Germany

Located in the heart of Western Europe, Germany is the continent's most industrialized and populous country. Famed for its technological achievements, it has also produced some of Europe's most celebrated composers, philosophers and poets.

Achieving national unity later than other European nations, Germany quickly caught up economically and militarily, before defeats in World War I and II left the country shattered, facing the difficult legacy of Nazism, and divided between Europe's Cold War blocs.

Germany rebounded to become the continent's economic giant, and a prime mover of European cooperation. With the end of the Cold War, the two parts of the country were once again united, but at an economic price that is still being felt.

People in the previously affluent west have had to pay a higher price than many originally expected while those in what was once the German Democratic Republic, the former Soviet-dominated east, saw jobs vanish and the cost of living spiral. The population is declining there too as young people vote with their feet.

The pain of Germany's Nazi-era history remains a sensitive element in the country's collective modern-day psyche. Out of the devastation of World War II grew European awareness of the need to guard against any such catastrophe recurring on the continent.

In the 1950s Germany was one of the six founding nations in the original European Economic Community from which the European Union was eventually to develop and in which Germany is a key player. Franco-German cooperation was central to European economic integration in the 1980s and 90s.

Dome of the Reichstag rises over Germany's resurgent capital, Berlin

Germany's international profile has been growing in other areas too. The country sent peacekeepers to the Balkans and its forces have been involved in operations in Afghanistan. The former chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, was a vociferous critic of the launch of US-led operations in Iraq.

The country has famous beer brewing traditions. Beer purity laws dating back to 1516 limit the fermentation ingredients to malted grain, hops, yeast and water.

As the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms, among others, Germany's gift to European classical music is colossal while Goethe, Nietzsche, Kant and Brecht are giants in the world of letters and philosophy.

Full name: Federal Republic of Germany Population: 82.2 million (UN, 2009) Capital: Berlin Area: 357,027 sq km (137,849 sq miles) Major language: German Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 77 years (men), 82 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents Main exports: Motor vehicles, electrical machinery, metals GNI per capita: US $42,440 (World Bank, 2008) Internet domain: .de International dialling code: +49

President: Christian Wulff

The role of president is largely symbolic. Mr Wulff was elected by the Federal Assembly after his predecessor, Horst Koehler, resigned over controversial remarks about foreign military missions.

Chancellor: Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel, Germany's first female chancellor, swept back to power in general elections in September 2009.

Mrs Merkel, leader of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), first took office in an 2005. As a result of the vote's close result, she became chancellor in a "grand coalition" involving the CDU, its Christian Social Union (CSU) allies and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

In 2009, her party secured another four-year mandate with enough votes to dump the previous awkward coalition with the SPD in favour of an alliance with the smaller, pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

The coalition faced tough challenges. Germany's export-dependent economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis of 2008-9, which triggered the worst recession since the foundation of the post-war Federal Republic in 1949.

Mrs Merkel won plaudits for her calm handling of the situation, and in 2009, Forbes magazine put her at the top of its list of the world's 100 most powerful women for the fourth year in a row.

However, clouds began to gather in early 2010, when Greece's vast debt burden sparked fears for the stability of the euro. Mrs Merkel persuaded parliament to approve a 22.4bn-euro German contribution to an EU loan for Greece, but observers abroad accused her of acting too slowly.

Many German voters, meanwhile, were angered by the perceived need to pay for another country's debts, and soon after, Mrs Merkel's coalition lost a key regional vote, and with it her majority in the powerful upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat.

The setback meant she would have to rely on deals with opposition regional leaders to pass some legislation.

She suffered further embarrassment and loss of credibility when her favoured candidate for the presidency, Christian Wulff, failed to win an absolute majority in the first two rounds of voting, only securing the post in the third round.

During her first term in office, Mrs Merkel steered a centrist course at home and earned a reputation as a talented mediator at the international level. She became leader of the CDU in 2000 after Helmut Kohl was brought down by a party funding scandal.

She was born in Hamburg in 1954 but grew up in East Germany where her father was a Protestant clergyman. She holds a doctorate in physics.

She divorced her first husband Ulrich Merkel in 1982 and has been married to publicity-shy chemistry professor Joachim Sauer since 1998. She has no children.

Germany's competitive television market is the largest in Europe, with some 34 million TV households.

Major TV networks use cable and satellite to reach viewers

The many regional and national public broadcasters - organised in line with the federal political structure - vie for audiences with powerful commercial operators. Each of the country's 16 regions regulates its own private and public broadcasting.

Around 90% of German households have cable or satellite TV, and viewers enjoy a comprehensive mix of free-to-view public and commercial channels. This has acted as a brake on the development of pay-TV services.

Germany is home to some of the world's largest media conglomerates, including Bertelsmann and the publisher Axel Springer. Some of Germany's top free-to-air commercial TV networks are owned by ProSiebenSat1, a consortium led by a US billionnaire.

Germany is rolling out digital radio and TV and aims to switch off its analogue TV transmitters by 2010. Public TV broadcasters ZDF and ARD offer a range of digital-only channels.

While the press and broadcasters are free and independent, the display of swastikas and statements endorsing Nazism are illegal.

There are several national newspapers, but the press market is strongest at a regional level, with more than 300 titles.

The press

Television

ARD - organisation of regional public broadcasters; operates Das Erste, the main national public TV channel ZDF - operates second national public TV channel n-tv - commercial, rolling-news N24 - commercial, rolling news RTL - major commercial broadcaster, operates entertainment channels Deutsche Welle TV - Germany's international TV service, in German, English, Spanish Sky - pay-TV operator

Radio

ARD - umbrella organisation of public radio services, including those of individual regions Deutschlandradio - operates national public stations Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandradio Kultur, both offering current affairs and cultural programmes Deutsche Welle - international radio broadcaster, services in many languages

News agency

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