneducated people who have little chance of re-entering the job market. The service sector can
absorb some of those who lose their jobs, but not all.
Another problem, pointed out by Gabor Steingart, is that the country's investment ratio
(investment/GDP) has sunken from 18% in 1970 to 3%, and is now only a third of that of the
United States. In Western Europe (including Germany) no new company has made it to the top
100 in the last 20 years. This is in stark contrast to the United States, where newly founded
companies such as eBay, Biogen, Google and Yahoo have experienced a spectacular rise.