• The country
• The countryside
• Climate
• The people
• The population
• The German language
• National minorities
• The immigrant population
• Immigration and right of asylum
• Acquiring German Nationality
• The federal states
• The World Heritage

 
The country

 
The countryside

The German landscapes are extraordinarily diverse. Low and high mountain ranges alternate with elevated plains, hilly and mountainous regions, lakelands and wide, open lowlands. From north to south, Germany is divided into five major landscape types:
The North German Plain boasts hilly landscapes with many lakes and is interspersed with heaths and moors as well as fertile land. It stretches down as far as the edge of the Central Upland Range. The lowland bays here comprise the Lower Rhenish Bight, the Westphalian Bight and the Saxon Thuringian Bight. Located off the coast of this region in the North Sea are numerous islands such as Borkum, Norderney, Sylt and Helgoland. Situated in the Baltic Sea are Rügen, Hiddensee and Fehmarn. Some parts of the Baltic coast have flat, sandy shores, others steep cliffs. Between the North Sea and the Baltic lies an area of low hills known as Holsteinische Schweiz (Holstein Switzerland).
The Central Upland Range divides northern and southern Germany. The central Rhine valley and the Hessian depressions serve as natural north-south traffic arteries. The Central Uplands include the Hunsrück, Eifel, Taunus and Westerwald. Right in the heart of Germany are the Harz Mountains. The elevations in the east include the Bavarian Forest, the Fichtel Hills and the Ore Mountains.
On the edge of the upper Rhine lowlands lies the Black Forest, the Spessart and the Swabian Jura. In a narrow valley, the river Rhine, the main north-south axis, slices through the Rhenish Schist Massif.
The south German Alpine foothills boast hills and great lakes in the south, as well as broad gravel plains, the hilly landscape of lower Bavaria and the Danube valley. Characteristic features of this landscape are moors, dome-shaped hill ranges with lakes (Chiemsee, Starnberger See) and small villages.
The German part of the Alps between Lake Constance and Berchtesgaden represents only a narrow section of this mountain range. It is limited to the Allgäu Alps, the Bavarian Alps and the Berchtesgaden Alps. Within the mountainous Alpine landscape lie picturesque lakes such as Königssee (St. Bartholomew's Lake) near Berchtesgaden, and popular tourist resorts such as Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald.

 
Climate

Germany is situated within the moderately cool west wind zone between the Atlantic Ocean and the continental climate to the east. Sharp temperature fluctuations are rare. There is precipitation in all seasons. In winter the average temperature fluctuates between 1.5 degrees Celcius in the lowland areas and minus six degrees Celcius in the mountains. In July, the average is around 18 degrees Celsius in the lowlands and 20 degrees Celsius in the sheltered valleys of the south. Exceptions are the Upper Rhine Trough with its very mild climate, Upper Bavaria with its intermittently occurring warm Alpine wind from the south (Föhn) and the Harz Mountains’ special microclimate with its cold winds, cool summers and heavy winter snows.

 
The people

Some 82.6 million people live in Germany. Some 7.3 million of these citizens do not have their origins in Germany. This corresponds to 8.9 percent of the total population. And this means diversity, a diversity which is contributed to by the migrants living in Germany, the ethnic minorities, the regions and the different states with their traditions and dialects.

 
The German language

German is one of the large group of Indo-Germanic languages, and within this group is one of the Germanic languages, related to Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, Dutch, as well as to English. At the end of the Middle Ages there were a large number of regional written languages. With the wide dissemination of Luther's Bible translation a uniform written language gradually became established, based largely on the official written language of Saxony (the written language of Meissen).
Germany has a wealth of dialects. Usually, a person's dialect or accent gives away where he or she comes from. If two people, one from Mecklenburg and one from Bavaria were to hold a conversation, each in their respective dialect, they would have great difficulties in understanding each other. Long ago, there were various different tribes living in what is now Germany – Franks, Saxons, Swabians and Bavarians, for instance. Today, these old tribes have not existed in their original form for a long time, but their traditions and dialects live on in regional groupings.
German is also the native tongue of Austria, Liechtenstein, the majority of Switzerland, South Tirol (northern Italy), northern Schleswig (Denmark) and in small areas of Belgium and Luxembourg along their borders with Germany. The German minorities in Poland, Romania and the countries of the former Soviet Union have also partly retained the German language. German is the native tongue of more than 100 million people. Around every tenth book that is published worldwide is written in German.

 
National minorities

 
The immigrant population

Today there are around 7.3 million foreigners living in the Federal Republic of Germany; this is equivalent to 8.9 percent of the total population. Many foreign workers came to Germany between the mid-1950s and the end of 1973. In need of additional manpower for its bourgeoning economy, Germany focused its recruiting activities on the littoral states of the Mediterranean region, initially in Italy, and subsequently in Spain, Portugal, the former Yugoslavia, and Turkey, as well as Tunisia and Morocco. Many of these workers remained in Germany, and later sent for the other members of their family. At the end of 2003, one third of foreigners had been living in Germany longer than 20 years, and about two-thirds more than eight years. More than two-thirds of the foreign children living in Germany were born in the country. Since 2000, children born in Germany to foreign parents are entitled - provided they meet certain conditions – to acquire German nationality (see the section “Nationality”).
  

                    Turkish football fans in Berlin
 
Meanwhile, the majority of foreigners living here has become integrated into German society; indeed, many of them have attained top positions or started up their own business. Marriages between foreigners and Germans are on the increase and are becoming a natural occurrence. Since 1970, around 3.2 million foreigners have attained German nationality.
 

 
Immigration and right of asylum

The structure of the population in Germany has altered dramatically in the past few decades. Apart from employees recruited from abroad and family members who joined them later, as a result of World War II some 2.5 million German nationals and ethnic Germans and their families entered the Federal Republic. Following the collapse of the Eastern bloc, there was an increase in immigrants from those areas comprising the former Soviet Union. Since mid-1990, more than 190,000 Jewish emigrants from the successor states to the Soviet Union were taken in. Moreover, victims of political persecution have sought refuge in Germany and continue to come from all regions of the world, as do civil war refugees from crisis regions (such as Bosnia and Herzegovina) in order to find temporary protection. Most of the refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina have since left Germany. The globalization of the economy and general increase in mobility will spur further migration movements.
 
A modern immigration policy seeks to address such social challenges: From January 1, 2005 Germany will, for the first time, have in place new legislation governing the immigration and residence of foreigners. Two central issues are: opening up the labor market for highly qualified persons, and pursuing an active integration policy. Essentially, Germany is embracing a more open immigration policy. One consequence will be that on successful completion of their studies, foreign students can remain in Germany for up to a year in order to find work. Subsequently, they can either renew their residence permit or apply for a permanent one. Highly qualified persons are automatically granted a permit to settle down. What is more, regulations will be eased for the settlement of foreign entrepreneurs seeking to create jobs in Germany, as well as those with adequate capital resources. As such, the new Immigration Act will help make Germany’s economy more competitive, and by encouraging foreign scientists to settle will provide research with a new stimulus, thanks to the broader international base. Indeed, the new Act simplifies legislation on residence as a whole, promotes the integration of non-EU foreigners by making language courses obligatory, and accelerates the asylum procedure. Finally, in the context of fighting terrorism, it facilitates the expulsion of foreigners classified as dangerous. More information on the new immigration legislation is available in the magazine "Germany".
The Basic Law (Constitution) of the Federal Republic of Germany of 1949 guarantees protection to those suffering political persecution in their home countries. Between 1988 and 1993 more than 1.4 million people availed themselves of this fundamental right, hoping to settle in Germany. The majority came from the states comprising the collapsed Eastern bloc, but only a minority had actually suffered political persecution in their home countries. During this period only 57,000 petitioners were granted asylum. Such massive absuse of asylum called for new regulations that would nonetheless leave the right to asylum intact. Since 1993, foreigners who enter Germany via a safe non-EU country or a safe country of origin can no longer appeal for the basic right of asylum. Subsequently, the number of asylum-seekers has dropped steadily, and in 2003 stood at 50,500 - the lowest level since 1984.
The new immigration legislation due to become law on January 1, 2005 also grants asylum to those facing sexual abuse such as genital mutilation, and recognizes as refugees people who suffer persecution from non-EU groups.
Every asylum-seeker in Germany is entitled to take his or her appeal against deportation up to the Federal Constitutional Court level.

In January 2000 the law governing nationality was amended, making it easier for foreigners to acquire German nationality. Children born in Germany to foreign parents now automatically acquire German nationality at birth, provided one of their parents has been a habitual resident in Gemany for eight years and has unlimited right to residence, or has been in possession of a permanent residence permit for three years. Should these children also have their parents’ nationality, they must decide between German and foreign nationality on coming of age.
Children younger than ten on January 1, 2000 were granted the right to a special, limited naturalization until December 31, 2000 under the same conditions. In addition, foreigners are entitled to naturalization after eight years, rather than the 15 previously required. This entitlement is only granted to those foreigners with an adequate knowledge of German who are committed to the tenets of the German Constitution. The naturalization of foreigners from extremist political backgrounds is rendered impossible by a “protective clause” which was made more specific through the Anti-Terrorism Act. It is a basic requirement that those wishing to be naturalized must renounce their former nationality. Exceptions are regulated by law.
Those citizens who apply for foreign nationality automatically forfeit their German nationality, regardless of whether they continue to reside in Germany or not. Simultaneously, the conditions under which a permit to retain German nationality is issued have also been broadened. Late repatriates automatically acquire German nationality on being issued with a certificate confirming their special status.
When the Immigration Act becomes law in January 2005 those nationality legislation regulations which to date were in part contained in the Foreigners Act will be incorporated into the Nationality Act.