Land area: 135,236 sq mi (350,261 sq km); total area: 137,847 sq mi (357,021 sq km)

Population (2006): 82,422,299 (growth rate: –0.02%); birth rate: 8.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.1/1000; life expectancy: 78.8; density per sq mi: 609

Capital City: Berlin

Monetary unit: Euro (formerly Deutsche mark)

Languages: German

Ethnicity/race: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, Italian 0.7%, Greek 0.4%, Polish 0.4%, other 4.6%

Religions: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Islam 3.7%, Unaffiliated or other 28.3%

Germany is one of the world's leading industrialised countries. Located in Central Europe, it is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea.

At the southern end of Germany are the Alps, the highest mountain range in Europe. In central Germany are the Harz mountains.

Germany also has many rolling plains which make good farm land. The Rhine River, in the western part of Germany, is a main waterway for transporting goods from northern ports.

Germany's contributions to the world's cultural heritage are numerous, and the country is often known as the land of poets and thinkers. German literature can be traced back to the Middle Ages, in particular to such authors as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach, considered some of the most important poets of medieval Europe. The fairy tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are world famous and the Nibelungenlied, whose author is not known, is also a major contribution to German literature.

Many historical figures, though not citizens of Germany in the modern sense, were important and influential figures in German culture, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Kafka, Stefan Zweig and Nicolaus Copernicus.

Germany has many small towns that still maintain their traditional culture and architecture. Many of these towns, and their buildings, date back hundreds of years.

Germany is well known for its precision workmanship. This is demonstrated in many ways, from its local architecture to the products and crafts available in local shops.

Architecture in Germany has been greatly influenced by the styles in architecture and art of European countries. These styles were born and developed during ancient period of Charlemagne’s Empire to the modern history after the World War II.