Welcome to Germany

Germany is a country in Central Europe. It has the second-highest population in Europe, behind Russia, and is the most populous EU member. Nearly 84 million people live in Germany's 16 component states, which span a land area of 357,022 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi) between the Baltic and North Seas to the north and the Alps to the south. To the north of Germany is Denmark, to the east is Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south is Austria, and to the west is France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Berlin, the capital and most populous city in the country, is also its financial hub, and the Ruhr is its largest metropolitan region.

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German history

Following the conclusion of the last Ice Age, humans began to colonize northern Europe some 10,000 years ago. Around 5,000 years ago, the earliest speakers of a language like modern German most likely resided in the region. However, it took thousands of years until Germany was established.

Dukes and monarchs presided over a patchwork of tiny states that made up early Germany. But Otto von Bismarck, a politician, was responsible for uniting the nation in 1871.

Germany and other European nations started vying in the late 19th century for the right to establish colonies in Asia and Africa. In 1914, as a result of these tensions, the world's deadliest conflict, World War I, broke out. Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and subsequently the United States won the war from Germany and its allies.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party won election on the platform of restoring Germany's greatness. Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, igniting the Second World War. Hitler established concentration camps during the conflict, when millions of Jews and other groups of people were murdered. German defeat in 1945 marked the end of the war.

Germans and their culture

More than at any other period in Germany's history, approximately one in 10 Germans now are immigrants. Turkish immigrants, who began arriving in Germany in the 1950s to work, make up the largest minority group. Germans make up almost two-thirds of the population.

The "Land of Poets and Thinkers" is what many refer to as Germany. Germans are well known across the board in the arts, but especially in classical music. Among the well-known composers from Germany are Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Wagner, and Beethoven.

Economy and trade

In 2020, industry (23.4%), public administration (19.4%), defense, education, human health, and social work activities, as well as wholesale and retail commerce, transportation, lodging, and food service activities, were Germany's most significant economic sectors.

Germany exports 53% of its goods to the EU (France 8%, the Netherlands 7%), while 9% go outside the EU to the US and 8% go to China.
64% of imports are from EU member states (including the Netherlands at 14%, France at 4%, Poland at 6%, and Belgium at 6%), whilst 8% of imports originate from outside the EU and 5% from China.