Germany is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

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Germany includes 16 constituent states and covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres. With 83 million inhabitants, it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia, the most populous state lying entirely in Europe, as well as the most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital is Berlin.

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Today, the sovereign state of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic led by a chancellor. At the moment this is Angela Merkel, the first woman that reached this office. As a developed country with a very high standard of living, it upholds a social security and universal health care system.

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The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993.

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Germany has a large number of World Heritage sites and is among the top tourism destinations in the world.

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