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
18 November 1918 (from Soviet Russia)
Religions
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Lutheran 19.6%, Orthodox 15.3%, other Christian 1%, other 0.4%, unspecified 63.7% (2006)
Languages
German
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
Exports
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs
External Debt
$5,717,000,000,000 $
$39,870,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
lati (LVL) per US dollar - 0.4701 (2008 est.), 0.5162 (2007), 0.5597 (2006), 0.5647 (2005), 0.5402 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.350%
0.920%
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
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania
Area
357,022 km sq
64,589 km sq
Coastline
2,389 km
498 km
Climate
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Rankings + Records
