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
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 348,672 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 8,350 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 63

Area - comparative:
three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana
Area comparison map:

Land boundaries:
total: 3,714 km
border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czech Republic 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 467 km, Switzerland 348 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
2,389 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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:
mean elevation:
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
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:
agricultural land: 48% arable land 34.1%; permanent crops 0.6%; permanent pasture 13.3%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 31.8%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 20.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
6,500 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
154 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 32.3 cu km/yr (16%/84%/0%)
per capita: 391.4 cu m/yr (2007)

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 by 2022; 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