Location: Central Europe, bordering the North Sea between France and Poland

Map references: Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 356,910 sq km
land area: 349,520 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana
note: includes the formerly separate Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Berlin following formal unification on 3 October 1990

Land boundaries: total 3,621 km, Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline: 2,389 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 3 nm in North Sea and Schleswig-Holstein coast of Baltic Sea (extends, at one point, to 16 nm in the Helgolander Bucht); 12 nm in remainder of Baltic Sea

International disputes: none

Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm, tropical foehn wind; high relative humidity

Terrain: lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel

Land use:
arable land: 34%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 16%
forest and woodland: 30%
other: 19%

Irrigated land: 4,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries in the southeast and lead emissions from vehicle exhausts (the result of continued use of leaded fuels) contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; heavy pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Hazardous Wastes

Note: strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea

NOTE: The information regarding Germany on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Germany Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Germany Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.