Germany Geography Profile 2009

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

total: 357,022 sq km
land: 348,672 sq km
water: 8,350 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries

total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km

Coastline

2,389 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate

temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind

Terrain

lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

Natural resources

coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

Land use

arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6%
other: 66.27% (2005)

Irrigated land

4,850 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

188 cu km (2005)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%)
per capita: 460 cu m/yr (2001)

Natural hazards

flooding

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

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

Geography - note

strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea