ABSTRACT
The Federal Republic of Germany with nearly 82 million inhabitants is the country with the highest population in middle Europe. It covers a 356,790 km2 area. The North Sea and the Baltic Sea border the national territory to the north, and the Alps border the territory to the south. There are no such natural borders on the east and west. The northern neighbor is Denmark, and Poland and the Czech Republic are the eastern neighbors. The predominantly German-speaking nations Austria and Switzerland border Germany to the south, with France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands bordering on the west. Around 7.3 million foreigners (approx. 9% of the total population) live in Germany. The country ensures freedom of religion. In 2000, the Protestant and Catholic churches had around 27 million members each, with 2.8 million Muslims forming the next largest religious community.
