Its population is the second largest in Europe (after European Russia), and it is the seventh country by area. Its territory covers 357,021 km², consisting of 349,223 km² of land and 7,798 km² of water. Extending from the high peaks of the Alps(highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 m high) in the south to the shores of the Baltic and North Seas. In the center of the country are the forested highlands and to the southwest the Black Forest. It does not have overseas territories.
Some of its most important rivers are: the Rhine, the Elbe, the Danube and the Main. Among the lakes, the Constanza and the Müritz stand out.
Climate
As a country that is a member of European Union defined by computerannals.com, most of Germany has a humid temperate climate dominated by westerly winds. The climate is moderated by the North Atlantic Current, which is the northern extension of the Gulf Stream. This water warming affects the areas bordering the North Sea including the Jutland Peninsula and the area along the Rhine, which empties into the North Sea. Consequently, in the northwest and north, the climate is oceanic, rains occur throughout the year with a maximum during the summer.
Winters are mild and summers tend to be cool, although temperatures can exceed 30 ° C (86 ° F) for extended periods. In the east, the climate is more continental, winters can be very cold, summers can be very hot, so long dry periods are often recorded. The central part and the south are transition regions that vary from moderate climate to continental oceanic. Again, the maximum temperature can exceed 30 ° C (86 ° F) in summer.
Fauna
Most mammals live in forests where you can find animals such as roe deer, red deer, wild boar, red fox, European fallow deer and many mustelids. Beavers and otters are increasingly rare residents of rivers.
Other large mammals that once lived in Central Europe were exterminated such as the aurochs, the brown bear, the elk, the wild horse, the European bison or the wolf. Recently some moose and wolves have emigrated from Poland and the Czech Republic in search of better supplies but in the case of the reestablishment of the wolf and the bear it is very problematic due to the bad reputation of these animals among the population.
The golden eagle is only found in the Alps in the Bavarian area and the bearded vulture that was once in this area was exterminated. The most frequent raptors of prey are the common buzzard and the common kestrel, unlike the peregrine falcon, which is less numerous.
Flora
As the country is in an area with a temperate climate, its flora is characterized by extensive wood and coniferous forests. The ample existing wood is mainly from red beech. In addition, other trees such as oak, birch or pine are common. Large areas of flora such as the alpine (Bavarian Alps) or the subalpine (Black Forest or Harz) stand out. Currently 29.5 percent of the state surface is forested. This makes it one of the richest countries in forest in the European Union. Among the plants, the white-flowered acacia has a great acceptance in the population, its presence being common. There is also a growing interest in the production of beekeeping flora and mainly cereals (barley, oats, rye, wheat), potatoes and corn. In the valleys that are next to the river, among others the Moselle, the Ahr and the Rhine,
Hydrography
The three main rivers are:
- Rhine (Rhein in German) with a German part of 865 kilometers has several important tributaries such as the Neckar, the Main and the Moselle.
- Elbe with a 727-kilometer German part that empties into the North Sea.
- Danube (Donau) with a German part of 687 kilometers.
Other important rivers are the aforementioned Neckar and Main and others such as the Isar in the southeast, or the Weser in the north.
Demography
With more than 82 million residents, it is the most populous country in the European Union. However, its fertility rate of 1.39 children per mother is one of the lowest in the world, and the Federal Statistical Office estimates that the population will decline to between 69 and 74 million by 2050 (69 million assuming a migration +100,000 per year, 74 million assuming a net migration of +200,000 per year). Germany has a number of large cities, with Berlin being the most populated, however the largest urban agglomeration is the Rhine-Ruhr region.
Since December 2004, some seven million foreign citizens have been registered, and 19% of the country’s residents are foreigners or have some foreign origin. The largest group (2.3 million) is from Turkey, and most of the rest are from European countries such as Italy, Serbia, Greece, Poland and Croatia.
The United Nations ranks Germany as the third largest recipient of international emigrants worldwide, around 5%, or 10 of the 191 million emigrants, or around 12% of the country’s population. As a result of the restrictions, the number of immigrants seeking asylum on the basis of German ethnic origin (mostly from the former Soviet Union) has been steadily declining since 2000.
Religion:
- Christianity 75.8%
- Protestantism 35.6%
- Evangelical Church in Germany 9%
- Seventh-day Adventist Church 21,000 faithful
- Church of Sweden 4 seats [1]
- Church of Norway 3 seats [2]
- Church of Denmark 2 seats [3]
- Salvation Army [4]
- Catholic Church 5%
- Orthodox Christianity 9%
- Other Christians 5.8%
- Mormonism 38,992 faithful [1]
- Non-religious 17.2%
- Islam 4%
- There are 30 fundamentalist organizations with 43,200 militants [2]
- Atheism 2%
- Judaism 1%
- Others 0.3%
- Yazidism 50,000 [3]
- Protestantism 35.6%
