Germany

Germany is a state in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is located between the Baltic and North Seas in the north and the Alps in the south; It covers an area of ​​357,022 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi), with a population of more than 83 million in its 16 constituent states. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west. The capital of the country and the largest city is Berlin, and its financial center is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. The region called Germany was registered before 100 AD. In the 10th century, German territories formed the central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, the northern regions of Germany became the center of the Protestant Reformation. After the Napoleonic Wars and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German Confederation was formed in 1815. In 1871 Germany became a nation state when most German states united to form the German Empire, which Prussia dominated. After the First World War and the German Revolution of 1918-1919. The Empire was replaced by the semi-presidential Weimar Republic. The Nazi takeover of power in 1933 led to the establishment of a dictatorship, World War II and the Holocaust. After World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation, Germany was divided into the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, East Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany was one of the founders of the European Economic Community and the European Union, and the German Democratic Republic was an Eastern Bloc communist state and a member of the Warsaw Pact. After the fall of communism due to German reunification, the former East German states joined the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990, becoming a federal parliamentary republic.

Germany is a great power with a strong economy; it has the largest economy in Europe, the fourth largest economy globally in terms of nominal GDP and fifth in terms of PPP. As a global leader in several industrial, scientific and technological sectors, it is the third largest exporter and importer of goods globally. As a developed country ranking very high on the Human Development Index, it offers social security and universal health care, environmental protection and free university education. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G7, G20 and OECD. It ranks third in terms of the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.