Cool Facts about Germany

You may know Germany as a country that loves beer and sausages, but it’s also a really interesting and vibrant place that’s full of history.

white and pink petaled flowers on metal fence near concrete houses and tower at daytime

landscape photo of gray and brown buildings

Where is Germany?

Germany is located in central Europe and shares borders with a lot of nearby countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Czech Republic. You can see where Germany is located on the map below:

What is the population of Germany?

The population of Germany is 84.7 million (2023), which is the third-largest in Europe.

Here’s the population of some other European countries, for comparison:

France - 68 million (4th largest)
UK - 67.87 million (5th largest)
Spain - 48.44 million (7th largest)
Netherlands - 17.61 million (12th largest)

What is the capital of Germany?

The capital of Germany is Berlin, which is located in the northeast part of the country.

Berlin has a population of 3.576 million and is a very popular destination for expats and international students.

How big is Germany?

Germany has an area of 357,386 km², making it the 7th biggest country in Europe.

Here’s the area of some other European countries, for comparison:

France - 551,695km² (3rd biggest)
UK - 243,610km² (11th biggest)
Spain - 505,990km² (4th biggest)
Netherlands - 41,543km² (32nd biggest.

When did Germany become a country?

This is a bit of a tricky question, which there are 3 answers for:

February 2nd 962 AD - the date Germany was first recognised as a region
January 18th, 1871 - the date where Germany became a unified state
October 3rd, 1990 - the date when East and West Germany were united to form the current Federal Republic of Germany

How many people move to Germany every year?

Germany is the second most popular destination for expats in the world. In 2023, 1,545,503 people moved to Germany and around 458,210 of these people were students. At CBS, around 20% of our students are international students from across the world.

In total, Germany is home to 15.3 million immigrants who are most commonly from Turkey, Poland, and Italy.

A lot of people are attracted to Germany because of our robust economy and well-developed education system.

Facts about German food and drink

In Germany we have 1,500 different types of beer, 300 types of bread and 1,000 types of sausage
In the state of Bavaria, beer is actually considered a food!
Germany is home to the biggest Beer Festival in the world, Oktoberfest in Munich, where the standard glass of beer is a whole litre!
If you want to order 1 beer in Germany, you show your thumb and for 2 beers you show your first finger
More than 800 million currywurst sausages are eaten every year in Germany. The snack is so popular that there’s even a museum dedicated to it in Berlin
Germany is the second largest beer consumer in Europe - we usually drink around 2.55 billion gallons of it a year
In Germany, there are over 1,200 breweries that produce over 5,000 brands of German beer
Most German main dishes include meat and sometimes fish - the most popular kinds are pork, beef, veal or fish
The most famous German food exports are sauerkraut, sausages and brezeln (pretzels)
The sweet maker, Haribo, runs a scheme where local children can exchange acorns for sweets. Their acorns then get sent to nature reserves to feed animals.

Geographical facts about Germany

One-third of Germany is covered in forests and woodlands
You can find over 2100 castles throughout the country
Our capital city, Berlin is 9 times bigger than Paris and has more bridges than Venice
There have been many capital cities of Germany including Aachen, Regensburg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Nuremberg, Weimar, and Bonn - and the current capital, Berlin
You can find Europe’s largest train station in Berlin
Germany used to be made up of lots of small kingdoms until they were unified as the German Reich in 1871
German people love to travel and spend more on their holidays than any other nation
The highest peak in Germany is the Zugspitze in Bavaria which is 2,962 meters high
Germany has a moderate climate all year round, in July the average temperature is almost 17 degrees and in January it can be -0.5 degrees
The highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was in 2019 when it got to 42.6 degrees in Lingen

Interesting facts about Germany

65% of the highways in Germany have no speed limit and are called the Autobahn
Germany sells around 6 million cars a year, making it one of the largest car producers in the world
The first book ever printed was in German, and the first magazine was launched in Germany in 1663
We’re a nation that loves books, we publish around 100,000 titles every year
Germany has more zoos than any other country, we have over 400
Fanta was created in Germany during the Second World War after Coca-Cola syrup was prevented from being imported into the country
Munich is the second most punctual large airport in the world after Tokyo
Some of the world’s most famous inventions were created in Germany - the lightbulb, automated calculators, automobiles, insulin, petrol engines, jet engines, and the Walkman (to name a few!)
Germany is a very cultured country, with 6,500 museums, 820 theatres, 130 professional orchestras, and 8,800 libraries.
Because we have so many cultural activities for people to enjoy, it was found that more people go to exhibitions than to football matches in Germany
In some parts of Germany, owning a dog comes with a tax. Yes, you need to get a license for your dog, and you have to pay a dog tax. The amount depends on the size and breed of the dog.
Dachshunds, the adorable wiener dogs, are extremely popular in Germany. They even have annual events like the Dachshund Race where people gather to watch these small dogs race each other. It's as cute as it sounds!