Germany Essay -- essays research papers

Germany is the fourth largest country in area in Europe, with a total area of 356,970 square kilometers (137,827 square miles). The country has a varied terrain that ranges from low-lying coastal flats along the North and Baltic seas, to a central area of rolling hills and river valleys, to heavily forested mountains and snow-covered Alps in the south. Germany has a long, complex history and rich culture, but it did not become a unified nation until 1871. Before that time, Germany had been a confederacy (1815-1867). The country has a total of 82,071,765 people (1997 estimate). Germany is overwhelmingly urban, and most people lead a prosperous, comfortable lifestyle, with adequate leisure time and comprehensive social welfare benefits. Berlin is the capital and largest city, although Bonn, which was the provisional capital of West Germany, is still home to some government offices. The principal language is German, and about 70 percent of the people are either Roman Catholic or Protestant. Germany has a very large and modern industrial economy and is a leading producer of such products as iron and steel, machinery and machine tools, and automobiles. Germany is an economic powerhouse in the European Union (EU), and its currency, the deutsche mark (DM), is among the strongest in the world. Germany ranks as the fourth largest country in Europe, after European Russia (the part of Russia west of the Ural Mountains), France, and Spain. Germany ...