Brief Introduction Capital: Berlin Area: total: 357,030 sq km National Flower: Centaurea The important Festival: National day: 3 October Population: 825.010.000 Language: German Currency: EUR

Germany

Geography

Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea,

between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark.

Administrative divisions

16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern,Berlin,Brandenburg,Bremen,Hamburg,Hessen,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,Niedersachsen,Nordrhein-Westfalen,Rheinland-Pfalz,Saarland,Sachsen,Sachsen-Anhalt,Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen .

Economy – overview

Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.

Culture and media

Newspaper:

Aktiv , Börsen Zeitung, Deutsches Allgemeines Sontagsblatt , Frankfurter Allgemeine , Handelsblatt , Jüdische Allgemeine, Junge Freiheit, Neue Epoche, Die, Neue Solidarität, Neues Deutschland, Peyama Kurd , Tageszeitung, Die .

Broadcast:

DeutschlandRadio, Deutsche Welle .

TV Stations:

ARD Tagesschau, N-TV , N24 , Pro7 News, ZDF .

The place of interest

Brandenburg Gate

Sans Souci Palace

Cologne Cathedral