Germany is a country in central Europe with a population of over 80 million. It has a federal parliamentary republic government and 16 states. Germany has a long history dating back to Germania but was unified in 1871 and split after World War 2, being reunified in 1990. Germany has a large economy as the 5th largest in the world by GDP, focused on services, industry, and exports of vehicles, machinery and chemicals. It faces challenges from an aging population and supporting weaker EU economies.
3. History
● Germania
● Charlegmagne & The Holy Roman Empire
● Unification in 1871
● WWI
● Weimar Republic
● Rise of Hitler
● WWII
● East vs. West
● Integration into EU
● Reunification 1990
4. Government
● Federal Republic
● Legislative- two branches: Bundestag & Bundesrat
● Executive- Chief of State & Chancellor
● Judicial- Federal Court of Justice
6. Economy
● 5th largest in the world-largest in Europe
● GDP= $3.593 trillion
● Average GDP per capita= $39,500
● Labor Force is made up of:
● - 2% in agricuture
● - 25% in industry
● - 73% in services
7. Germany's Exports
● Some German exports include: motor vehicles, machinery,
chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical
equipment,pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment,
foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products
● German Export Partners include: France 9.21%, United
States 7.85%, United Kingdom 6.53%, Netherlands 6.33%,
China 5.91%, Italy 5.05%, Austria 5.03%, Switzerland 4.3%,
Belgium 4.04%
8. Germany's Imporrts
● Some of Germany's imports include: machinery,
data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and
gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals,
foodstuffs, agricultural products
● Germany's Import partners include: Netherlands 12.88%,
France 7.61%, China 6.25%, Belgium 6.13%, Italy 5.31%,
United Kingdom 4.61%, Austria 4.33%, United States 4.19%,
Switzerland 4.3%, Austria 4.1%, Poland 4%
9. Germany's Economic Challenge Today
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uad1Ma5DSM
A
● Growing Crisis in the EU, 69% of exports go to
European Countries, 57% go to countries in the EU
● 3rd Highest median age in the world at 46 years old
● Need to support weaker, less financially responsible
countries in the EU
10. Interesting Facts
Germany's land area was over 50% larger during the Second Reich (1871-
1918) and included most of present-day Poland and parts of Lithuania.
German people are the second biggest consumers of beer in the world (after
the Czechs), with an average of 107 litres per person per year in 2010 (or
0.30 l per day).
The German language was once the lingua franca of central, eastern and
northern Europe, and remains the language with the most native speakers in
Europe.
About a quarter of all American citizens claim at least partial German ancestry.
Germany has nearly 700 zoological gardens, wildlife parks, aquariums, bird
parks, animal reserves, or safari parks, including 414 registered zoos.
Berlin's Zoologischer Garten is the largest zoo in the world, both in terms of
number of species (1,500) and animal population (14,000).
In 2006, the world's youngest billionnaire is the German Prince Albert II von
Thurn und Taxis, with net worth is estimated at around $1.9 billion (USD).
As of 2012, German athletes have won a total of 1662 Olympic medals
(summer and winter combined from 1896 to 2012), i.e. more than any other
country in the world except the USA.
11. Works Cited
“The Big Challenges Facing German'ys Economy." The Daily Reckoning Australia. N.p., n.d. Web.
20 Nov. 2014. <http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/the-big-challenges-facing-germans-
economy/2014/02/03/>.
"Charlemagne." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.history.com/topics/charlemagne>.
"European History." Causes of the First World War. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/causeww1.htm>.
"Germania." - Province of the Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.unrv.com/provinces/germania.php>.
"Germany." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html>.
"HISTORY OF GERMANY." HISTORY OF GERMANY. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac62>.
"The History of the European Union." EUROPA -. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/index_en.htm>.
"Interesting Facts about Germany." Eupedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.eupedia.com/germany/trivia.shtml>.
"Unification of German States - Issues - Countries - Office of the Historian." Unification of German
States - Issues - Countries - Office of the Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
<https://history.state.gov/countries/issues/german-unification>.
Notas del editor
7th largest by area in Europe
2nd largest population in Euriope, behind only russia
The Baltic Sea to the North, the Rhine river to the West, and the Alps or the Danube to the south
Germania- Unclaimed land to the north of the roman empire, never fully conquered by rome, Germanic tribes lived there
Charlegmagne & The Holy Roman Empire- Charles I, King of Franks from 768, King of Italy from 774, and first emperor in western europe since the collapse of western rome in 800 a.d. His empire covered most of what is today France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Nehterlands, Switzerland, Northern Italy, Parts of Spain, and most of Germany
Unified in 1871 by Otto Von Bismarck, Prime Minister of Prussia who used three different wars to unite the people as one
Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Serbian nationalists and these alliances led to wwi:
The Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (1882)
The Triple Entente of Britain, Russia and France (1907)
Weimar Republic-weak gave rise to hitler, who was elected fairly
East (German Democratic Republic) vs West (Federal Republic of Germany)- leads to creation of EEC
President Joachim Gauck
Chancellor Angel Merkel
Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor
president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held on 19 February 2012 (next to be held by June 2017); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Parliament for a four-year term; Federal Parliament vote for Chancellor last held on 17 December 2013 (next to be held after the September 2017 elections
Bundestag - last held on 22 September 2013 (next to be held no later than autumn 2017); most all postwar German governments have been coalitions; note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is 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
Federal Court of Justice (court consists of 127 judges including the court president, vice-presidents, presiding judges, and 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)
Suffrage at 18
Capital is Berlin
5.3 % unemployment rate
In 2012, Germany ran a trade deficit of Euro 27 billion with Russia, Libya, and Norway, mainly for energy imports. Germany also had trade deficits with Japan (Euro 4.7 billion) and China (Euro 11.1 billion).
In contrast, Germany had a trade surplus with the Euro-Zone (France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland) of Euro 54.6 billion. It also had a surplus with the US (Euro 36.2 billion) and UK (Euro 29.3 billion).
In Europe in 1970, Germany’s dependency ratio (number of workers for each retiree) was 4.1. In 2010, it was 3.0 and is projected to go to 1.6 by 2050, only slightly higher than Japan.