Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:
Coastline: Maritime claims:
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
357,022 sq km
country comparison to the world: 63
land:
348,672 sq km
water:
8,350 sq km
Area comparison map:
total:
3,694 km
border countries:
Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czech Republic 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]
2,389 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
territorial sea:
12 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
More Climate Details
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
lowest point:
Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point:
Zugspitze 2,963 m
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
arable land:
33.25%
permanent crops:
0.56%
other:
66.19% (2011)
5,157 sq km (2006)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
154 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
32.3 cu km/yr (16%/84%/0%)
per capita:
391.4 cu m/yr (2007)
flooding
emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea