The official name of Germany is the Federal Republic of Germany, which is called Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German. Germany is located in the center of Europe and is surrounded by the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Poland and the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, and by France and Belgium to the north, east, south, and west respectively. The country covers and area of around 357021 square kilometers and is home to more than eighty two million people. This makes it a country with one of the largest populations among all the other states of the European Union. The number of international immigrants included in the population make it rank third with respect to the number of international migrants. The climate of Germany is classified as being a Temperate Seasonal climate.
There are sixteen states which form a part of Germany, and Berlin is both the capital as well as the largest city. Germany has the honor of being the member of NATO, the United Nations, the G4 nations, and the G8. It has also signed the Kyoto protocol. In the year 2007 Germany was top among all the countries with respect to the export of goods, and it also had the third largest economy. Its budget allocates a major part to the aid and development of needy countries and its military expenditure comes sixth. The quality of living and the system of social security is top notch as well.
The largest national economy of Europe is Germany and the third largest in the world. It saw a growth of 2.4 percent in the year 2007 and it is expected that the same level would be maintained in the years to come. The major contributions to the economy are made by the exports of products which are made in Germany. Some of the biggest companies of Germany are BMW, Audi, Nivea, and Volkswagen.