Germany

Germany is one of the world's leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, to the west by France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic. Germany is a democratic federal parliamentary republic, containing 16 federal-states (Bundesländer), which in certain spheres act independently of the Federation or "Bund". The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 nations, and a founding member of what is now the European Union. It is the largest country in surface area in Central Europe.