OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic of Germany

CAPITAL: Berlin
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Federal Multiparty Republic
AREA: 357,020 Sq Km (137,846 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000 POPULATION: 81,025,000

LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY: Germany is located in North Central Europe, on the Great North European Plain. It is bound by Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, the Baltic Sea to the northeast, Denmark to the north, the North Sea to the northwest, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France to the west, Switzerland to the south and Austria to the south and southeast. The country can be divided into three topographical regions. (1.) The Northern German Plain which includes the northern low lying plains and the moraine covered hills and lakes of the Baltic Sea country. (2.) The Central German Uplands which includes the Rhenish Slate Mountains (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge), the rolling uplands and low mountains of Hessen. The Horst Massifs of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest), the Harz Mountains, the Odenwald, the Spessart, the Lausitzer Bergland and the Elbsandsteingebirge, which is a sandy region on both sides of the Elbe River. This region also includes the Erzgebirge, which is a high tablelands. (3.) The southern uplands which include the ranges of the Central Alps and other uplands such as the Bayerische Alpen. The former East Germany was made up largely of the Northern German Plain but also included a small part of the Central German Upland while the former West Germany included parts of all three regions. The principal rivers are the Danube, Ems, Weser, Moselle and the Elbe with its tributaries, as well as the most important commercial waterway in Europe, the Rhine River. Major Cities (pop. est.); Berlin 3,471,000, Hamburg 1,706,000, Munich 1,216,300, Cologne 961,600, Frankfurt 663,600, Essen 624,600, Dortmund 602,400, Stuttgart 598,000, Dusseldorf 577,600, Bremen 552,700 (1992). Land Use; forested 30%, pastures 15%, agricultural-cultivated 34%, other 21% (1993).
 

CLIMATE: Germany has a continental climate in the western regions of the country with strong Atlantic influences in the northwest causing the winters to be mild but stormy. Further inland the winter temperatures are lower and the summers are warm with slightly higher temperatures in the southwest. A temperate climate is experienced in the eastern regions with an Atlantic influence giving rise to mild winters and cool summers. Due to a stronger Alpine influence rather than the Atlantic in the interior, conditions are generally wetter and colder at higher altitudes with snow lying in the mountains for some time. Average annual precipitation in Berlin is 592 mm (23 inches) and average annual temperature ranges are from 0.5 degrees Celsius (31 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.

CURRENCY: The official currency is the Euro divided into 100 cents.
   

ECONOMY:  Gross National Product; USD $1,908,570,000,000 (1993). National Debt; DM 651,180,000,000 (1993). Imports; DM 600,966,000,000 (1994). Exports; DM 673,121,000,000 (1994). Tourism Receipts; USD $10,587,000,000 (1994). Balance of Trade; DM 72,160,000,000 (1994). Economically Active Population; 40,179,000 or 49.5% of total population (1993). Unemployed; 8.7% (1993).