Background: As Europe's largest economy and second most-populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating world wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key western economic and security organizations, including the EC (now the EU) and NATO, while the communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War allowed German reunification to occur in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.

Geographic coordinates: 51 00 N, 9 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 357,022 km²
Land: 348,672 km²
Water: 8,350 km²
Comparative: three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana
Country comparison total: 3,694 km
Country comparison border countries: (9) Austria 801 km; Belgium 133 km; Czechia 704 km; Denmark 140 km; France 418 km; Luxembourg 128 km; Netherlands 575 km; Poland 447 km; Switzerland 348 km

Land boundaries
Total: 3,694 km
Border countries: (9) Austria 801 km; Belgium 133 km; Czechia 704 km; Denmark 140 km; France 418 km; Luxembourg 128 km; Netherlands 575 km; Poland 447 km; Switzerland 348 km

Coastline: 2,389 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation
Highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m
Mean elevation: 263 m

Natural resources: coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land forest: 31.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land other: 20.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 5,056 km² (2020)

Major rivers
By length in km: Donau (Danube) river source (shared with Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km; Elbe river mouth (shared with Czechia [s]) - 1,252 km; Rhein (Rhine) (shared with Switzerland [s], France, and Netherlands [m]) - 1,233 km
By length in km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 km²), (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 10.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 17.68 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 400 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 154 billion m³ (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding

Geography
Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany -- the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe -- flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward

Population
Distribution: second most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Total: 84,119,100
Male: 41,572,702
Female: 42,546,398 (2024 est.)
Growth rate: -0.12% (2024 est.)
Below poverty line: 14.8% (2021 est.)
Below poverty line note: % of population with income below national poverty line

Nationality
Noun: German(s)
Adjective: German

Ethnic groups: German 85.4%, Turkish 1.8%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Syrian 1.1%, Romanian 1%, Poland 1%, other/stateless/unspecified 8.3% (2022 est.)
Note: data represent population by nationality

Languages: German (official)
Note: Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages
Major-language samples: Das Gheos World Guide, die unverzichtbare Quelle für grundlegende Informationen. (German); Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 24.8%, Protestant 22.6%, Muslim 3.7%, other 5.1%, none 43.8% (2022 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 5,925,800/female 5,688,603)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 26,705,657/female 25,875,865)
65 years and over: 23.7% (2024 est.) (male 8,941,245/female 10,981,930)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 56.4
Youth dependency ratio: 21.7
Elderly dependency ratio: 34.7
Potential support ratio: 2.9 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 46.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 45.5 years
Female: 48.3 years

Population growth rate: -0.12% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 8.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: second most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia

Urbanization
Urban population: 77.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.13% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.574 million BERLIN (capital), 1.788 million Hamburg, 1.576 million Munich, 1.144 million Cologne, 796,000 Frankfurt (2023)

Environment
Current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 10.73 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 727.97 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 49.92 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.9 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 4 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 2.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.9 years (2024 est.)
Male: 79.6 years
Female: 84.4 years

Total fertility rate: 1.58 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 67% (2018)
Note: percent of women aged 18-49

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Unimproved urban: 0% of population

Hospital bed density: 8 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.3% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 10.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 5.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 3.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 1.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 22% (2020 est.)
Male: 24.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 19.9% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 0.5% (2014/17)

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 6% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.7% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 5.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany
Conventional short form: Germany
Local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Local short form: Deutschland
Former: German Reich
Etymology: the Gauls (Celts) of Western Europe may have referred to the newly arriving Germanic tribes who settled in neighboring areas east of the Rhine during the first centuries B.C. as 'Germani,' a term the Romans adopted as 'Germania'; the native designation 'Deutsch' comes from the Old High German 'diutisc' meaning 'of the people'

Government type: federal parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Berlin
Geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: the origin of the name is unclear but may be related to the old West Slavic (Polabian) word 'berl' or 'birl,' meaning 'swamp'

Administrative divisions: 16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen (Hesse), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia)
Note: Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat), while Bremen calls itself a Free Hanseatic City (Freie Hansestadt) and Hamburg considers itself a Free and Hanseatic City (Freie und Hansestadt)

Independence: 18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor)

National holiday: German Unity Day, 3 October (1990)

Constitution
History: previous 1919 (Weimar Constitution); latest drafted 10-23 August 1948, approved 12 May 1949, promulgated 23 May 1949, entered into force 24 May 1949
Amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage and enactment into law require two-thirds majority vote by both the Bundesrat (upper house) and the Bundestag (lower house) of Parliament; articles including those on basic human rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2020
Note: in early 2021, the German federal government introduced a bill to incorporate children’s rights into the constitution

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a German citizen or a resident alien who has lived in Germany at least 8 years
Dual citizenship recognized: yes, but requires prior permission from government
Residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; age 16 for some state and municipal elections

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017)
Head of government: Chancellor Olaf SCHOLZ (since 8 December 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) recommended by the chancellor, appointed by the president
Elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by a Federal Convention consisting of all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equivalent number of delegates indirectly elected by the state parliaments; president serves a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 13 February 2022 (next to be held in February 2,027); following the most recent Federal Parliament election, the party or coalition with the most representatives usually elects the chancellor who is appointed by the president to serve a renewable 4-year term; Federal Parliament vote for chancellor last held on 8 December 2021 (next to be held after the Bundestag election on 23 February 2025)
Election results: 2022: Frank-Walter STEINMEIER reelected president; Federal Convention vote count - Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (SPD) 1,045, Max OTTE (CDU) 140, Gerhard TRABERT (The Left) 96, Stefanie GEBAUER (Free Voters) 58, abstentions 86; 2021: Olaf SCHOLZ (SPD) elected chancellor; Federal Parliament vote - 395 to 303; 2017: Frank-Walter STEINMEIER elected president; Federal Convention vote count - Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (SPD) 931, Christopher Butterwegge (independent) 128, abstentions 103

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of: Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 seats statutory, 71 current; members appointed by each of the 16 state governments), Federal Diet or Bundestag (736 seats statutory, 736 for the 2021-25 term; approximately one-half of members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and approximately one-half directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members' terms depend upon the states they represent)
Elections: Bundesrat - none; determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election; Bundestag - last held on 26 September 2021 (next to be held on 23 February 2025); almost all postwar German governments have been coalitions
Elections results: Bundesrat - composition - men 43, women 26, percentage women 37.7%; Bundestag - percent of vote by party - SPD 28%, CDU/CSU 26.8%, Alliance '90/Greens 16%, FDP 12.5%, AfD 11%, The Left 5.3%, other .04%; seats by party - SPD 206, CDU/CSU 197, Alliance '90/Greens 118, FDP 92, AfD 81, The Left 39, other 3; composition - men 476, women 260, percentage women 34.9%
Note: due to Germany's recognition of the concepts of 'overhang' (when a party's share of the nationwide votes would entitle it to fewer seats than the number of individual constituency seats won in an election under Germany's mixed member proportional system) and 'leveling' (whereby additional seats are elected to supplement the members directly elected by each constituency in order to ensure that each party's share of the total seats is roughly proportional to the party's overall shares of votes at the national level), the 20th Bundestag is the largest to date

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges, including the court president, vice presidents, presiding judges, other judges and organized into 25 Senates subdivided into 12 civil panels, 5 criminal panels, and 8 special panels); Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (consists of 2 Senates each subdivided into 3 chambers, each with a chairman and 8 members)
Judge selection and term of office: Federal Court of Justice judges selected by the Judges Election Committee, which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federated states and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament; judges appointed by the president; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 65; Federal Constitutional Court judges - one-half elected by the House of Representatives and one-half by the Senate; judges appointed for 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 68
Subordinate courts: Federal Administrative Court; Federal Finance Court; Federal Labor Court; Federal Social Court; each of the 16 federated states or Land has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil, criminal, family) and specialized (administrative, finance, labor, social) courts; two English-speaking commercial courts opened in late 2020 in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg - English-speaking Stuttgart Commercial Court and English-speaking Mannheim Commercial Court

Political parties and leaders: Alliance '90/Greens , Alternative for Germany or AfD , Christian Democratic Union or CDU , Christian Social Union or CSU , Free Democratic Party or FDP , Free Voters , The Left or Die Linke , Social Democratic Party or SPD

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us: chief of mission: Ambassador Andreas MICHAELIS (since 15 September 2023)
In the us chancery: 4,645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-4,000
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-4,261
In the us email address and website: info@washington.diplo.de; [link]
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Alan MELTZER (since July 2024)
From the us embassy: Pariser Platz 2, 10,117 Berlin; Clayallee 170, 14,191 Berlin (administrative services)
From the us mailing address: 5,090 Berlin Place, Washington DC 20,521-5,090
From the us telephone: [49] (30) 8,305-0
From the us fax: [49] (30) 8,305-1215
From the us email address and website: BerlinPCO@state.gov; [link]
From the us consulates general: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold; these colors have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field

National symbols: eagle; national colors: black, red, yellow

National anthem
Name: 'Das Lied der Deutschen' (Song of the Germans)
Lyrics/music: August Heinrich HOFFMANN VON FALLERSLEBEN/Franz Joseph HAYDN
Note: adopted 1922; the anthem, also known as 'Deutschlandlied' (Song of Germany), was originally adopted for its connection to the March 1848 liberal revolution; following appropriation by the Nazis of the first verse, specifically the phrase, 'Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles' (Germany, Germany above all) to promote nationalism, it was banned after 1945; in 1952, its third verse was adopted by West Germany as its national anthem; in 1990, it became the national anthem for the reunited Germany

National heritage
Total world heritage sites: 54 (52 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected world heritage site locales:

Economy overview: leading diversified, export-driven, core EU and eurozone economy; key automotive, chemical, engineering, finance, and green energy industries; growth stalled by energy crisis; tight labor market with falling working-age population; fiscal rebalancing with phaseout of energy price supports

