Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is the second most populous country in Europe, and the first in the European Union, as well as one of the most important industrialized and developed countries in the world

It is bordered to the north by Denmark, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the north it is washed by the North Sea and the Baltic. Germany is one of the founding members of the European Union.

Germany's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, Dortmund and Essen), other major cities in the country include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Leipzig, Bremen, Dresden, Hanover and Nuremberg.