If Germany went to war, which according to the constitution is allowed only for defensive purposes, the Chancellor would become commander in chief of the Bundeswehr. Reservists are available to the Armed Forces and participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad, a new reserve concept of their future strength and functions was announced 2011. German soldiers in Kosovo, and 300 troops with UNIFIL in Lebanon. emergency services like a fire department or the Red Cross. On 1 July 2011 conscription was officially suspended and replaced with a voluntary service. Since 2001 women may serve in all functions of service without restriction, but they are not subject to conscription. women on active duty and a number of female reservists.
and the main financial cluster in Central Europe. and a high level of innovation. Germany is an advocate of closer European economic and political integration. members and by EU legislation. Germany introduced the common European currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002. Its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank.
Two decades after German reunification, standards of living and per capita incomes remain significantly higher in the states of the former West Germany than in the former East. billion economic stimulus plan to protect several sectors from a downturn and a subsequent rise in unemployment rates. and of the EU single market. listed companies measured by revenue in 2010, the Fortune Global 500, 37 are headquartered in Germany. based companies are included in the DAX, the German stock market index.
Benz, BMW, SAP, Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas, Audi, Allianz, Porsche, Bayer, Bosch, and Nivea. Germany is recognised for its specialised small and medium enterprises. of these companies are global market leaders in their segment and are labelled hidden champions. The list includes the largest companies by turnover in 2009. With its central position in Europe, Germany is a transport hub.
This is reflected in its dense and modern transport networks. network ranks as the third largest worldwide in length. The largest German airports are Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, both hubs of Lufthansa, while Air Berlin has hubs at Berlin Tegel and Düsseldorf. Both airports in Berlin will be consolidated at a site adjacent to Berlin Schönefeld, which will become Berlin Brandenburg Airport in 2013. of its primary energy was imported.
Government policy promotes energy conservation and renewable energy. electricity demands using only renewable sources by 2050. In 2000, the government and the nuclear power industry agreed to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2021. Germany is committed to the Kyoto protocol and several other treaties promoting biodiversity, low emission standards, recycling, and the use of renewable energy, and supports sustainable development at a global level.
overall emissions are falling. achievements in the sciences have been significant, and research and development efforts form an integral part of the economy. The Nobel Prize has been awarded to 103 German laureates. The work of Albert Einstein and Max Planck was crucial to the foundation of modern physics, which Werner Heisenberg and Max Born developed further. They were preceded by such key physicists as Hermann von Helmholtz, Joseph von Fraunhofer and Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, among others. rays and was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
while Ferdinand Cohn and Robert Koch were founders of microbiology. Numerous mathematicians were born in Germany, including Carl Friedrich Gauss, David Hilbert, Bernhard Riemann, Gottfried Leibniz, Karl Weierstrass, Hermann Weyl and Felix Klein. Research institutions in Germany include the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association and the Fraunhofer Society. The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is granted to ten scientists and academics every year.
million per award it is one of highest endowed research prizes in the world. Germany has been the home of many famous inventors and engineers, such as Johannes Gutenberg, credited with the invention of movable type printing in Europe Hans Geiger, the creator of the Geiger counter and Konrad Zuse, who built the first fully automatic digital computer. German inventors, engineers and industrialists such as Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Otto Lilienthal, Gottlieb Daimler, Rudolf Diesel, Hugo Junkers and Karl Benz helped shape modern automotive and air transportation technology. Aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun developed the first space rocket and later on was a prominent member of NASA and developed the Saturn V Moon rocket, which paved the way for the success of the US Apollo program.
work in the domain of electromagnetic radiation was pivotal to the development of modern telecommunication. Germany is also one of the leading countries in developing and using green technologies. Especially the expertise in engineering, science and research of Germany is eminently respectable. green technology industry are power generation, sustainable mobility, material efficiency, energy efficiency, waste management and recycling, sustainable water management. With its estimated population of 81. Germany is the most populous country in the European Union and ranks as the 16th most populous country in the world.
Its population density stands at 229. inhabitants per square kilometre. The overall life expectancy in Germany at birth is 79. births per 1000 inhabitants in 2009, is one of the lowest in the world. death rate has continuously exceeded its birth rate. of the population of Germany.
of whom lived in West Germany or Berlin. has been declining steadily since 2000. of the population had immigrant roots, the highest since 1945.
have resettled in Germany since 1987. Germany has a number of large cities. Cologne, Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, and Bochum. Christianity is the largest religion in Germany, with around 51. are Catholics and 29. overall population declare themselves Orthodox Christians.
ites and other denominations. German Muslims, a large portion of whom are of Turkish origin, lack full official state recognition of their religious community. of the Buddhists in Germany are Asian immigrants.
Germans with no stated religious adherence make up 34. of the population, especially in the former East Germany and major metropolitan areas. Christian church membership has decreased in recent decades, particularly among Protestants. German is the official and predominant spoken language in Germany. It is one of 23 official languages in the European Union, and one of the three working languages of the European Commission. Recognised native minority languages in Germany are Danish, Low German, Sorbian, Romany, and Frisian they are officially protected by the ECRML. in at least two languages other than their own.
Standard German is a West Germanic language and is closely related to and classified alongside English, Low German, Dutch, and the Frisian languages. and North Germanic languages. German is written using the Latin alphabet. German dialects, traditional local varieties traced back to the Germanic tribes, are distinguished from varieties of standard German by their lexicon, phonology, and syntax.
Heidelberg University was established in 1386. of Germans age 15 and above are estimated to be able to read and write. However, a growing number of inhabitants are functionally illiterate. Responsibility for educational oversight in Germany lies primarily with the individual federated states. several West German states later simplified their school system to two or three tiers. Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for at least nine years.
Primary education usually lasts for four years and public schools are not stratified at this stage. In contrast, secondary education includes three traditional types of schools focused on different levels of academic ability: the Gymnasium enrols the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies the Realschule for intermediate students lasts six years the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education. The general entrance requirement for university is Abitur, a qualification normally based on continuous assessment during the last few years at school and final examinations however there are a number of exceptions, and precise requirements vary, depending on the state, the university and the subject.
for 2008, six of the top 100 universities in the world are in Germany, and 18 of the top 200. per semester for each student. Social legislation in 1883. Currently the population is covered by a fairly comprehensive health insurance plan provided by statute.
can opt out of the plan and switch to a private insurance contract. Previously, these groups could also choose to do without insurance, but this option was dropped in 2009. of its GDP on health care. of German adults are smokers.
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