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Germany Geography Profile

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LocationCentral Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map referencesEurope
Areatotal: 357,022 sq km

land: 348,672 sq km

water: 8,350 sq km
Area - comparativethree times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundariestotal: 3,694 km

border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km
Coastline2,389 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climatetemperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrainlowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremeshighest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m

mean elevation: 263 m
Natural resourcescoal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land useagricultural land: 48% (2018 est.)

arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 31.8% (2018 est.)

other: 20.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land6,500 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazardsflooding
Geography - notestrategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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