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $5.23 trillion (2023 est.); $5.246 trillion (2022 est.); $5.153 trillion (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: -0.3% (2023 est.); 1.81% (2022 est.); 3.16% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: $61,900 (2023 est.); $62,600 (2022 est.); $61,900 (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 50.7% (2023 est.)
Government consumption: 21.6% (2023 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 21.9% (2023 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.6% (2023 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 47.1% (2023 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -43% (2023 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.7% (2023 est.)
Industry: 28.1% (2023 est.)
Services: 62.6% (2023 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Agriculture products: milk, sugar beets, wheat, barley, potatoes, pork, rapeseed, maize, rye, triticale (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

Industries: iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: -1.59% (2023 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 44.784 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 3.05% (2023 est.); 3.14% (2022 est.); 3.64% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 6% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.7% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 5.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

Population below poverty line: 14.8% (2021 est.)
Note: % of population with income below national poverty line

Budget
Revenues: $1.19 trillion (2022 est.)
Expenditures: $1.31 trillion (2022 est.)
Note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 11.23% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Public debt: 63.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
Note: general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises the sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government and social security funds; the series are presented as a percentage of GDP and in millions of euros; GDP used as a denominator is the gross domestic product at current market prices; data expressed in national currency are converted into euro using end-of-year exchange rates provided by the European Central Bank

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.95% (2023 est.); 6.87% (2022 est.); 3.07% (2021 est.)
Note: annual % change based on consumer prices

Current account balance: $262.723 billion (2023 est.); $174.831 billion (2022 est.); $312.08 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Exports: $2.104 trillion (2023 est.); $2.092 trillion (2022 est.); $2.034 trillion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: US 10%, France 7%, China 7%, Netherlands 7%, Italy 6% (2022)
Partners note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Commodities: cars, packaged medicine, vehicle parts/accessories, vaccines, plastic products (2022)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $1.927 trillion (2023 est.); $1.997 trillion (2022 est.); $1.798 trillion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: China 10%, Netherlands 9%, Poland 6%, Belgium 6%, Italy 5% (2022)
Partners note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Commodities: natural gas, cars, garments, vehicle parts/accessories, crude petroleum (2022)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $322.7 billion (2023 est.); $293.914 billion (2022 est.); $295.736 billion (2021 est.)
Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 261.086 million kW (2022 est.)
Consumption: 507.248 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Exports: 76.291 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Imports: 49.269 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 26.49 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 48.9% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 5.7% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources solar: 10.3% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources wind: 22.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 2.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 10.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Coal
Production: 138.981 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Consumption: 186.725 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Exports: 2.248 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Imports: 44.851 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 35.9 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 131,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 2.052 million bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 115.2 million barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 4.824 billion m³ (2022 est.)
Consumption: 77.516 billion m³ (2022 est.)
Imports: 83.926 billion m³ (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 23.39 billion m³ (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 668.292 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 227.546 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 291.027 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 149.719 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 132.263 million Btu/person (2022 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 38.58 million (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 46 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 104.4 million (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 125 (2022 est.)

Military expenditures: 2.1% of GDP (2024 est.); 1.7% of GDP (2023); 1.5% of GDP (2022); 1.5% of GDP (2021); 1.5% of GDP (2020)

Military and security forces: Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe, includes air defense), Joint Support and Enabling Service (Streitkraeftebasis, SKB), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst, ZSanDstBw), Cyber and Information Space Command (Kommando Cyber und Informationsraum, Kdo CIR) (2024)
Note: responsibility for internal and border security is shared by the police forces of the 16 states, the Federal Criminal Police Office, and the Federal Police; the states’ police forces report to their respective interior ministries while the Federal Police forces report to the Federal Ministry of the Interior

Military service age and obligation: 17-23 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (must have completed compulsory full-time education and have German citizenship); conscription ended July 2011; service obligation 7-23 months or 12 years; in July 2020, the government launched a new voluntary conscript initiative focused on homeland security tasks; volunteers serve for 7 months plus 5 months as reservists over a 6 year period (2024)
Note: women have been eligible for voluntary service in all military branches and positions since 2001 and accounted for about 12% of the active-duty German military in 2023

Terrorist groups: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa'ida
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 20 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1,113
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 109,796,202 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 7,969,860,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: D

Airports: 838 (2024)

Heliports: 388 (2024)

Pipelines: 37 km condensate, 26,985 km gas, 2,400 km oil, 4,479 km refined products, 8 km water (2013)

Roadways
Total: 830,000 km 830,000 km
Paved: 830,000 km (2022) (includes 13,155 km of expressways)
Note: includes local roads

Waterways: 7,300 km (2022) (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea)

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 664,238 (Syria), 183,631 (Afghanistan), 151,254 (Iraq), 64,496 (Eritrea), 47,658 (Iran), 38,755 (Turkey), 32,155 (Somalia), 13,334 (Russia), 12,155 (Nigeria), 9,250 (Pakistan), 6,257 (Serbia and Kosovo), 6,912 (Ethiopia), 5,532 (Azerbaijan) (mid-year 2022); 1,139,690 (Ukraine) (as of 3 February 2024)
Stateless persons: 28,941 (2022)

Illicit drugs: maritime transshipment point for cocaine heading for European drug; a major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics