Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a member state of the European Union in Central Europe. Bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Biisingen City, located in Switzerland, also part of Germany. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 km ² and has a temperate climate. With over 82 million inhabitants, is the largest population among member states of the European Union and is home to the third largest group of international migrants.
German and German words come from Latin and were used in ancient times by the Romans to refer to the Alemanni, is not the same as Germans, the Germanic people closest to the territory of the Roman Empire. From there he was used to name the entire country. Besides German, is also widespread use of German adjective, derived from the name by which the Romans referred to non-Roman tribes of central Europe, whose territory called Germania. From the tenth century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire that lasted until 1806. During the sixteenth century, the northern regions became the center of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, the country was unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. After World War II, it was divided into two separate states along the lines of allied occupation in 1949, but the two states were reunited again in 1990. A founding member of the European Community (1957), which became the EU in 1993. It is part of the Schengen zone and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.
It is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states. The capital and largest city is Berlin. It is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G4 nations, and signed the Kyoto Protocol. It is the fourth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, the first in Europe, and the largest exporter of goods in the world in 2007. In absolute terms, allocates the second biggest annual budget of development aid in the world, while its military expenditure ranked sixth. The country has developed a high standard of living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It has a key position in European affairs and maintains a close relationship with several associations worldwide. It is recognized as a leader in science and technology sectors.