Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Germany: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MBA, ranked #5 of 195).
Germany — in Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. Political status: federal parliamentary republic. The country's capital is Berlin; it covers 357,022 sq km. Independence: 18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 after 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, with all…
| Capital | Berlin |
|---|---|
| Population | 84,012,284 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $5.247 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $62,800 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | -0.2% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.3% |
| Unemployment | 3.5% |
| Public debt | 63.9% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Exports | $1.949 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $1.774 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 81.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 46.9 |
| Urbanization | 77.8% of total population (2023) |
| Government | federal parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 after 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, with all four powers formally relinquishing 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) |
| Languages | German (official); note - Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages |
MBA · 73/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum -10 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The September state elections were brutal: the AfD took 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt and 38.2% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern while the CDU collapsed — the worst quarterly political signal in Europe.
Merz's reform programme now runs against open revolt inside his own bloc. This was Germany's quarter of reckoning, and the momentum turned sharply negative.
Coal, Natural gas, Iron ore, Copper, Nickel, Uranium, Potash, Salt, Timber.
Friedrich Merz — Chancellor. President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017)
Germany maintains 148 embassies and 56 consulates abroad, hosts 157 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 148 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 56 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 157 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 Key Findings Report (148 embassies, 56 consulates, total 217) https://dev.clauneck.workers.dev/nikola/using-https-globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/downloads/GDI_Key_Findings.pdf , corroborated by https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/17/diplomatic-gambling-versus-new-diplomacy/ and https://observerdiplomat.com/countries-with-most-diplomatic-posts-in-the-world/ . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Mar 2026. Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 2389 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 840 + 449 heliports (registration prefix D) |
| Major seaports | Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Emden, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Rostock |
| Railways | 39379 km |
| Pipelines | 37 km condensate, 26,985 km gas, 2,400 km oil, 4,479 km refined products, 8 km water (2013) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Hamburg (8,715,000 TEU, 2021); Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,018,900 TEU, 2021) |
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) — Berlin; Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen (FDH) — Friedrichshafen; Bremen Airport (BRE) — Bremen; Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) — Köln (Cologne); Dortmund Airport (DTM) — Dortmund; Dresden Airport (DRS) — Dresden; Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) — Düsseldorf; Erfurt-Weimar Airport (ERF) — Erfurt; Frankfurt Main Airport (FRA) — Frankfurt am Main; Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) — Frankfurt am Main (Lautzenhausen).
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
| LNG import terminals | Hamburg; Brunsbuettel (FSRU); Lubmin (FSRU); Wilhelmshaven (FSRU) |
|---|---|
| Oil terminals | Brunsbuttel Canal terminals |
| River ports | Bremen (Weser); Bremerhaven (Geeste); Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine); Lubeck (Wakenitz); Brunsbuttel, Hamburg (Elbe) |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | federal parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2025 — federal; 2025-02-23; winner: Friedrich Merz (CDU/CSU); CDU/CSU 28.5%; Merz elected Chancellor 2025-05-06 Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2029 — federal (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
MBA · 73 Ranked #5 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Germany.
Historical timeline of Germany
