Germany — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Germany: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Germany — in Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. Political status: federal parliamentary republic. It covers 357,022 sq km. divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 after World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990, with all…
| Capital | Berlin |
|---|---|
| Population | 84,012,284 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $5.247 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $62,800 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | -0.2% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.3% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 3.5% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 63.9% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Exports | $1.949 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $1.774 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 81.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 46.9 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 77.8% of total population (2023) |
| Government | federal parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 18 January 1871 (establishment of the German Empire); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and France) in 1945 after World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed on 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed on 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; West Germany and East Germany unified on 3 October 1990, with all four powers formally relinquishing rights on 15 March 1991; notable earlier dates: 10 August 843 (Eastern Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire); 2 February 962 (crowning of OTTO I, recognized as the first Holy Roman Emperor) |
| Languages | German (official); note - Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages |
Germany’s GDP is $5.247 trillion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $4.66 trillion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew -0.2% (2024 est.). See where Germany ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum -10 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The September state elections were brutal: the AfD took 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt and 38.2% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern while the CDU collapsed — the worst quarterly political signal in Europe.
Merz's reform programme now runs against open revolt inside his own bloc. This was Germany's quarter of reckoning, and the momentum turned sharply negative.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 2.3%; a current-account surplus of $267 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
- What drags it down: a median age of 47 — an aging population
Coal, Natural gas, Iron ore, Copper, Nickel, Uranium, Potash, Salt, Timber.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 49% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 11.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 25.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 3.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 120.457 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 3,195.4 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 476.9 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 37,793 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Wind 28.0%, Coal 21.9%, Gas 16.6%, Solar 14.9%, Hydro 4.9%, Oil 4.1% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 57.4% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 344.1 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $1.949 trillion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $1.774 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $175.0 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, automobiles, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Friedrich Merz — Chancellor. President Frank-Walter STEINMEIER (since 19 March 2017)
Germany maintains 148 embassies and 56 consulates abroad, hosts 157 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 148 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 56 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 157 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 Key Findings Report (148 embassies, 56 consulates, total 217) https://dev.clauneck.workers.dev/nikola/using-https-globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/downloads/GDI_Key_Findings.pdf , corroborated by https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/17/diplomatic-gambling-versus-new-diplomacy/ and https://observerdiplomat.com/countries-with-most-diplomatic-posts-in-the-world/ . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Mar 2026. Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 2389 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 840 + 449 heliports (registration prefix D) |
| Major seaports | Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Emden, Hamburg, Kiel, Lubeck, Rostock |
| Railways | 39379 km |
| Pipelines | 37 km condensate, 26,985 km gas, 2,400 km oil, 4,479 km refined products, 8 km water (2013) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Hamburg (8,715,000 TEU, 2021); Bremen/Bremerhaven (5,018,900 TEU, 2021) |
Major airports
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) — Berlin; Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen (FDH) — Friedrichshafen; Bremen Airport (BRE) — Bremen; Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) — Köln (Cologne); Dortmund Airport (DTM) — Dortmund; Dresden Airport (DRS) — Dresden; Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) — Düsseldorf; Erfurt-Weimar Airport (ERF) — Erfurt; Frankfurt Main Airport (FRA) — Frankfurt am Main; Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) — Frankfurt am Main (Lautzenhausen).
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Terminals
| LNG import terminals | Hamburg; Brunsbuettel (FSRU); Lubmin (FSRU); Wilhelmshaven (FSRU) |
|---|---|
| Oil terminals | Brunsbuttel Canal terminals |
| River ports | Bremen (Weser); Bremerhaven (Geeste); Duisburg, Karlsruhe, Neuss-Dusseldorf (Rhine); Lubeck (Wakenitz); Brunsbuttel, Hamburg (Elbe) |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | federal parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2025 — federal; 2025-02-23; winner: Friedrich Merz (CDU/CSU); CDU/CSU 28.5%; Merz elected Chancellor 2025-05-06 Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2029 — federal (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Germany.
Historical timeline of Germany
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Germany — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Germany's power score?
Germany has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.