General overview : Germany

. Area: 357, 023 km²
. Population: 82, 537, 000
. Capital: Berlin
. Largest cities and number of inhabitants: Berlin (3, 388, 400), Cologne (967, 900), Dortmund (589, 200), Düsseldorf (570, 800), Essen (591, 900) Frankfurt/Main (641, 100), Hamburg (1, 726, 400), Munich (1, 228, 000), Stuttgart (587, 200)
. Official language and other recognised languages: German (official language); Danish (recognized in Schleswig-Holstein); Frisian (recognised Schleswig-Holstein); Sorbian (recognized in Brandenburg and in Saxony)
. Regions:
16 Länder: Baden- Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia

(Source: Statistisches Bundesamt, Statistischer Jahresbericht für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Wiesbaden, 2003)