18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty)
Religions
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Roman Catholic 87.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, other Christian 1.9%, other 2.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.2% (2006 census)
Languages
German
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
Exports
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products
External Debt
$5,624,000,000,000 $
$2,352,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
41
3
Location
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
Area
357,022 km sq
70,273 km sq
Coastline
2,389 km
1,448 km
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
