Flag of Germany
Germany Flag Meaning
The German flag has three equally wide horizontal bands in black, red and gold. The flag was adopted on May 8, 1949. There is also another version used by the federal authorities, on which the coat of arms is included. You can still trace the flag back to the days of the Napoleonic War when German soldiers wore uniforms with black, red and gold.
Those who opposed French influence in Germany wore a tricolor of this appearance. During the year of the revolution of 1848, the German Confederation adopted this flag.
Germany Overview
| Population | 82 million |
| Currency | Euro |
| Area | 356.733 km2 |
| Capital city | Berlin |
| Population density | 229.8 residents/km2 |
| HDI location | 10 |
The northern part of Germany is a low-lying area. To the northeast, the country is adjacent to the Baltic Sea. The central parts are characterized by ancient mountains, highlands and sediment deposits. One of the best known mountain ranges is found in the Black Forest. The southern region begins at the Danube valley, consists of highlighters and is bounded entirely in the south by the Bavarian Alps. In the Ruhr and Ems basins, there are significant deposits of coal and lignite, which formed the basis of the original industrial development. The heavy industry is concentrated in the Ruhr district, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony. In the former GDR there are also rich deposits of coal and lignite, lead, tin, silver and uranium in the south. In the same area, the chemical, electrochemical, metallurgical and steel industries are concentrated. This region is ravaged by air pollution, which predominantly originates from the coal-fired power plants. Sulfur oxide emissions in East Germany are 15 times higher than emissions in the West. These emissions contribute to the creation of acid rain. The untreated wastewater with heavy metals and chemical waste has, especially in East Germany, destroyed the rivers. Much of this water later becomes heavily polluted in the Baltic Sea.
The people: Germans (91.1%), Turks and Kurds (2.3%), ex-Yugoslavs (0.7%), Italians (0.7%), Greeks (0.4%), Bosnians (0, 4%), others (4%) (1995)
Religion: Christians, predominantly Protestants (30 million), especially in the north and east. The Catholics (27 million) were in the majority before the reunion. Furthermore, Jewish and Muslim minorities.
Languages: German (official) and local dialects
Political parties: Social Democracy (SPD), Greens, Bündniss 90, Democratic Socialist Party (PDS), Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), Liberal Party (FDP), Republicans.
Social organizations: The German LO (DGB) with 7½ million members in West Germany is linked to the social democracy. The free unions that had 9 million members in the GDR dissolved themselves in May 1990.
Official name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Administrative Classification: The German Federal Republic is a federal parliamentary state. As of October 3, 1990, it consists of 16 states or Länder. Eleven of these originated from the former Federal Republic: Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Berlin. The former GDR was divided into the remaining 5: Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia.
Capital: Berlin, 3,439,000 (2009).
Other important cities: Hamburg, 3,258,500; Munich, 2,342,500 residents; Dresden, 1,031,100 residents; Cologne, 966,500 inb; Frankfurt am Main., 736,000 residents (2000).
Government: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President since March 2017. Angela Merkel (CDU), Prime Minister since November 2005, re-elected in 2009 and 13.
In June 1991, the Bundestag decided to move the federal government and the Chamber of Deputies to Berlin, which since the German reunification in October 1990 is the country’s capital. The Berlin Parliament came into effect in 1999, while the Federal Council remains in Bonn. The Parliament (Bundestag, Bundestag) has 669 members, while the Federal Council (Bundesrat) consisting of representatives from each of the Länder has 69.
National Day: October 3rd. Reunification Day (1990)
Armed Forces: 358,400 (1994)
Paramilitary forces: 28,000 (Federal Border Police).