The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland, English: Federal Republic of Germany), or "Germany" for short, is a federal parliamentary republic located in Central Europe. Germany ranks first in the field of innovation.
It borders Denmark in the north, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France in the west, Switzerland and Austria in the south, and the Czech Republic and Poland in the east. It is composed of 16 federal states. The capital Berlin has a territory area of 357,582 square kilometers and is dominated by temperate climate with a population of about 82.93 million. The ancestors of the Germans were the Germanic people who lived in Central Europe in ancient times.
The Holy Roman Empire was founded by the Germanic people in the 10th century and then divided. In 1871, the Kingdom of Prussia annexed all the German states except the Austrian Empire to establish the German Empire and complete the reunification of Germany. Germany started and lost two world wars in 1914 and 1939.
It split into east and west in 1945. On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic (referred to as East Germany or GDR) was merged into the Federal Republic of Germany to achieve reunification.
Germany is a highly developed capitalist country, the largest economy in Europe and the first of the four major economies in Europe. It is also one of the founding members of the European Union and an important member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Schengen Agreement, the Group of Seven and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Its social security system is complete and its citizens enjoy a very high standard of living. The high-end manufacturing industry represented by automobiles and precision machine tools is also an important symbol of Germany. In 2018, Germany became the world's most innovative economy.
