Germany
hideGermany (pronounced /ˈdʒɜrməni/ ( listen)), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a country in Central Europe. It 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 kilometers (137,847 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 82 million inhabitants, it accounts for the largest population among the member states of the European Union and is home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.
A region named Germania inhabited by several Germanic peoples has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire that lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, the country was first unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. In 1949, after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states—East Germany and West Germany—along the lines of Allied occupation. The two states were unified in 1990. West Germany was a founding member of the European Community (EC) in 1957, which became the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen zone and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.
Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states (Länder). The capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8 and the OECD. It is a major economic power with the world's fourth largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest in purchasing power parity. It is the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. In absolute terms, Germany allocates the second biggest annual budget of development aid in the world, while its military expenditure ranked sixth. The country has developed a high standard of living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It holds a key position in European affairs and maintains a multitude of close partnerships on a global level. Germany is recognised as a scientific and technological leader in several fields.
For more information about Germany, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with germany
Germany calls for binding climate deal in 2010
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for all countries to fix binding climate change targets next year at the latest, acknowledging that no such deal is likely at global talks in Copenhagen next month.
Germany, Mexico, US top smart energy list
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Germany, Mexico and the United States have crafted some of the world's smartest policies for improving energy use, according to a study released on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN climate talks here.
Berlin Twitter Wall lets people write on wall
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The Berlin Wall is gone, but people can still tag their memories on it online.
German officials to probe Twitter election leaks
Sep 27, 2009 |
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German election officials Sunday said they would investigate the appearance of broadly accurate exit poll results on the Twitter microblogging site before voting had ended.
Germany challenges Google books settlement: minister
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Germany on Tuesday said it opposed a legal settlement that would allow Google to digitise and sell millions of books online, arguing it violated international treaties on authors' rights.
New developments in reproductive medicine
Aug 31, 2009 |
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Three out of ten women who undergo polar body diagnosis go on to have a child. The extensive technique of polar body analysis (PBA) is described by researchers in reproductive medicine at Lübeck, Germany, in an article in ...
Germany's biggest solar park inaugurated
Aug 20, 2009 |
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Germany's largest solar park, and the world's second biggest, was inaugurated on Thursday on the site of a former Soviet military training ground in the east of the country.
Germany wants a million electric cars by 2020
Aug 19, 2009 |
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The German government unveiled plans Wednesday to get one million electric cars zipping around the country by 2020, offering sweeteners to jump-start national giants like BMW and Volkswagen into action.
Asian competitors shadow German solar industry
Aug 18, 2009 |
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Germany's solar power industry, until recently the world leader in the technology, is facing an unprecedented crisis, analysts say, outshone by cheaper competitors from Asia, most notably Chinese firms.
Smoke-spewing Trabant poised for rebirth as electric car
Aug 17, 2009 |
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Once the much-mocked symbol of drab communist East Germany, Trabant cars are revving up for a dramatic rebirth as electric cars -- 20 years after they drove through the fallen Berlin Wall to freedom.
Glaxo starts testing its swine flu vaccine
Medicine & Health / Medications
Aug 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline says it has started testing its swine flu vaccine in humans.
Germany shoots for the moon by 2015: official
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 12, 2009 |
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An unmanned German mission to the moon is plausible by the middle of the next decade, the official in charge of space flight said on Wednesday, despite the financial crisis battering the country.
Europe's fastest supercomputer unveiled in Germany
May 26, 2009 |
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A new supercomputer with the power of 50,000 home PCs -- the fastest in Europe and the third worldwide -- was unveiled on Tuesday in Germany.
German 'science train': next stop Shanghai 2010?
May 21, 2009 |
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How will we feed nine billion people in the future? Can we ever have a disease-free world? Can robots play football?
Germany to Google: Erase raw street-level images
May 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A data protection official for Germany said Wednesday that Google had yet to meet a key request that photos gathered for its panoramic mapping service be erased after they are sent to the United States ...
