Factbook
History of Germany — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Germany, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1945European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating world wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945.
1949With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR).
1990The decline of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War allowed German reunification to occur in 1990.
1999In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
2022Languages: 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 Religions: Roman Catholic 24.8%, Protestant 22.6%, Muslim 3.7%, other 5.1%, none 43.8% (2022 est.) Urban population: 77.8% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 49% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 11.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 25.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 3.2% of total install Energy use: 120.457 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles Agriculture: milk, sugar beets, wheat, potatoes, barley, maize, rapeseed, pork, rye, triticale (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 3.574 million BERLIN (capital), 1.788 million Hamburg, 1.576 million Munich, 1.144 million Cologne, 796,000 Frankfurt (2023) leading export-driven, core EU and eurozone economy; key automotive, chemical, engineering, finance, and green energy industries; growth stalled by energy crisis and declining exports; tight labor market with falling working-age population; fiscal rebalancing with phaseout of energy price supports Inflation: 2.3% (2024 est.).
2025Military spending: 2.4% of GDP (2025 est.).
2025Population: 84.0 million (2025 estimate).
