357,022 sq km (137,847 sq miles).

82,012,162 (1996).

229.7 per sq km.

Berlin, Administrative Capital: Bonn.

3,459,000 (1996)., 291,700 (1995). The move of the administration to Berlin should be completed by the end of 2000.

The Federal Republic of Germany shares frontiers with Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. The northwest of the country has a coastline on the North Sea with islands known for their health resorts, while the Baltic coastline in the northeast stretches from the Danish to the Polish border. The country is divided into 16 states (Bundesländer) including the formerly divided city of Berlin. The landscape is exceedingly varied, with the Rhine, Bavaria and the Black Forest being probably the three most famous features of western Germany. In eastern Germany the country is lake-studded with undulating lowlands which give way to the hills and mountains of the Lausitzer Bergland, the Saxon Hills in the Elbe Valley and the Erzgebirge, whilst the once divided areas of the Thuringian and Harz ranges in the central part of the country are now whole regions again. River basins extend over a large percentage of the eastern part of Germany, the most important being the Elbe, Saale, Havel, Spree and Oder. Northern Germany includes the states of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and the city states of Bremen and Hamburg. The western area of the country consists of the Rhineland, the industrial sprawl of the Ruhr, Westphalia (Westfalen), Hesse (Hessen), the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and the Saarland. In the southern area of the country are the two largest states, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (Bayern), which contain the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the Bavarian Alps. Munich (München), Stuttgart and Nuremberg (Nürnberg) are the major cities. The eastern part of the country is made up of the states of Thuringia, Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin. The major cities in eastern Germany are Dresden, Leipzig, Erfurt, Halle, Potsdam, Schwerin and Rostock. Apart from Leipzig and Rostock these are also all recently reconstituted state-capitals.

Federal Republic. Head of State: President Johannes Rau since 1999. Head of Government: Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder since 1998.

German. English is widely spoken and French is also spoken, particularly in the Saarland. In the north of Schleswig-Holstein, Danish is spoken by the Danish minority and taught in schools. Regional dialects often differ markedly from standard German.

Approximately 35% Protestant, 34% Roman Catholic with other non-Christian denominations.

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

230 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style round 2-pin plugs are in use. Lamp fittings are screw type.

Telephone: Full IDD is available. Country code: 49. Outgoing international code: 00. National and international calls can be made from coin- or card-operated telephone booths. Calls can be made from post offices. Cheap rate applies between 1800-0800 Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. Fax: Facilities are increasingly available in eastern Germany. Telegram: These can be sent during opening hours from all post offices. Post: Stamps are available from hotels, slot machines and post offices. A 5-figure postal code is used on all internal addresses. Poste Restante mail should be addressed as follows: recipient's name, Postlagernd, Hauptpostamt, post code, name of town. Post office hours: 0900-1800 Monday to Friday and 0900-1200 Saturday. Smaller branches may close for lunch. Press: Newspapers are free of government control. The most influential dailies include the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The most widely read of the weekly publications are Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. Some new or revamped newspapers, such as Berliner Kurier, have emerged out of eastern Germany and are competing well with western German papers. Most major English newspapers and international magazines are also available in Germany.