Germany is among Europe's bigger countries, with a territory of 357,021 square kilometers and 3,621 kilometers of borders. It borders nine countries in total: the Netherlands (577 kilometers long border), Belgium (167 kilometers of border), Luxembourg (138 km), France (451 km), Switzerland (334 km), Austria (784 km), Czech Republic (646 km), Poland (456 km) and Denmark (68 km). It spreads from the Alps on the south to the North European Plain and the coastline of the North and Baltic Sea.
The geomorphological features of Germany include the North European Plain, the Central Uplands and Alps with Alpine foothills. North European Plain accounts for about one third of Germany. It is 150 kilometers wide at its western part and around 500 kilometers wide at the east. Its terrain consists mostly of glacial sediments from the last ice age. Western part of the plain is the area of swamps and wetlands, spreading along the Dutch border and at the Frisian coast. To the south and more to the inland lies the flat sandy plateau. Eastern part of the plain consists of glacial deposits in which the glacial lakes and valleys were formed, especially in the area of Macklenburg. Southern part of the North European Plain has a very fertile soil, known in Germany as Börde. The area of the North European Plain is 300 meters above the sea level. Five rivers flow into the North Sea in this area - the Ems, Elbe, Oder and Weser, all of them very important for German transport. This is also the area where the Kiel canal is situated, connecting the Baltic Sea with the North Sea. The Baltic Sea coast has a specific landscape of fjords and bays combined with sandy beaches and inlets.
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| Crater lake in Eifel area |
Middle Germany has a hilly and mountainous terrain consisting mostly of volcanic rocks. Schiefergebirge are the mountains situated in the north-western part of the Central Uplands, consisting mostly of shale, sandstone and quartzite. The Rhine valley cuts through these mountains and divides them into Eifel (747 meters high, with numerous crater lakes called maari) and Hunsrück (816 m) in the west and Sauerland (841 meters) and Taunus (880 meters) in the east. Grains and root crops are grown here in the flat areas of the valleys, while vineyards are grown on the slopes close to the Ilm river. Hessen and Weser foothills with basalt mountains Vogelberg (774 m) and Rhön (950 m) are located in the eastern part of the Central Uplands, together with the massifs of Harz (1142 meters high), Franken Wald and Thüringer Wald (982 m). Erzgebirge is a 1215 meters high mountain situated on the German - Czech border. The area southern of Berlin has a landscape quite similar to the landscape of Northern Germany, with wetlands and sandy features, especially in the Spreewald region.
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| Wonderful Bavarian Alps |
The South German hills lie between the Main and Danube, with massifs of Schwartzwald and Odenwald situated in the western part while mountains of Czech massif are situated in the east, close to the border and include Böhmer Wald and Oberpfälzer Wald. Most of these mountains consist of granite and gneiss rocks. The South German hills are bordered at the south by the Frankische Alb and Schwabische Alb, consisting mostly of jurassic limestone. The Alpine foothills lie in the area of Upper Bavaria and South - Eastern Swabia, consisting mostly of gravel and glacial sediments. The elevation of these foothills is between 350 and 800 meters. The highest mountains of Germany are the Bavarian Alps situated at the southern border of Germany, with many glacial lakes and valleys and the highest peak of Germany, 2963 meters high Zugspitze.
Germany has many rivers and some of them are very important, like the Rhine which is often called the 'Romantic River'. The Rhine flows into the North Sea and presents one of the longest and most important rivers of Europe. 865 kilometers of Rhine (out of 1320 km) flow through Germany. Main tributaries of Rhine are the Main, Neckar and Moselle. The latter is well known for vineyards located on the terraces around the river, and also for hiking possibilities in the valleys around Moselle. The Elbe has a German part of 727 kilometers and also flows into the North Sea, together with the Ems, Oder and Weser rivers. The Danube also flows through Germany with its 687 kilometers long German part, but it flows into the Black Sea. Except for the Rhine, Elbe and Danube, very important rivers are the already mentioned Neckar, Main, Weser and Isar (situated in the south-east of Germany). The largest lake in Germany is the Lake Constance with its area of 536 km2 , while other bigger lakes include the lake Müritz with its 117 sq kilometers and Chiemsee in the south with 80 sq kilometers.
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| Germany is the most populous country in the European Union |
| Hamburg, Germany |
With the population exceeding 82 million of people, Germany is the second most populated European country and the 14th most populated country of the world. The country is very densely populated: there are 231 people per square kilometer in average. The biggest cities are Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, while the most populated area is the Ruhr region. Germany has 82 towns with more 100,000 citizens. The population density varies between the regions - the western part of Germany has approximately 267 people per square kilometer, while former Eastern Germany has 140 people per square kilometer. Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania regions are weakly populated regions of Germany. The differences are a result of migrations from economically weak East to more prosperous West. Around 61% of the total population lives in urban settlements of between 2.000 and 100.000 inhabitants. 30% of the population lives in bigger towns with more than 100.000 citizens.
Population of Germany is quite old, with about 20% of inhabitants older than 65 years, 66,2% of inhabitants between 66,2% and population younger than 14 years accounting for only 13,8%. Average age of German population is 43,4 years. The population of Germany is slightly declining, with an average population growth rate of -0,044%. Out of 82 millions of people, 7,3 millions are foreigners, mostly Turks and other immigrants from less developed countries. Many Turkish people moved to Germany as Gastarbeiters (guest workers) during the period of economical growth from the mid-1950s till 1973. From 1970 till today around 3,2 million foreigners were granted a German citizenship and after a new citizenship law was introduced in 2000, children of many foreigners became German citizens. In the period between 1988 and 1993 around 1,4 million people from Eastern European countries, mostly countries of former Soviet Union, asked for asylum in Germany, but only 57.000 of them got it. Victims of political persecution have a right to asylum but the number of asylum seekers has decreased after the restrictions on the countries of origin and entry have been introduced in 1993. New immigration law was introduced in January 2005, showing country's more open immigration policy, especially for experts and skilled workers. With this law the victims of sexual abuse and genital mutilation also got a right to asylum.
91,5% of 82 millions are Germans, 2,4% are Turkish, while others make 6,1% of the total population (mostly Polish, Greek, Serbian, Croatian, Italian, Russian and Spanish). There are four other groups of people which are considered 'national minorities' - Frisians, Danes, Roma and Sinti and the Sorbs. Eastern and Northern Frisians are mostly inhabited in the north-western part of Lower Saxony and western coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The community of Frisia is stretching from northern Netherlands to Germany. The state of Schleswig-Holstein is also inhabited by the Danish minority. Roma have been inhabiting Germany since the Middle Ages. A lot of them were killed by the Nazi regime during the WW2. Today Roma people are mostly living in bigger towns of Germany. Many of them moved to Germany from former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Most of them don't have German citizenship and they're classified as refugees or immigrants. The Sorbs are Slavic people inhabiting the Lusatia region of Brandenburg and Saxony. They should be distinguished from the Serbs originating from Serbia - the Sorbs have been living here since the 7th century as the separate Slavic tribe. After the WW2, about 14 million of Germans moved back to Germany from Eastern Europe after Germany had lost the war. From 1960s till today Germans from Soviet Union are moving back to Germany, especially from Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The number of immigrants from this area has increased significantly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today Germany has the third largest population of Jews in Europe, caused mostly by immigration of Jews from countries of former Soviet Union in 2004. Also, around 10,.000 Afro-Germans live in Germany, just as the 150.000 Africans. German population includes also almost 50,000 Indian-Germans.
