Germany Country Profile Facts

Germany, a Federal Parliamentary Republic country located in Central and Western Europe. German territories formed the central part of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century. The German confederation emerges in 1815 after the fall of the Roman Empire. In 1871, the unification of most of the German states with the Prussian-dominated German Empire made the German nation-state. It became the Weimar Parliamentary Republic after the First World War. The Nazi rule in 1933 led to the Second World War, dictatorship, and the Holocaust. Two new German states, namely West Germany and East Germany, were established at the end of the Second World War.

Ethnic Groups

Even from the classical era, Germanic tribes settled in the northern parts of Germany. Germans are the native ethnic groups of Central Europe. German-speaking peoples of the Holy Roman Empire are known as Germans, after the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation, they called as Catholic-Protestants. The Celtic peoples settled on the river and hill area on the south and west side. Slav inhabitants settled in the rural and urban areas of the east. Ethnic composition in 2000 was German 88.2%, Turkish 3.4%, Italian 1%, Greek 0.7%, Serb 0.6%, Russian 0.6% and others 5.5%.s

Land

With Berlin as its capital city, Germany has a total land area of 357,022 square kilometers and is the seventh-largest in Europe and shares its border with Denmark(Scandinavian country), Poland (the Republic of Poland), Czech Republic, Austria (the Republic of Austria), Switzerland (Central European country), France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It has its maritime borders as the North Sea (575,000 km²) and the Baltic Sea(377,000 km²). Germany is one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. 

Population

Germany’s population in 2018 was 82,905,782, and it was estimated to reach 83 million in 2019. Its population is the second largest in Europe. In 2018, the life expectancy of both male and female at birth is 81 years. The population density in 2018 is 235.5 people per square kilometer. The net migration rate in 2020 is 4.632 per 1000 population. The German ancestry peoples are widely resident in United States, South Africa, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Argentina.

Religion

Christianity is the most predominant religion. Among Christianity, Roman Catholics are majority in population rather than Protestants and Orthodox Christians. Next to Christianity, Islam is considered as second religion. Most of the Muslim followers are from Turkey. Non religious population is the largest in Germany. In 2015, 29% of populations are Roman Catholic, 27% are Protestants, 1.9% are Orthodox Christians, 4.4% Muslims and 37.7% are non religious.

Language

The official language is German and it is the most spoken language in the European Union by native speakers. Native minority languages of Germany are Danish, Sorbian, Romany, Low German, Low Rhenish, North Frisian and Saterland Frisian. As it is a great immigrant destination, majority of immigrants speak their own languages.

Economy

Germany has well developed economy and its people are living on a luxurious life. It offers world standard social security, environmental protection and universal Health Care system. It ranked fourth among 189 countries for its very high Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.939 in 2018. Germany’s economy is the strongest and largest economy in Europe. Germany is the world’s third-largest exporter and importer of goods. In 2018, the GDP of Germany was $3.948 trillion, with 1.5% annual growth. Germany has a Market Economy, and it is also a part of the European single market with more than 450 million customers. Its Service Sector plays a vital role in GDP, and in 2017 its contribution was 69% in total GDP. Its automotive industry is the fourth-largest producer of modern cars in the world. As their labor forces are highly skilled, Germany became a great competitor and innovator in the world.

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