Germany Government

Germany is made up of 16 states and is governed by a federal republic government. Power is divided among the federal republic parliament, the Laber (representatives of Germany regional states) and the Bundestag (parliament of Germany). Germany’s current government is headed by both the chancellor and the president who oversees parliament.

Germany’s elections are organized and handled by the federal electoral election system. Elections are typically carried on Sundays or on public holidays. Anyone who is above 18 years is eligible to vote. Two votes elect Germany's members of parliament. In Germany, there is no limit to how long a chancellor can serve. The chancellor is elected by newly elected members of Bundestag after a four-year term while the Federal Convention elects the president. The Federal Convention consists of an equal number of members from the parliament of Lander and the Bundestag. The president can only be elected for 2 five-year terms and must be above the age of 40.

The Reichstag (German parliament) is located in Berlin. It was built in the years between 1884 and 1894. Paul Wallot's design was picked from a competition which had 183 entries. The building is 450 feet by 318 feet and has a magnificent iron dome. The Chancellor’s official residence (Bundeskanzleramt) is in Berlin near the Reichstag. Bundeskanzleramt (chancellor’s official residence) contains the chancellor’s office and government offices. The top floor of the Bundeskanzleramt occupies the chancellor’s official residence. The president has two official residences - one is Bellevue Palace in Berlin, and the other is Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn.

Active political parties of Germany include the Christian Democratic Union Party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Alternative for Germany, the Free Democratic party, the Left, and the Alliance '90/the Greens.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Berlin
Languages	German (official)
Ethnic Groups	German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Polish, Italian, Romanian, Syrian, and Greek)
Religion	Roman Catholic 29%, Protestant 27%, Muslim 4.4%, Orthodox Christian 1.9%, other 1.7%, none or members of unrecorded religious groups 36% (2015 est.)
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
Independance	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)
Area	357,022.00 km²
Water Area	8,350.00 km²
Land Area	348,672.00 km²
Population	80,722,792.00 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
Location	Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
No. Bordering Countries	9
Bordering Countries	Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czech Republic 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 467 km, Switzerland 348 km
GDP(PPP)	$3,980,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$48,200.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are motor vehicles, machinery, and chemicals.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are the Netherlands, France, and China.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, and chemicals.
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
Learn More	Germany

Germany Government

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