Federal Republic of Germany
Western Europe
Efficient · Historic · Bold
Germany (officially Federal Republic of Germany) is a country located in Western Europe. Its capital city is Berlin, with other major cities including Hamburg and Munich. With a population of approximately 83.2M, the main language spoken is German. The country covers an area of 357,114 km². The official currency is the euro (€). Traffic drives on the right side.
Germany has over 1,500 different beers brewed by more than 1,300 breweries — about a third of all breweries worldwide.
Berlin serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Germany, positioned in Western Europe. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Berlin was divided by a wall for 28 years and reunified in 1990, and the experience of literally rebuilding a city across an ideological boundary produced an architectural catalogue of deliberate symbolism — from the glass dome added to the restored Reichstag to the Holocaust Memorial's 2,711 concrete stelae arranged to disorient without explicit explanation.
With a population of approximately 83.2M, Germany is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is German, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, Germany is reached via the dialling code +49. Germans rebuilt their collective identity after 1945 through Erinnerungskultur (culture of remembrance) — a conscious, institutionalised engagement with the Nazi period that produced memorials, museums, and mandatory school curricula that other nations have studied as a model for processing historical atrocity, however imperfect the process remains.
Germany spans 357,114 km², in the Western Europe subregion of Europe. Geographically centred around 51.0°N, 9.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Europe convention.
The official currency is the euro (€), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Germany's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+01:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
The emblematic dish of Germany is Sauerbraten. German bread culture — 300 officially registered varieties including Pumpernickel, Vollkornbrot, and Pretzel — was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2014, recognising that the German Bäckerei (bakery) is a neighbourhood institution as culturally significant as the pub in England or the café in France.
Football holds a special place in the heart of Germany's national identity. Germany has been World Cup football finalist eight times and winner four, creating an expectation of mechanical efficiency that 'Die Mannschaft' has consistently delivered — but the country's motorsport heritage from Mercedes and Porsche, Olympic athletics, and handball tradition reveal a sporting culture broader and deeper than its football dominance suggests.
The highest point in Germany is Zugspitze, rising to 2,962 metres above sea level. The Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz is a 65-kilometre stretch of the river where castles crown nearly every hilltop above vineyard terraces, a cultural landscape listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that shaped the Romantic movement's imagery of history, nature, and the German relationship with deep time.